John 15:16

οὐχ ὑμεῖς … ὑμῖν. This is added to encourage them in taking up and prosecuting the work of Jesus. Euthymius says it is ἄλλο τεκμήριον τοῦ ἔχειν αὐτοὺς φίλους ἑαυτοῦ; but it is more. They are invited to depend on His will, not on their own. They had not discovered Him, and attached themselves to Him, as likely to suit their purposes. “It is not ye who chose me.” But “I chose you,” as a king selects his officers, to fulfil my purposes. καὶ ἔθηκα ὑμᾶς, “and I set (or, appointed) you,” cf. 1 Corinthians 12:28; Acts 20:28, etc., see Concordance. The purpose of the appointment is ἵνα ὑμεῖς ὑπάγητε, “that you may go away” from me on your various missions, and thus (resuming the original figure of the vine and branches) καρπὸν φέρητε, may bear fruit in my stead, and supplied by my life. Or to express this purpose in a manner which reveals the source of their power to bear fruit, ἵνα ὅ τι ἂν αἰτήσητε … δῷ ὑμῖν, see John 15:7, and John 14:13.