You can find fruit in the very opening pages of Genesis when God created the earth. He made all these “fruit trees that yield fruit according to its kind’. (Gen 1:11). He then made both all the birds of the sky, the fish in the sea and living beast of the earth and told them to ‘be fruitful and multiply’. (1:22-24). Why He even created man and woman (in His likeness and image, I might add) and told them the same thing- “Be fruitful and multiply”. (1:26-28)
Of course we all know about that one tree with the ‘bad fruit’ that God told Adam and Even to stay away from because if they ate off that one tree, they would...surely die. (Gen 2:16-17).
[ I often feel compelled to link Rom. 8:13 with that warning as well.]
So it should come as no surprise that Jesus would address the nature of fruit and use it in His sermon illustrations when He taught during His three years of public ministry. We know He often spoke in parables...mysteries...illustrations that at times, could be puzzling and hard to grasp.
It’s easy to read through the bible and come up with all kinds of personal interpretations from what we see there. And yet, for some odd reason, God chose to keep secret, so much of His truth, hidden from the general public. It was only His disciples...those who came to Him with all their hearts...that He would ‘make known those mysteries’. Now one can debate whether He hid them...or just allowed the ‘god of this world to blind the minds of those perishing from seeing’. You can read Matt. 13:11-13 and 2 Cor. 4:3-4 and decide on your own. But in that preceding chapter there in 2 Cor, it seems to suggest a ‘veil lies on our hearts’, but when anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away’. (3:16)
Now back to our discussion on fruit. I am assuming your bible is similar to mine in that oftentimes when reading various chapters, there may be a small sub title heading in bold print over a section of scripture. For example, in Matt. 12:33-37, on the top of that small section or passage, I read the sub heading: “A Tree known by its Fruit”. No breaking news there, is there? Then we read where Jesus gives an interesting command or word of instruction. He says: “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.”
I find it interesting where He suggest we might have something to do with this process...don’t you...? “Make the tree good’...or ...’make the tree bad’. And to repeat his very clear assessment again... ”A. Tree. Is. Known. By. Its. Fruit.”
My oldest daughter lives in CA. On the side of her house, you can walk out there and pick actual live lemons off the tree and use them. Want to guess what kind of tree that is? I was in awe the first time I did that. I thought lemons came from the produce section at Wal-Mart. ;- )
This is not a trick question...I promise...but if you walk up to a tree and oranges are growing on it, what kind of tree can you conclude that it is? ( I trust you said ‘orange tree’)
Let’s take a look at a section from the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus was telling us to be leery or careful of ‘false prophets’ or teachers. He describes them there in Matt. 7:15-20 and uses an interesting illustration suggesting these false teachers are ‘wolves dressed like sheep’. He actually uses the description of “inwardly they are ravenous wolves’. But they ‘look like sheep outwardly’.
Do you think if someone comes along and is a false teacher/prophet, that there is a four-legged hairy wolf inside of them...or maybe this is just an illustration to describe something else...spiritual perhaps? You might pause and go look at 2 Cor. 11:14-15 and make note of that. Ask the Holy Spirit to connect some dots for you here. (might also look at Acts 20:29)
Back to our passage in Matt. 7:15-20...Jesus tell us regarding these impostors that “You will know them by their fruits.” Please note, I’m not putting any ‘spin’ on this....simply telling you what Jesus had to say about the matter. So let me ask here, do you think Jesus is talking about...lemons and oranges or something else perhaps?
But it’s vs. 17 and 18 where Jesus draws a very clear line of distinction that can be troublesome for many. Let’s look at it: “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.”
I don’t see any ‘middle ground’ there, do you? But wait...it gets even more specific: “A good tree CANNOT bear...bad fruit, ...nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.”
If that doesn’t take the wind out of your sails, then look at vs. 19- “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
It may just be me but this fruit stuff sounds pretty serious. What say you?
Oh...His ‘wrap up’ summary again: “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” (vs. 20) This is similar to what He was saying in the 12th chapter we looked at...which is interesting because he tied that in to the words that came out of people’s mouths which He indicated originated from people’s hearts. Is this kind of making sense to you? Do you see come clarity as to what the Holy Spirit is trying to reveal to us from the word here?
I’m going to go out on a limb here and make a partial conclusion. If we have ‘bad fruit’ residing in our hearts, I’m thinking God might want us to be doing something different than just a feeble attempt at ‘covering up’ or ‘hiding’ or ‘suppressing’ that bad fruit from manifesting or being evident to anyone around us. I sense there is more to this...what say you?
Let me offer this up for your own study and prayerful consideration. Jesus makes it clear that there is either good fruit, or bad fruit. I would submit to you that He is referring to the ‘fruit of the spirit’ or the ‘fruit of the flesh’. As in His spirit and nature as opposed to our sinful nature and fruits of our carnal flesh. You can look over Galatians 5:19-21 and see if that does not confirm my thoughts here.
My graphic I posted...again ...should make more sense now, yes?
Where I am going with all this has to do with that troubling factoid Jesus lays out there for us in vs. 18... “a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit”. Many of the gospel presentations today on how we teach ‘sanctification’ would not line up with this one sentence. As Nicodemus might have asked if he heard this message as well would have been “How can these things be?” (John 3:9)
But before I address this, a few more passages pertaining to this ongoing theme of fruit we see woven through scripture...
In Matt. 3, we read where John the Baptist arrives on the scene making some noise and drawing crowds. In this particular scene, “many of the Pharisees and Sadducees” came out to where he was baptizing. (7). John saw them and called out to publicly acknowledge them. (flesh and pride like that at times...to be recognized in public- but probably not this time). John called them a brood of snakes.
He then seems to ask them who warned them about the coming wrath and immediately advised them to “bear fruits worthy of repentance”.
“Fruits of repentance”. There it is again...this talk of ‘fruit’. If asked, how would You describe to someone what ‘fruits of repentance’ look like?
Now I want to skip over real quick to the other passage I am going to next, but just for a moment. Hold your place there in Matt. And look at Luke 13:6. Jesus began a parable there saying a ‘certain man planted a fig tree in his vineyard and he came ‘seeking fruit and found none’. That is important to note. Now back to Matt. 3. John continues on welcoming the religious leaders to his gathering...and after the ‘fruits of repentance’ statement he then declares: “and even NOW...(please circle the word ‘now’)...the ‘ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
What did Jesus say the owner of the vineyard wanted done to that fig tree that had no fruit after looking for three years? He told him to ‘cut it down’. (Luke 13:7)
Back to Matt. 3:12 – just another interesting note here to point out...John talks of the One coming after him (referring to Jesus) and He is about to ‘clean out His threshing floor...to gather His wheat into the barn...but will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire”. I hope you don’t mind the ‘bible drill’ this morning, but now skip over to Matt. 13 and take a look at vs. 24-30. Again, Jesus telling another parable about wheat and tares using similar language as John about ‘gathering wheat into His barn’. (30)
In vs. 36, we read where Jesus sent the crowds away and then goes inside where he explains this parable to His disciples. (Who does He make known the mysteries of this book and His kingdom to?). Take a moment and just read over vs. 37-43...slowly. You probably know that tares growing among wheat may have the appearance of wheat but obviously is Not wheat as it does not bear the same fruit as wheat. The ‘tares’ were gathered up first and you can read there in vs. 41 what the ‘tares’ look like or do. I hate to end here but want to quickly point out back in Luke 13 where our ‘doomed’ fig tree was granted ‘stay of execution’- vs. 7-9.
Go read that and know that it is NOT the will of God for ANY to perish, but for all to come to repentance. (2 Pet 3:9; Luke 13:1-5).
I sense many are experiencing what I have experienced this past two years...a season of grace and mercy to see if we can’t ‘make the tree good’ and deal with all the ‘bad fruit’. Be encouraged...and also, be aware...even today...what kind of fruit is coming out of you? We’ll continue tomorrow.
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