Being Judged by Fruit

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit…

S - Scripture

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” ~matthew 12:33-37~

O - Observation

what you say, how you say, what you meant by what you said, it all stems from who you are deep down inside. as said in verse 37 - your words will find you rightly, or worse admonished.

backstory - Jesus was rebuking the pharisees who basically said that the miracles He was performing was from satan. how crazy to think that these very people who were thought to be “good” or “godly” and were faithful to God were the very opposite of what they portrayed because they judged others based on following their rules and guidelines, not the laws given through moses and everyone was weighed and judged by them. they talked a good game, but didn’t actually put into practice what they preached.

in the Bible, Jesus uses a lot of symbolism/metaphors, connections, principles:

tree - a person or their character
fruit - a persons actions, deeds, or words

heart and mouth - the way that someone speaks to you, good or bad, really provides a glimps into what is going on inside of them.

accountability - Jesus said everyone of us will be responsible for what leaves our mouths, especially if it is bad, not edifying.

to better understand, here are a couple of commentaries (partially taken) from, A) Bibleref and B) Biblehub, Sharing Bread, The Bible Says, respectively:

Bibleref -
rather than praising their behavior, Jesus bluntly condemns them. it's common sense to judge the quality of a fruit tree by looking at what it produces: good or bad fruit. the pharisees have shown their spiritual "fruit" in accusing Jesus of blasphemy for claiming to be the Messiah. they have revealed the real nature of their hearts by claiming His power to cast out demons comes from satan. in truth, they are the ones guilty of blasphemy.

Biblehub - (maclaren, benson, matthew henry)
but in our text Christ applies the same thoughts in rather a deeper fashion. here the lesson that He would have us draw is of the connection between character and conduct; how what we do is determined by what we are, and how, not of course with the same absolute regularity and constancy, but still somewhat in the same fashion as the fruit is true to the tree, so, after all allowance made for ups and downs, for the irregular play of will and conscience, for the strife that is waged within a man, for the temptations of external circumstances, and the like-still, in general, as is the inner man, so is the outward manifestation.

that is, you must allow they are both good, or both bad: for if the fruit be good, so is the tree; if the fruit be evil, so is the tree also. “judge, therefore, by my works, of the power by which i work: if it be not a good work to heal the sick, and blind, and lame, and cast out devils, and preach repentance and forgiveness of sins, to convert and save souls, then God is not the author of them. if they be bad works, they have a bad cause; if they be good works, they have a good author

the heart is the fountain, words are the streams. a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring, must send forth muddy and unpleasant streams. an evil man has an evil treasure in his heart, and out of it brings forth evil things. lusts and corruptions, dwelling and reigning in the heart, are an evil treasure, out of which the sinner brings forth bad words and actions, to dishonour God, and hurt others. let us keep constant watch over ourselves, that we may speak words agreeable to the Christian character.

SharingBread -
i cannot expect regenerate behavior from an unregenerate. the sinful mind cannot submit to God’s law. my heart is the root and my language the fruit.

TheBibleSays -
the tree is the producer of and is therefore the cause of the fruit, not the other way around. we either praise or blame the tree for the quality of its fruit. if someone desires good fruit, he will have to first make the tree good. it would be futile to try to make the tree good by making its bad fruit better. in this analogy, the tree is a man's heart, and the analog of the tree's fruit are the words that man's mouth speaks. in order to speak good words, the heart must be first made good.

A - Application

what bad fruit offers:

can cause food poisoning, with common symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and dehydration. More severe outcomes can include kidney damage (like hemolytic uremic syndrome from E. coli), paralysis, meningitis, and even death, especially for vulnerable groups. This illness stems from consuming bacteria, viruses, parasites, or toxins (like mycotoxins from molds) that contaminate the fruit.

why good fruit you ask:

MedicalNewsToday - fruits provide the body with nutrients and antioxidants that can boost overall health. fruits are an excellent source of essential vitamins and minerals, and they are high in fiber; they also provide a wide range of health-boosting antioxidants, including flavonoids. this can have significant benefits for heart health, digestion, weight management, and skin health. people can enjoy a wide variety of fruits to improve their health and lower the risk of inflammation, heart disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes.

i believe, as a follower of Jesus, that what the commentaries shared is absolutely spot on. through my drug/alcohol fueled years of lying and deceiving people that i could care less about, let alone the very ones that loved me unconditional, has taught me that the alignment of the heart, mind, and mouth is so accurate. what proceeds out of your mouth is in direct correlation on how you live out your life and what you firmly believe and hold to be true. your intentions may seem good until you are exposed to be a hypocrite, a blasphemer, adulterer, etc. you say one thing, tell others to do it this or that way, and yet do the exact opposite.

one of my, likely everyone’s, goal is that our lives would bear good fruit. our/your kids and others that you and i have impacted, their lives are better because of it - from our beliefs, convictions, how we live out our walk, my attitude, and the words that i speak. this is why it is critical that we really take time (a little or a lot) to think through what we are about to say when speaking to people. don’t be in such a rush to let words escape that you can’t take back, regardless of it being unintentional. while not great doing so, i am getting better at it. the lesson i got from these verses is to just keep working on this with the help of the Holy Spirit - to fully allow The Spirit of God to guide my conversations and to allow Jesus to transform my life to be like Him.

P - Prayer

dear Heavenly Father, would you please continue to work on my heart and mind, to be in alignment with what you taught that when i am in a situation engaging with people, regardless if i like them or not, that the words i choose to speak would be life-giving and not life-taking. may you be glorified and honored by my actions and speech. in Jesus’ glorious name i pray, amen!