Thursday, May 11, 2017

THE TREE AND IT'S FRUIT

 16Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

The Parable of the Tree and its Fruits (also called the Trees and their Fruits) is a parable of Jesus about testing a person.

We are to Understand that the results of an individual’s life and work are better indications of personal motives than is appearance or claims.  There are many false prophets who pretend to be Christian guides, but whose real purpose is selfish and destructive.  We must test those claiming to prophesy by their fruit, that is, by their life-style, character, teaching, and influence and whether or not their predictions come to pass. 

Narrative

From Matthew 7:15–20 (KJV):
"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

From Luke 6:43-45 (KJV):
"For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."

A similar passage appears in the Gospel of Thomas 45 (Patterson-Meyer Translation):

"Grapes are not harvested from thorns, nor are figs picked from thistles, for they do not produce fruit. A good man brings forth good from his treasure. A bad man brings (forth) evil from the bad treasure that is in his heart, and (in fact) he speaks evil. For out of the abundance of the heart he brings forth evil." 

Matthew 7:15-20
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?  So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit.  A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus you will know them by their fruits.

Meditation:

What do grapes, thorns, figs, and thistles have to teach us about the kingdom of God?


 The imagery used by Jesus would have been very familiar to his audience.  A certain thorn bush had berries which resembled grapes.  And a certain thistle had a flower, which at least from a distance, resembled the fig.  Isn't it the same today?  What we "hear" might have a resemblance of the truth, but, in fact, when you inspect it closely, it's actually false.  False prophets or teachers abound today as much as they did in biblical times.
 
What's the test of a true or false teacher?
 Jesus connects soundness with good fruit.  Something is sound when it is free from defect, decay, or disease and is healthy. Good fruit is the result of sound living — living according to moral truth and upright character. The prophet Isaiah warned against the dangers of falsehood: Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness (Isaiah 5:20).  The fruits of falsehood produce an easy religion which takes the iron out of religion, the cross out of Christianity, and any teaching which eliminates the hard sayings of Jesus, and which push the judgments of God into the background and makes us think lightly of sin.

So, how do we avoid falsehood?

 By being true — true to God, his word, and his grace.  And that takes character!  Those who are true to God know that their strength lies not in themselves but in God who supplies what we need.   The fruit of a disciple is marked by faith, hope and love, justice, prudence, fortitude and temperance.  Do you cultivate good fruit in your life and reject whatever produces bad fruit?


Let us pray together.
"Lord, may each of us bear good fruit for your sake.  Help us all to reject whatever will produce evil fruit.  And help each of us to grow in faith, hope, love, sound judgment, justice, courage, and self control."  Amen.


In Christ,
Janet Irene Thomas
Playwright/Director/Screen Writer
Producer/Gospel Lyricist/Author
Founder/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts


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