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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