The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 12 Part 5 What kind Of Fruit Tree Are You?

As we move through this chapter we must remember that the location is in the countryside near the synagogue where Jesus healed a man on the sabbath day.

The people involved include a vast multitude who followed Jesus and His disciples, and a group of Pharisees and scribes intent on finding fault with Jesus.

Jesus exposed how hateful and wicked the Pharisees and scribes were toward God's people and God's Son.

God is merciful and compassionate at all times as is His Son, Jesus Christ, but the Pharisees hearts were hardened and lacking compassion for others.

We also noted that the Pharisees blasphemed Christ and the Spirit of God by denying that the mighty works Jesus did were of God.

Jesus strongly rebuked them by taking a firm stand upon the scriptures to show the error of their doctrines.

The fruit we bear in this life will indicate whether we are a good tree or a corrupt one. 

Matthew 12:33  Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 

Jesus was a master at teaching truth by using parables and metaphors.

In this example, Jesus uses fruit trees as a metaphor to show the condition of our hearts, and specifically, how it applied to the Pharisees words and actions.

Jesus asserted a fact that a tree is known by its fruit. 

The application of His argument to the Pharisees is as follows.

Jesus used fruit trees as a metaphor to teach truth about our depraved nature.

“You are to judge whether a man is in league with Satan by his works. If my doctrines and works are of Satan, then I am corrupt. If my works are of God then you are guilty of blasphemy." 

The works a man does will reveal the condition of his heart. 

Nothing good can proceed from an evil heart just as a diseased fruit tree cannot produce good fruit. 

Before the heart of any man can produce good fruit it must be renewed and regenerated by the Spirit of God.

Spiritual life from God coupled with good works He prepared for us to do as His children.

Titus 3:4-8  But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5)  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6)  Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7)  That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8)  This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. 

Titus 3:1-3 is where Paul pointed out that we are all born sinners with depraved hearts, separated from God and in need of salvation from God.

Then, the apostle showed that the lovingkindness of God moved Him to supply a Savior, His Son, Jesus Christ.

All sinners who hear the gospel and who repent and believe on Christ shall be saved. 

Paul describes salvation as the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

This corresponds with the promises of God to give repentant sinners a new heart and a new spirit so that we can walk in newness of life with Christ. 

A new life from God also means that our thoughts, words and actions will change.

The Spirit of God will pour the love of God into our heart and seek to produce His fruit in us (See Romans 5:5;  Galatians 5:22-23).

This truth is why Paul reminds us that those who trust Christ must cultivate doing the good things God prepared for us to do for His kingdom (See Ephesians 2:8-10).

Thus, a good tree refers to a new heart and new spirit put in us by God and how we must be producers of good fruit.

God will give a repentant sinner a new heart and a new spirit and the desire to obey His Word.

Ezekiel 11:18-21  And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. 19)  And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20)  That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21) But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD. 

This promise of God was literally put into action on the day of Pentecost when the church was born (See Acts 2).

Those who take away the "detestable things" and all that which is an abomination to God are those who have repented of their sins.

John the Baptist and Jesus both preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, which included the "fruits worthy of repentance."

John gave some examples of what the fruits worthy of repentance were.

If a man had two coats, he would give one to a man who had no coat.

If one man had a large supply of food, he would share it with the poor and needy.

Jewish tax collectors were notorious for extorting more taxes than Rome specified and becoming rich.

John instructed them to be honest and only collect the taxes that Rome demanded.  

Each of these examples were indicators of people who heard the gospel, repented of their sins and put away "detestable things."

When repentance and faith in Christ is exercised, God will give a repentant sinner a brand new heart and spirit.

A new heart is needed because we are born with depraved, wicked hearts that are hardened by our sins and arrayed against God.

Thus, God removes the "stony" heart and replaces it with a "heart of flesh," meaning a heart that is alive and tender toward God.

In like manner, He sends His spirit to impart new life and to live in us so that He can work His fruit into our lives.

Salvation always includes repentance for sin, followed by faith in Christ.

Salvation always produces a brand new life and transforms us from the inside out as we learn how to walk with God in newness of life.

Therefore, salvation will always include a desire to obey God's commandments and to live in accord with His word so that we can worship Him aright. 

What about those who dismiss the gospel of Christ, or who openly reject it?

A fiery, final future judgment against the wicked is coming and Christ will be glorified in it.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-10  And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8)  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9)  Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10)  When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. 

After Jesus returns to take His church home to heaven at the resurrection of life, He will come to earth again with all the mighty heavenly armies and His redeemed (John 5:2-29; Revelation 19-20).

Jesus Christ will come in flaming fire taking vengeance upon all who rejected the gospel of Christ and on those who refused to obey the gospel.

Jesus condemned the hateful Pharisees and scribes as vipers for their blasphemous words.

Matthew 12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 

Pharisees and scribes boasted of being the seed of faithful Abraham, yet their true ancestors were poisonous vipers.

The word "viper" literally refers to poisonous snakes but figuratively it refers to devious, deceitful, cunning wicked men.

In practice, scribes and Pharisees led the people astray into sin against God by their traditions, just as the serpent beguiled Eve to commit sin in the garden. 

Outwardly Pharisees and scribes appeared righteous, but their hearts were full of the poison of wickedness, envy and malice.

This is why Jesus strongly rebuked their blasphemy against the Holy Spirit by attributing His mighty miracles to the power of Satan.

Jesus then accused the Pharisees of their blasphemy by saying "How can ye, being evil, speak good things?" 

There malicious words against God's Spirit revealed the true realities of their sinful hearts. These men were by nature evil, destitute of the Spirit and devoid of the grace of God.

Like a corrupt tree they cannot produce good fruit. 

Furthermore, Jesus gave an important principle for us to grasp.

"Out of abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" simply means that what is in our heart is what we will talk about. 

Words we say have potential to wound other people deeply like being shredded by razor wire.

Psalm 52:2-5  Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. 3)  Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. 4)  Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. 5)  God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah. 

James 3:6  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 

The Bible contains numerous warnings about the dangers of our tongue. 

The Psalmist describes it as prone to speaking lies, spreading gossip and rumors and disparaging the character of others.

The corrupt words of a tongue speaking from a depraved heart are compared to sharp razor blades that cut and wound all those who hear its evil speeches.

Those whose speeches are vile and despicable face a certain future judgment from God. He will send unrepentant sinners to everlasting destruction!

It is no wonder that James says our tongues defile our whole body and is bound for the fires of hell.

Thus Jesus showed that our wicked words and sinful actions come out of evil hearts which are full of the spirit of wickedness. 

Set in contrast is the heart and tongue of a believer in Christ. 

Such a person will speak holy words and do righteous acts because they have a heart filled with the Holy Spirit, and full of love to God and man.

Like a good tree, a man with a new heart has heavenly treasure and speaks the things of God.

Matthew 12:35  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

A "good man" is a regenerated man, one that is renewed by the Spirit of God, a believer in Christ. 

A "good man" loves Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and Master and he or she will follow Him where ever He leads us.

The treasure stored in his new heart are the graces of God, the fulness of knowing Christ and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit working to conform him to the image of Christ.

This "good man" or “good woman" will bring forth good things from the treasures stored in their heart.

They will speak of their salvation experience and what God has done for their soul. 

They will gladly talk about the glory of the grace of God, of the person, blood, righteousness of Christ, and of the ongoing operation and influence of the blessed Spirit.

The "evil man" is wholly depraved and destitute of the Spirit, having no principle of grace in him. 

What erupts from his mouth are the fruits of evil treasure exposing the desperate wickedness of his heart and the unchecked lusts of his flesh.  

This is why Jesus said that men's blasphemies against the Spirit of God will not be forgiven.  

Guard against speaking idle words that do nothing to point people to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Matthew 12:36-37  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37)  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. 

Jesus concluded His rebuke of the blaspheming Pharisees with the words "But I say unto you."

Jesus Christ is the virgin born Son of God, named Emmanuel which means God with us. 

He is God manifest in the flesh and when Christ speaks He speaks to us as God, with all Divine power and authority.

Thus, Jesus addressed those malignant and wicked men by a solemn declaration that for their wicked words and deeds God would bring them into judgment. 

Jesus then said that we will give an account to God for every idle word that we speak.

What is an "idle word?"  This literally means a vain, thoughtless, useless word that accomplishes nothing good. 

In this context it refers to wicked, injurious, false, malicious, blasphemous words which they had spoken.

Jesus went on to say that "By thy words thou shalt be justified." this means that the words we speak are the true indicators of our heart. 

If our words are true, sober, instructive, then they will prove that our heart is right with God. 

If our words are false, envious, malignant, they will prove that the heart is not right with God, and will be cause for condemnation.

We need the help God promises to hold our tongues in check so that we may glorify Him.

Psalm 141:3  Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

The Psalmist gave us good direction with regard to our words and speech.

Each day let us rise up and ask God to set a watch before our mouths and that He would keep or guard our speech by the power and influence of His Holy Spirit in us.

We need heaven's help to put a restraint upon our tongues because it is set on the path of the fires of hell.

A righteous man's tongue and words contrasted with the wicked mans tongue.

Proverbs 13:2-3  A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence. 3)  He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction. 

Proverbs 21:23  Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. 

King Solomon wrote the Proverbs and he warns us that a righteous man will receive good from the fruit of his mouth, that is his words are true and right.

In contrast the transgressors spout out all the corrupt evils that are stored in their depraved hearts and they shall receive fiery final judgment.

The wise king warns us to keep a diligent guard upon our mouths so that we do not speak foolishly or rashly, because a man with an evil heart will open his mouth wide and say iniquitous things that lead to eternal destruction.

What are the potential applications of these truths for Christians today?

First, Jesus said we are either a good tree bringing forth good fruit, or we are an evil tree producing evil fruit.

We must make an honest assessment of our true spiritual condition, and if we are sure we have an evil tree, then we must repent and call upon the Lord to save us, and He will save us when we do.

Second, we must pay attention to what we talk about because our words are directly connected to what is in our heart.

This is why every believer in Christ must fill our heart with the scriptures every day.

We must read them, study them, think about them and seek to know God better and to understand His will for our lives.

Third, we are inundated with social media that is full of corruption, depravity and lies.

We must guard against soaking up social media and instead soak up the Word of God into our heart.

We must also be very careful in our use of social media and devote our time using it to glorifying God.

We must think about the words we say because our Lord said we will be judged by every idle word.

When we stand before the judgment seat of Christ we will desire Jesus to tell us that our words were good because we sought to spread His gospel.

There is an application for our prayer time as well, and we must have our heart and mind and soul engaged so that we pray to our God rightly.

We have a lot to think about and I pray God's Spirit will help us see where we need to make changes.

Bob