Matthew 7:17

Wednesday, 12 February 2025

 

Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. Matthew 7:17

 

“Thus, every good tree, it produces good fruit. And the rotten tree, it produces evil fruit” (CG).

 

In the previous verse, Jesus noted that people will be known by their fruits. He then asked if grapes could come from thorns or thistles from figs. The answer is obviously not. He next says to His disciples, “Thus, every good tree, it produces good fruit.”

 

To maintain the analogy from the previous verse, this must be referring to type. He just contrasted grapes and thorns as well as thistles and figs. Not all grape vines will produce good grapes, and this is for a variety of reasons. Not all fig trees will have good figs. Examples of these are found elsewhere in Scripture, such as –

 

“He dug it up and cleared out its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine.
He built a tower in its midst,
And also made a winepress in it;
So He expected it to bring forth good grapes,
But it brought forth wild grapes.” Isaiah 5:2

 

“The Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. 2 One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so bad. 3 Then the Lord said to me, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’
And I said, ‘Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.’” Jeremiah 24:1-3

 

Despite such examples, this is not what Jesus is referring to. He is referring to kinds in general, even if within the same kind there may be plants or trees that produce bad fruit (see the parable in Luke 13:6-9). Oranges will produce good fruit, meaning oranges. Durian trees will produce durian, which is good. Etc.

 

On the other hand, a thornbush will never produce good fruit nor will a thistle. Their fruit will always be bad. That is seen in his next words, “And the rotten tree, it produces evil fruit.”

 

The word is sapros. It is variously translated as rotten, useless, corrupt, depraved, etc. It is derived from sepo, to corrupt or rot. And so, it can mean bad fruit on a good type of tree, but that would not fit His previous contrast between types. Rather, the sense can be derived from His parable in Matthew 13 –

 

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 13:47-50

 

The good fish are those types that are acceptable for eating. The bad would be those types that are unacceptable to eat. Likewise, false prophets are represented by one type of plant, the bad, such as the thorn or the thistle. Those who teach properly are represented by the other, the grape or the fig.

 

False prophets, by their very nature, are bad. Nothing they put forth will be good. On the other hand, proper teachers may have some bad fruit if their doctrine isn’t perfect, but their fruit in general will be good.

 

Life application: False prophets have already been equated to wolves, even if they come in sheep’s clothing. Their nature is that of being wolves. The exterior doesn’t change that which is found inwardly.

 

The only way for a false prophet to not be a false prophet is to have a complete change in nature. Unlike a tree, this is not impossible. Humans are not trees. However, the nature of a false prophet is to provide false teachings. There will always be bad fruit coming from a false prophet as long as he continues to put forth that which is false.

 

The initial error is to be found in the false prophet, for example, Joseph Smith who founded Mormonism. But the error could have been stopped from spreading if those who heard him properly identified him as a false prophet. However, they didn’t. Thus, the secondary error lies with the people who fail to identify him and walk away from him.

 

They had access to the proper manual, meaning the Bible. It was readily available in the US at the time of Joseph Smith. But it was left unattended by those who heard him and then followed him in his false teachings.

 

Mormonism is not simply a branch of Christianity (an orange tree, for example), that may have bad oranges on it, meaning a good tree with bad fruit. Rather, Mormonism is a different plant altogether (a thistle, for example) that is corrupt by nature. It can never be a good plant. If a person in Mormonism wants to be a part of what is proper, he must go to the good tree to get its fruit.

 

Paul explains this in Galatians 1 when referring to Judaizers, the equivalent of today’s Hebrew Roots Movement –

 

“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-9

 

Paul says, “which is not another.” The doctrine of Mormonism, like that of the Judaizers, is not another display of the good news. It is bad news. The inherent nature itself is corrupt. Be sure to be able to identify both bad inherent nature as well as bad fruit coming from a good tree, meaning wrong doctrine within the overall family of true Christianity. We are all accountable for what we accept. Check out what you are taught!

 

Lord God, You have saved some of us from Islam, Buddhism, or atheism. But You have also saved some of us from Mormonism, Judaizers, and other religions that at first appear to be a part of the Christian faith. Help us to identify the error of false religion and then speak out against it so that others can also be saved from the false paths they are on. Amen.