Matthew 12:33-37 Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Pharisees claimed Jesus’ power came from the evil one, but Jesus refuted that assertion by rational analysis. Why would anyone use his allies to attack his own fortress? Why would the devil use his demons to lessen his kingdom of evil? That kind of reasoning does not make sense; it is beyond the bounds of absurdity. But Jesus does not drop the subject. After ridiculing their irrationality, He likens their internal corruption to a bad tree that produces evil fruit, leading to death rather than life. Because they are totally wrong about Jesus and the nature of God’s mercy and grace, they do not produce fruit that restores or heals people. They pass on their sickness of hypocrisy to the Jewish people. Their perspective on life and their insincerity to live up to their own words allows Jesus to categorize them as poisonous vipers. Their natural camouflage makes vipers hard to detect, so people can almost step on them before they are aware of their presence. The Pharisees and teachers of the law spent much time in the synagogues and temples where the people congregated as well. Although they knew and respected their religious leaders, the people could not assess well the hearts of their leaders. But Jesus saw their hearts: He knew they intended to kill him because of their jealousy and fear of his popularity. The religious leaders’ teaching in the temple and at the synagogues was not necessarily bad, for the law and GOD’S REGULATIONS revealed the Creator’s likeness, but their hypocrisy in not living up to God’s demands in their own lives crippled their message of knowing the Divine. Also, their own additions to God’s requirements burdened the people, discouraged them from following the law. Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” (Matthew 23:1-4) The Pharisees’ hypocrisy overrode everything they taught. Jesus’ teaching exposed their negligence in serving God wholeheartedly. The religious leaders knew Jesus’ popularity with the people could hinder their preferred position in the culture. Consequently, they fought Jesus and his healing activity, for they understood He was a threat to their leadership. Their fear of Jesus was so strong they were willing to undermine even the good things that Jesus did such as healing people and casting out demons. In today’s focus, we see Jesus so exasperated with the Pharisees’ lack of compassion for a demon-possessed man that He says, how can you who are evil say anything good? He tells them that their attitude towards his good acts is maligning them, making them even more evil. Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad. They are becoming like a tree that produces only bad fruit. Their attitude towards Jesus is making them even more disingenuous, more wicked. Rather than rejoicing that the demon-possessed man was delivered from an evil spirit, they decided to conspire on how to kill Jesus. The fruit they are now bearing was totally wicked. Rather than producing good fruit to restore health to the Jewish people, they were delivering death to the people by planning to destroy Jesus. Micah talks of destroying the fruit of life when he says, How miserable I am! I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest who can find nothing to eat. Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig can be found to satisfy my hunger. The godly people have all disappeared; not one honest person is left on the earth. They are all murderers, setting traps even for their own brothers. (Micah 7:1-2) The Pharisees were setting a trap for Jesus who should have been their eternal, elder brother, but they were willing to eliminate the Fruit of Eternal Life from their Jewish brethren by murdering Jesus. But they would not succeed, for there would be a resurrection, restoring eternal life to all who eat and drink of the fruit of the vine.
Jesus warned the Pharisees that God would hold them accountable for their words and actions. They might believe that they could fight against the goodness of God, the Lamb of God, but they would pay an eternal price for their behavior. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. In addressing his religious critics, Jesus reminded them that as leaders they should be issuing words confirming God’s goodness and revealing his likeness. The priests and the teachers of the law should have been overflowing with kind and healing words, supportive of what Jesus was doing for this demon-possessed man; instead, they were spouting off empty and fruitless words that had no eternal life. Jesus said they would be judged harshly for these words on the day of judgment. They should have been the first to issue supportive words, expressing their joy for such a great miracle. They should have praised the God of grace and mercy, the One who loves the Jewish people with an enduring affection. Instead their words and demeanor were the opposite of the attributes of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) They were critical of the healing, claiming the power came from the devil, not God. Their lips spewed evil rather than goodness. Jesus was upset with this kind of fruit, calling it what it was: evil. He knew their tongues were too willing to issue long prayers in the community, but not willing to lift the heavy burdens from the people, not even from a demon-possessed man. Outwardly, they seemed to be holy and reverent towards God, but inside He knew they were otherwise: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matthew 23:27-28) Their unwillingness to be true to God in words and deeds, made them a danger to the people’s spiritual health. Their words were empty, not true. They would praise God one minute, especially before people, then curse God’s people, even wanting to kill the Lamb of God. They were double-minded in speech and actions. James warns people about such duplicity, With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. (James 3:9-12) Jesus knew the Pharisees were duplicitous in their speech and behavior. He understood their evilness and called them out on the sinful condition of their hearts. They hated him for this and intended to murder him.
As Christians we willingly and wholeheartedly serve God with honest lips and good deeds. Our spirits cannot track the path of the Pharisees, allowing a cold, heartless demeanor to exist in our lives. We must meet people in the marketplace with compassion, grace, and mercy. As Paul wrote, we should: Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. (Romans 12:15) We must avoid filling our mouths with empty words, especially in this electronic age where we can so easily communicate our thoughts without considering their impact on others. We must be cognizant of using constructive not destructive words. The Pharisees wanted to tear down the work of Jesus, not build upon his good works. Fruitless and hurtful words distract from God’s work on earth—all will be judged for such empty speech. Such words do not image God, but only support man’s fleshly perspective on life. Let us not keep God hidden behind a curtain because of our lives, how we live and talk. God has to be seen through our lives or He will not be seen at all. All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. (Revelation 3:12) Because we are people of the Temple, we should eagerly display the nature of God to people through words and deeds. As the priests of old, God is our inheritance; we have no land that we settle on as those who are not priests. We are to be in the presence of God forever as his children, born, adopted by him, always in his temple. Praise God, we have his beautiful Spirit abiding in us even today. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law did not possess God’s Spirit as we do, so they could mistakenly come against God directly by opposing Jesus’ works. Sadly they fought God’s plan of delivering people from the bondage of sin. But we are not as they; we are possessed by the very goodness of God. Therefore, let us not entertain words of criticism and judgment that lead to destruction. As lovers of God in his domain forever, we covet God the Father’s presence. Therefore, let us live as people who want God actively in our lives. He should be the strength of our lives, our purpose for living. We rejoice as God rejoices when people are delivered from sin; we hurt as God hurts when people are hurting. When people are floundering, not understanding the reason for life, we bring them Christ and his victorious resurrection, so they might better understand why they live. The devil caused the religious leaders and elders of Jesus’ time to fight against the Good News, the resurrection story. They fought to destroy Jesus, to thwart the plan of redemption. The Bible says we are not like those who have no hope of eternal life. We are the redeemed, filled with the Holy Spirit, abiding in the Temple of God. As Jesus described in today's verses, the Pharisees became a tree that produced bad fruit, a tree that produced death rather than life. But you dear friends IN CHRIST, live an existence that has been made good, partaking from a tree that produces good fruit, eternal fruit. Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, strength, and love others as you desire to be loved. If you seek to do that, the aroma of the Spirit of God will be upon your life. Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment