Scripture Reading: Matthew 12:33-37
Review and Explanation: Matthew 12 records the account of the Jews' stubborn rejection of Jesus' offer to establish His Kingdom. The Pharisees, the religious leaders of Israel, made their position clear. They believed Jesus was doing miracles by Beelzebub rather than by the Holy Spirit. Ordinary people must have been standing by, listening intently as the exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees heated up. Near the end, in 12:33, Jesus calls on them all to make a final decision: "Either make the tree good and its fruit good or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit."
Jesus was comparing Himself to a tree and the miracles He did to the fruit it produces. For people to "make the tree good or bad" meant they would be declaring what they thought about those miracles, and ultimately about Jesus Himself.
Some people think that Jesus never claimed to be King or to offer His Kingdom to Israel, but that's nonsense. The signs and miracles He performed were the very ones Isaiah and other prophets predicted the promised Deliverer-King would do when He came (see Matthew 11:1-4). Jesus was telling the people to make a decision on the basis of how they characterized those signs and miracles. They must characterize them either as lying signs and miracles and therefore "bad". Or they must regard them as true signs and miracles and therefore "good". Keep in mind, the signs and miracles could only be "good" if they were true. And if they were "good", it meant that Jesus was indeed who He claimed to be.
A similar issue is at stake today among people who say something like this: "I believe Jesus was a great teacher and a good person. I just don't believe He is the only way to Heaven!"
The problem is, Jesus claimed to be the only way to the Father: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). A claim like this can only be "good" or "bad". And it can only be "good" if it is true. And if it is true, Jesus is to be believed on with heart-deep faith. But if it's not true, He is to be rejected for lying. Lying is "bad" fruit from a "bad" tree. We can't have it both ways!
In the end, Jesus is still calling people everywhere to make a decision about Him: "Either make the tree good and its fruit good or make the tree bad and its fruit bad...." Tomorrow, I will write more about Jesus' clear teaching on origin of this decision in a person's heart.
Reflection Questions:
1. What other examples are there of people claiming to be "neutral" about Jesus, rather than deciding He is "good" or "bad"?
2. What have you personally decided about Jesus? Are His miracles and teachings "good" or "bad"?
3. What in your life shows how you are answering these questions?
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