Matthew 12:33-37 33“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34Brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The good person out of his good treasure brings out good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36But I say to you, every worthless word that people speak will be paid back for its word on the day of judgment, 37for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The evidence speaks for itself. What the Pharisees were doing to Jesus showed what was in their hearts. Jesus uses three illustrations or statements to point out their problem. Each of these points offers them the opportunity to change their ways and “repent” because the kingdom of heaven had come to them.
The first illustration is from agriculture and growing trees. Pruning, fertilizing, and watering a tree will make it healthier and will produce better fruit. Letting a tree grow wild until it is scraggly and in poor healthy will lead to poor fruit. A person can tell the health of a tree by the fruit it produces. The Pharisees were producing bad fruit by their attitudes and actions towards Jesus and his disciples. This bad fruit showed that their hearts were calloused against God’s new movement that was actually the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
The second illustration can be seen in the title of a brood of vipers, a nest of snakes. Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, most people have been afraid of snakes. Many cultures even call snakes evil. Vipers were especially feared creatures. This designation for the Pharisees was not only an insult from their perspectives but a form of judgment and warning. They were acting like snakes by being sneaky and deceitful.
The third and longest illustration is of the mouth and the words that come out of it, which was the big evidence for the Pharisees’ problem. What a person says reveals his or her thoughts. A single word can bring healing or destruction. The treasure of one’s heart will become evident in one’s actions. The Pharisees were producing bad fruit, acting like snakes, and showing what was in their hearts by their evil words.
The words we speak have significant power to influence others. An unkind word, anger, impatience, belittling, ridicule, and many other words describe the harmful effects of words. Sometimes silence can be as powerful and the spoken word, for both good and bad. Jesus warns about every careless word, which means that we must consider every word we speak. Speaking a word can solidify the temptations and thoughts we have and can form unhealthy and ungodly habits. The less we speak in unChristlike ways, the cleaner our thoughts will eventually be.
For older posts, click here.