Birgit (2017), public domain
Jesus was a master of metaphor and illustration. Camels fitting through the eye of a needle! A woman turning her house upside down because of a lost coin!
He also spoke of trees and fruit. If you’ve been around the church, you’ve probably heard the saying, “no good tree bears bad fruit.”
So, what does this phrase mean?
Jesus the Preacher
While we hear much from Jesus in the Gospels, we must concede that Jesus preached far more sermons than the Gospel writers recorded. He likely talked with his disciples, preached to the crowds, or taught in the synagogues most every day of his adult ministry.
“Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25).
The phrase “no good tree bears bad fruit” shows up twice in the Gospels, in Matthew 7:18 and Luke 6:43. (The ESV translates the phrase in Matthew as “a healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit.”) This is one of several similarities between Jesus’s sermons in Matthew 5:2–7:27 and Luke 6:20–49. Matthew’s account has been called the “Sermon on the Mount,” and many have assumed that Luke’s version is an excerpt from the same sermon.
But a closer look calls this assumption into question. Not all of Jesus’s sermon in Luke appears in Matthew. (The “woe” pronouncements in Luke 6:24–26 are a prime example.) Also, where the sermons overlap in content they differ in important specifics. (In Luke’s Beatitudes, Jesus blesses the “poor” and the “hungry,” while in Matthew Jesus blesses the “poor in spirit” and those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness.”)
The most straightforward conclusion is that these are different sermons. Anyone who has spent time around a preacher knows that favorite phrases and illustrations show up in different settings for different purposes.
Matthew 7
In Matthew 7, Jesus uses the tree/fruit illustration to help his disciples spot false prophets.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15–20)
Consider the larger passage. In Matt 7:13–14 Jesus speaks about the wide and narrow gates leading (respectively) to destruction and life. In Matt 7:21–23 Jesus warns that not everyone who calls him “Lord” and claims to have worked in his name will enter the kingdom of heaven. Some he will throw out as “workers of lawlessness.” Jesus is teaching about the way to life—who’s in and who’s out?
Jesus wants his disciples to identify those who do not bear good fruit, especially when they claim to follow him. And what fruit did Jesus have in mind? “Judge not” (Matt 7:1). “Take the log out of your own eye” (Matt 7:5). Ask the Father for good things (Matt 7:7–11). Treat others the same way you want them to treat you (Matt 7:12). In summary, build a solid house by hearing and obeying Jesus (Matt 7:24–27).
Luke 6
Let’s take a look at the tree/fruit illustration in Luke.
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:43–45)
The word “for” at the beginning of verse 43 points to the previous section, where Jesus commands his disciples not to be hypocrites, but to remove the log from their own eyes before taking a speck out of a brother’s eye (Luke 6:41–42). This caution flows from Jesus’s warning not to judge others (Luke 6:37–38).
Significantly, there is no mention of false prophets in this section of the sermon. Instead, Jesus speaks of fruit as the overflow of the heart.
Coming on the heels of the exhortation to “take the log out of your own eye,” the implication is clear. Jesus’s disciples must examine their own hearts. When they see bad fruit, it is the result of lingering evil in their hearts.
Context!
Back to our original question. What does the phrase “no good tree bears bad fruit” mean? I hope by now the answer is clear. It depends!
Words and phrases have little to no meaning when lifted from their context. This is true for our own words; how much more is it true of Holy Scripture!?
So, when reading Jesus’s sermons, or any part of the Bible, pay attention to the context. Observe and interpret accordingly. And as you apply the truths of the Bible, you also will bear much fruit.
so question.
I still struggle with sin as does everyone. sin is clearly an evil fruit. so how can Jesus say that a good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit. does he mean ever? even c.f. wry healthy trees do produce bad fruit sometimes and Jesus understands ppl will sin and there is grace. but what the passage seems to imply is that its not possible for a good tree to grow bad fruit. how?
In the context of the Luke 6 passage, verses 41–42 make it clear that he is saying that disciples will be perfect. Jesus is pointing to our heart. Sometimes our heart is good, in which case we’re the good tree producing good fruit. Other times our heart is bad, and we’re the bad tree producing bad fruit.
In Matthew 7, Jesus is speaking specifically about false prophets. Their “fruit,” with the Old Testament as a background, is the fulfillment of their prophecies.
I’m guessing you’re feeling the weight of the passage in Luke 6, and I feel it too. Jesus calls us to repentance and to come to him so that he can cleanse our heart.
You are not a tree, Spiro. You are a forest. There are things in your life that get you into trouble, relationships that bring out the worst in you, thoughts that seem to poison your heart and mind. These are bad trees, bearing bad fruit. They will not suddenly become good for you. No matter how much you wish they could. Then there are relationships that feed your soul and bring out your best. There are good works you do that bear fruit not only for your own heart, but spreads positive things outward to others. Search your life, search your heart, and you will find the things that poison your life. Build up the courage to cut them out of your life and burn them down to the root, that they will not regrow. God’s blessings be upon you.
Spiro, you are wise to question this parable and the manner it has been mispresented. We will find very few teachers that will emphasize the two words that are most critical to the parable…Can Not. It is because they can not properly validate their interpretation by applying these two clear and concise words that are necessary not only to understand the parable but also these two words are the keys to identifying the trees and from the harm of eating from the bad tree. The focus of the parable is the tree not the fruit. The two trees may like in nature look very much the same but it’s made very clear that one is good and one is not. What have been missing is just as clear the good cant be bad and bad cant be good they are opposite energies. Man kind in his physical form therefore can not be either tree since mankind can and will and does do both good and bad things every day. So we are being instructed to know the source of the fruit or the source of good and the source of bad. And this flows because mankind is not the source of either one…Good and bad were here long before I was born in this physical body so I can rest assured my physical person is not the source of either. Without this clarity we get what we see prevailing today…Misrepresentations of God as being both good and bad. In truth God which is Spirit, Perfect Love, Life and Light does not and will not ever do bad things it is not the essence of love. Love will only bare the fruit of love and those are not hard to identify…the fruit is easy but the two trees or sources may appear the same especially when both good and bad appear to be coming from the same source. This is how we have been trapped up and mislead into passing judgement and accusing people of being false profits when they are just repeating what they have been taught and not properly taught to know the fruit at all which is supposed to be easy. The Spirit is the good teacher and the absence of the Spirit is the bad teacher. The Spirt keeps us grounded in Love and in Truth, The Spirit is the Way and the Spirit is Life. The spirit will always encourage , build, praise and bless The Spirit sees us all in our finished and complete form not in our flaws or our failures. The Spirit is not our accuser and will not force us against our will, The Spirit is our creator and not a destroyer. All of these are examples of opposing natures and opposite energies these energies only bare the fruit of themselves…Light can not be dark, Truth can not lie, Life can not die, just as Death can not live. There is a loving caring gentle and kind essence or nature that flows from Spirit we are all extensions of this loving Spirit and the Spirit is who we are. Before we were born into these physical bodies we were Spirit. It is the Spirit that is our Life. Spirit is our connection to this wonderful Source of Love and Life and even though we are individual Souls we are all One in Spirit. Don’t be too hard on yourself , we are human also here to enjoy this life and to have fun and create and bless and be blessed. Our mistakes do not define who we are. Take time every day to connect with your inner being. Quiet your mind, be still and allow the the Spirit to teach you and guide you. In your meditation and quietness begin to forgive your self and allow Spirit to teach you to love yourself unconditionally. This is where we really must begin. The nature and essence of Spirit, Your spirit Your inner being will begin to open the eyes of your understanding, lead you to truth comfort and guide you and this interaction will begin to transform your human nature into the nature of Spirit. The nature of Christ. Christ in You is the hope of Glory. God bless!!
Was the tree of knowledge of Good and evil a bad tree? That’s what I conclude since No good tree gives bad fruit. You know the tree by its fruits…why did God put a tree in the middle of the garden of Eden to be untasted/eaten/known? After the Fall God curses the snake for trying to arise distrust in Eve… God never spoke to Eve directly, why should she trust God? She was left alone since the very beginning of Time, no loving mother, no goddess, no angel to protect her from error. Eve is in my opinion, the true victim of this story.
Apart from Jesus a man cannot bear good fruit. A man must remain with Jesus so he can bear good fruit. For He is the vine and we are the branches according to John 15. The branches must remain with the vine.