Matthew 12:33

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good.”

Some of Jesus’ teachings elicit a “Well said!” from us. Others simply confound us, like here. “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good.”  I can understand the observation that a good tree produces good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit. Jesus agrees with that.

But is he really serious about his words, “Make a tree good.” The only way I can explain this is that a bad tree can become a good tree. How? By conversion, by the new birth, by a person allowing God to forgive sin, fill with the Holy Spirit and make all things new. In other words, we are all born “bad.”  We are all by nature “bad trees.” The only way to produce good fruit is to be renewed by the atoning work of Jesus.

So Jesus uncovers all hypocrisy.  Bad trees produce bad fruit.  Bad snakes breed bad snakes. Bad people say and do bad things. The only possible remedy for this is to become converted, as Jesus explained so lovingly to Nicodemus, “You must be born again.”