Matthew 12:33

Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. EITHER MAKE THE TREE GOOD ......

33._Either make the tree good _It might look like absurdity, that men should be allowed a choice of being _either good or bad; _but if we consider what sort of persons Christ is addressing, the difficulty will be speedily resolved. We know what opinion was generally entertained about the Pharisees; for their pretended sanctity had so blinded the minds of the common people, that no one ventured to pass sentence on their vices. (134) Wishing to remove this mask, Christ desires them to be _either good or bad_; or, in other words, declares that nothing is more inconsistent with honesty than hypocrisy, and that it is in vain for men to boast of pretensions to righteousness who are not sincere and upright. (135) So then he puts nothing at their disposal, and withdraws no restraint from them, but only reminds them that their empty professions will avail them nothing so lo

33-37 Men's language discovers what country they are of, likewise what manner of spirit they are of. The heart is the fountain, words are the streams. A troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring, must send forth muddy and unpleasant streams. Nothing but the salt of grace, cast into the spring, will heal the waters, season the speech, and purify the corrupt communication. An evil man has an evil treasure in his heart, and out of it brings forth evil things. Lusts and corruptions, dwelling and reigning in the heart, are an evil treasure, out of which the sinner brings forth bad words and actions, to dishonour God, and hurt others. Let us keep constant watch over ourselves, that we may speak words agreeable to the Christian character....

Verse 33. _EITHER MAKE THE TREE GOOD_] That is, the _effect_ will be always similar to the _cause_; a _bad tree_ will produce _bad fruit,_ and a _good tree, good fruit_. The works will resemble the heart: nothing good can proceed from an evil spirit; no good fruit can proceed from a corrupt heart. Before the heart of man can produce any good, it must be renewed and influenced by the Spirit of God....

EITHER MAKE ... - The fact asserted in this verse is, that a tree is known, not by its leaves, or bark, or form, but by its fruit. The application to the argument is this: “You are to judge of man’s being in league with Satan by his works. If my doctrines and works be properly the works of Satan, then I am corrupt; if not, then your charge is blasphemy. So, on the other hand, if, notwithstanding your professions, your works are the works of the devil, and your doctrines are such as he would teach, it would prove respecting you that which you charge on me.” In this indirect but powerful manner he advances to the charge against them, which he urges in the following verses....

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 12:1 The opposition that our Lord met with (1) from his enemies (Matthew 12:1); (2) from his relations (Matthew 12:46-40); ,and the manner in which he dealt with it. MATTHEW 12:1 (1) _Opposition from his enemies._ (A) Conscious and wilful opposition (Matthew 12:1). (α) As regards the sabbath ...

EITHER MAKE THE TREE GOOD, AND HIS FRUIT GOOD,.... That is, either assert them both good, or ELSE MAKE THE TREE CORRUPT, AND HIS FRUIT CORRUPT: say they are both evil, for the contrary cannot be affirmed with any consistency and propriety: the matter is easy to be determined, FOR THE TREE IS KNOWN BY HIS FRUIT; fruit will discover what a tree is, and accordingly judgment may be made. No man will say a tree is good, and its fruit corrupt; or say, that a tree is corrupt, and its fruit good: these are glaring contradictions, and can never be reconciled. The case Christ here puts, is a very easy and familiar one, and is obvious to common sense: the application of it may be made, either to the foregoing instance of Christ's casting out devils, which the Jews ascribed to the help of Satan; and then the sense is, either say I am a good man, and do good works, or that I am an evil man, and do...

9. THE REJECTION CONSUMMATED AND THE BROKEN RELATIONSHIP. CHAPTER 12 1. The Hungry Disciples and the Accusing Pharisees. (Matthew 12:1 .) 2. The Man with the Withered Hand Healed.(Matthew 12:10 .) 3. The Hatred of the Pharisees.(Matthew 12:14 .) 4. The King in Rejection. (Matthew 12:15 .) 5. The Demon Possessed Man Healed. (Matthew 12:22 .) 6. The Blasphemy of the Pharisees and the King's Answer. (Matthew 12:24 .) 7. The Sign of Jo

JESUS-' ANSWER TO THE VERDICT OF THE JERUSALEM SCRIBES, AND THE INTERVENTION OF HIS FAMILY (Mark 3:20 *, Luke 11:14; Luke 11:29; Luke 12:10; Luke 8:19). For the painful statement in Mark 3:20 f. Mt. (like Lk.) substitutes the healing of a blind and dumb man probably a second (compressed) use of Matthew 9:27 and Matthew 9:

CRISIS (Matthew 12:1-50) In Matthew 12:1-50 we read the history of a series of crucial events in the life of Jesus. In every man's life there are decisive moments, times and events on which the whole of his life hinges. This chapter presents us with the story of such a period in the life of Jesus. In it we see the orthodox Jewish religious leaders of the day coming to their final decision regarding Jesus--and that was rejection. It was not only rejection in the sense that they would have nothing to do with him; it was rejection in the sense that they came to the conclusion that nothing less than his complete elimination would be enough. Here in this chapter we see the first definite steps, the end of which could be nothing other than the Cross. The characters are painted clear b