Trees Recognized By Their Fruit | Matthew 12:33-34

A Tree and Its Fruit

33 “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. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

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“You Brood of Vipers”

This is one of my favorite phrases in the Bible because it’s basically a Bible insult. It’s quite a silly phrase to shout when you get cutoff on the highway, yet it gets the point across. In scripture, the phrase is used three times by Jesus and John the Baptist to condemn hypocritical religious leaders – that is, those individuals who say they believe in God but don’t necessarily act in a way that conveys God’s love and grace for others.

In the reading for today Jesus seems angry. Here he is doing the Lord’s work healing those who are sick and calling for justice for the oppressed, but the religious leaders are undermining him saying “this man must be in cahoots with Satan.” Instead of helping the people in need, these religious leaders seem intent on dismissing the work of Jesus.

Honestly, I can’t blame Jesus for being upset. I constantly want to scream at my phone while doomscrolling “You brood of vipers!” It seems like every day in the news there is a new story of someone using the Lord’s name in vain to perpetuate violence, oppression, and injustice. Every time I’m left frustrated, wondering how people could misinterpret Jesus’s words from justice and inclusion to be filled with hate.

Jesus says, “either make the tree good and it’s fruit good, or make the tree bad and it’s fruit bad, for the tree is known for its fruit.” I find these words frustrating because they seem to perpetuate a binary nature and yet they so accurately articulate what we are seeing play out in our country. Either you’re a Jesus follower who is doing good in the world or you’re using the words of Jesus to do harm. 

We believe in a God who defies binaries and boundaries, expectations and definitions. We believe in a God who can get angry with us when we mess up but still proclaim that we are loved and forgiven. Jesus’s anger does not negate his whole narrative which emphasizes love, forgiveness, and grace. As we embody God’s love for us, may we show the world the God we believe in, who is loving, gracious, and human. May we teach the world about our God who reached out of the cosmos to walk among us through Jesus. May we remind the world that God continues to connect, unite, and inspire us through the Holy Spirit. 

Good and gracious God, help us to call out the broods of vipers and teach others about God through our thoughts, words, and deeds. Amen.

Rev. Courtney Smith Westerlund

Messiah Lutheran, Oakland, NJ

2023 Faculty