17: Of course, trees in general are neither good nor bad morally speaking. However, Jesus is now directly applying the illustration. He is likening the moral and spiritual goodness or badness of men to the quality of a tree’s fruit. A ‘good’ tree may be an apple, pear, cherry, etc. It will produce good, healthy apples, pears, cherries, etc. This is due to the quality of the tree. The same applies to the ‘corrupt’ tree. The corrupt tree has some disease or bad circumstance about it which makes it bring forth unhealthy, worthless fruit.
18: The good, quality, tree then only brings forth good fruit. And it is impossible for the corrupted tree to do so. Does this then, the corrupted tree, symbolize those who were saved, but have gone apostate concerning the truth and have lost their place in eternity? No, it symbolizes those who, having the seed of the truth shared with them, never truly accepted it, and have become false teachers of the Word, confusing the hearts of others.
Daily Bible Reading: Isaiah 41:1-43:28
Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:14 “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,”
Daily Tidbit: In the Latin Vulgate the word for ‘corrupt’ in Matthew 7:17-18 is ‘malus’. Intrestingly enough, this term has been carried over into English with a derivative meaning. In English malus refers to the reclamation of performance-related compensation due to the discovery of a defect in the performance. This is a close parallel to the fruit-inspecting principle that Jesus is communicating to his hearers in these verses.
Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, thank You for being so merciful. You know what we will say and do. You know how we will fail You before we do it. Though we may hopefully live as we should, many of us fail You on a daily basis. Thank You for a chance to live right. Thank You for the righteousness that is ours in Jesus Christ. Thank You for, by him, making us able to stand before You without being altogether revolting to You. It is such a mercy and grace to be able to come to you in prayer and offer our praise to You. To know that I can give praise to the Maker of this wonderful world I see about me, and that He listens, oh that is almost too much to handle! I gladly enjoy it and embrace it. I will sing Your praises for all of my days. Oh Lord, be pleased with the honor that we accord to You! We know that You are the Glorious One, the Holy One, the Just One, the Loving One. Father, thank You for allowing us to know You and Your glory! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for a woman with a bad work schedule. Pray for a man with a bad work schedule. Pray for a man recovering from surgery.
Personal Journal Entry #12220