Series on the Mount
Rotten Tomatoes
Matthew 7:17-20
November 11, 2007
As we look into these final teachings of Jesus, we are told to be careful. Be wary! Watch out for ferocious wolves in sheep’s clothing. Last week we looked at what is a prophet or a false prophet. This week we are going to focus on some other details of these verses.
Turn to Matthew 7:17.
As you find your place, I found a picture of a ferocious dog that we should beware of…
But isn’t that what Jesus is warning us about. Be careful of those who look safe and secure on the outside but their hearts have never be transformed.
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
Here Jesus mentions several themes that are important to being his follower. These are ideas that you will see lived out by different people who claim to be a Christian.
Claiming to be a Christian
• Some are rotten tomatoes
There are some who just have rotten, stinky fruit. They leave a bitter taste in your mouth or worse just plain make you sick. Scripture has a wealth of imagery using vineyards and grapes. Jesus is not too concerned about intentions. Motivations, yes! But not intentions. What matters is the fruit that one shows to the world. What matters is the kind of life-giving wine that comes from the grapes in your vineyard. Do you give life to others? Does your life provide a wonderful aroma that makes the mouths of people around water for more of what Jesus has given you? Or do you leave a bitter taste in the mouths or stomachs of people?
We grew a few tomatoes this year. We got our first tomato at the end of July. But as you know the bulk of tomatoes seem to ripen at the same time. So you pick them and you set them on your window seal. And before you know it, some of them are going bad. They are turning rotten.
That is exactly what happens when we hoard God’s blessings and never give back. Blessings turn to curses. They eat away the soul. They worry us (sometimes to death). Jesus says that there are some people who never produce good fruit. Everything that comes out of there mouths or everything that they do, isn’t filled with grace or mercy or forgiveness or love. The fruit right from the vine is bad. The plants look wonderful. Plenty of leaves. Maybe even strong and tall except the fruit is just no good.
Early in the summer, we’ve gotten burned with corn on the cob. Inevitably some grocery in late May or early June have a huge sale on fresh corn on the cob. For several years we’ve tried it. I look forward to good corn on the cob. Yet, we have always gotten burned with this early corn. It is awful. It looks good but it tastes like the corn stalk. Often it is tough. After several seasons, we finally learned to skip it. I remember once asking someone else as they were husking this corn if this was going to be any good as I recalled earlier experiences. “Oh yes,” she said, “It is excellent. I’m here getting another dozen.” So we cooked it with eager expectation only to find out that it was awful. The only thing that I could figure was that she was taking the corn home to feed her pet cow.
• Some have no fruit
Some have full, leafy plants but no fruit. They look good on the outside but they just don’t have any fruit. All they do is suck water and nutrients from the soil and never give anything back. Like our summer squash that we planted. The vines went crazy. Flowers all over the place. But never any fruit. The flowers and the stems just dried up and fell while other flowers began to emerge.
• Some recognize God’s sovereignty
Every bad tree is cut down. Jesus is reminding us that God is still the caretaker of the vineyard. Jesus is reminding us that it is not our job to cut out the unproductive. Our job is simply to put into practice what Jesus has taught loving others as we love God.
Jesus has already taught his followers about the need to remain full of faith. Don’t give up praying and worshipping. Don’t give up on God because God is sovereign. But also don’t give in. Don’t give in to the temptation to judge others. Don’t give in to the temptation as the hypocrites do of tearing others down so that you look better than you are. Don’t give in to the idea that it is your responsibility to get rid of the undersirable elements. After it is in the broken lives of people and those that don’t any better that Jesus has come bringing the good news of God’s Kingdom. Refuse the temptation to “lord it over” people. Instead love on people.
Who does God want you to love on? What can you do for them? Perhaps something that they can’t do for themselves.
• Either you get it now or you’ll get it later
Jesus has hinted at this idea several times. Grass that is thrown into the fire so don’t be so consumed with how you look and what you wear and what you eat. Don’t be consumed with consuming because all this stuff is only temporary. It is not important.
It is better for you to lose part of you body then to be lose it all when judgment comes.
Here it is. The ugly j-word. Judgment. When Jesus talks about fire, he is talking about a totally holy and completely righteous God that will set things right. We like this idea when we think about all those people and those times when we were wronged. We like it when we think of the child abusers, the serial killers, and the terrorists that kill innocent children. But we don’t like to use the same measure for ourselves.
Of course if we have already put into practice what Jesus says about judging ourselves by regularly taking moral inventories in order to get the logs out of our eyes then we probably won’t be so uncomfortable with this idea. If we truly are living out the Shema of Jesus, then what will make us uncomfortable is the idea that many of those to whom we have been showing love, showing mercy, and showing grace still have gotten it yet. What will make us really uncomfortable are those that seem to be making progress but there still is a lot of slips and stumbles and things that makes us wonderful if they just need a little more time.
Judgement will come. For all us. Everything in our lives will be laid bear. Scripture says that our God is a consuming fire. Either we surrender now and be purified by the refiner’s fire allowing the impurities to rise to the surface in order to be burned off or it will happen later when we are not prepared for it to happen.
What will be left? Is there fruit? Is there fruit that lasts for eternity? Are there good deeds and relationships restored and lives that you poured into that are the shining jewels in the crown of our lives? Jesus is teaching us how to be fruit full people. He wants us to be whole. And he wants us to wholly, completely his. Not holding anything back and not allowing anything to get in our way.
In another Matthew passage (Matthew wants his community to understand the depths of what it means to follow Jesus), Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus is judging all people based on whether or not they have lived out the Shema of Jesus.
’Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
It is fine to give money as we have done. But this isn’t a substitute for feeding the hungry with our own two hands. If we are doing the basics then maybe we are just green, leafy trees that bears no fruit.
When we read these verse about false prophets, most of time we don’t put ourselves into the category of a prophet. Yet, when we follow the ways of Jesus and rely on the Spirit of God to guide and direct us, this is what to some extent we become. We become God-bearers. Jeremiah spoke about the time that would come when the Law would be written people’s hearts. Not just a few select people that are a little more special but all God’s people. If the Spirit of God does indeed write the very Word of God on our hearts in order to direct us then we are prophets.
This is one of the great mysteries: God’s Spirit comes to dwell within us. As we allow to guide us consciously connecting with God seeking the kingdom first through prayer, worship, fasting, engaging His written word in study and meditation, and through interacting with others, this God connection is strengthened. It’s there if we seek it. It’s there when we ask. It’s there as we learn to hear the voice of God and are intentional enough to quiet ourselves to hear it.
Somehow in some wonderfully, mysterious way, God is in us and with us. And this makes us prophets. We are false when we are too busy to seek God’s presence. We are false when we are more consumed with our comforts and entertainment. We are false when we receive more than we give. We are false when we neglect the searching of the soul to seek the holy virtues of God to replace the emptiness of all our culture’s vain pursuits. We are false when we ignore what we know we should be doing for others. We are false when we keep ourselves insulated from the pain and brokenness of those around us.
I want to give you the chance to receive a blessing. I have something for you to taste. It is fruit. You can receive it but do not take it. Hopefully you will find it good. I ask you to worship the Lord in this. Praise God for the goodness of fruit that nourishes us. Praise God for this symbol of the sweetness of His presence. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
It is a sweet, sugary treat. So if you have problems with sweet, sugary food then you may want to bypass the actually receiving of the treat and instead receive the blessing. No rotten tomatoes here. Just the sweet presence of God. Come all you who hunger and thirst for righteousness. (My wife and I served sliced apples covered with sugar and cinnamon that had just been cooked in the microwave).
