What did Jesus say about fruit?

Hello

Jesus talked about fruit several times (See list at the end of this article). Jesus used fruit as a metaphor for the outward signs of a person living a life of obedience to his loving Father. So, what is this fruit? How do we recognize good or bad fruit in others, or in ourselves?

One example of our fruit is the words that come out of our mouths.

“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is known by its own fruit, for figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:43-45. See also Matthew 15:18-19).

Jesus was not the first to use fruit as a metaphor for the outward signs of a person living a life of obedience to his Father. John the Baptist had preceded him teaching the same message (See another list at the end of this article). John taught that one example of our fruit is sharing the things we have with those less fortunate than ourselves:

“Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” The crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” (Luke 3:8-11)

Old Testament writers used the same metaphor (for example, Psalm 1:1-3; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 32:18-19), so the metaphor of fruit would have been familiar to most of Jesus’ listeners, particularly the religious leaders.

Jesus gave his followers a strong warning about people who produce bad fruit.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So, you will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15-20)

Importantly, it is not up to us to make sure that we bear good fruit. Indeed, without Jesus, we cannot bear good fruit.

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5)

Our loving, heavenly Father doesn’t just leave us to bear fruit by ourselves, Jesus says that his Father works with us so that we can bear more fruit.

“Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit”. (John 15:2)

The idea of being pruned sounds unpleasant, and God’s discipline may not be pleasant. But our Father is a good parent who loves his children. Pruning means removing dead growth and branches that use up the plant’s energy without producing anything useful. We should be willing, indeed we should be eager, for God to remove the useless and unproductive stuff from our thoughts and actions, because it means we will be producing more fruit, and that means we will be serving God better.

May our loving, heavenly Father bless us and strengthen us to bear good fruit for him and his kingdom.

Jesus is Lord.

Peter O

“What does Jesus want his followers to do?”

“What did Jesus say about loving others?”

“What did Jesus say about judging, or condemning, others?”

“What did Jesus say about sin?”

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