“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits… every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit… Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (KJV, Matt. 7:15-18, 20).
“Beware of false prophets”
Considering the context of the Sermon on the Mount is important in developing an understanding of its contents. Jesus was teaching true spirituality against the teachings of the religious leaders of His day, primarily the Pharisees.
For instance, He opened with what true spirituality consists of with the beatitudes and then built upon its foundation. The one whose life is marked by the beatitudes will be salt and light.
Then Jesus teaches that if someone’s righteousness does not exceed that of the Pharisees or Scribes, they will not enter the kingdom of heaven. He was not elevating the righteousness of the Pharisees but was coming against it.
They had ultimately relaxed the commands of God through their external rather than internal “righteousness.” Thus, Jesus calls the people to a more radical form of righteousness throughout the Sermon.
Later Jesus tells of the Pharisee’s desire to be seen by others in their giving, praying, and fasting. Then Jesus turns His listeners inward and focuses on matters of the heart.
Ultimately the whole Sermon is a matter of the heart rather than the externals of the Pharisees.
Thus, when Jesus gets to Matthew 7:15 and tells the people to beware of the false prophets, He had the Pharisees in mind. They were false prophets to the core. They claimed to know the Word of God. They claimed to proclaim the Word of God, but their message was filled with falsehood.
The greatest deception of the enemy is not to steer far from the truth. Instead, it is to include enough truth to make it appear real but to leave out enough to make it without value. Their religion was a counterfeit. It looked real but, in actuality, did not have any value.
“which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves”
As a result, Jesus warns the people of how false prophets would appear. They would come as sheep. The imagery is telling, and the Israelites would have heard the message clearly. The Israelites were the sheep of God.
They were the true people of God Almighty. If anyone had the message right, it would have been a sheep. Surely another sheep could be trusted.
But there is a problem: Satan can masquerade as an angel of light, so also the false prophets can appear as sheep. Jesus then warns the people of the heart. The false prophets appeared like sheep, but in reality, they were like ravening wolves.
Jesus does not lighten His Words in calling out the false prophets of His day. He does not merely call them wolves but states they are ravening. Thus, they are like greedy hunters who live by hunting prey.
“Ye shall know them by their fruits”
Then Jesus gets to the crucial test. Since false prophets were in the world as they are today, there must be a way to discern truth from error. The context consists of determining a false prophet.
However, the test can also be used to discern if someone is genuinely in the faith.
Jesus says, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” How can someone detect a false prophet? It is done by examining the fruit. But does it not seem like that would be impossible since the false prophet comes in sheep’s clothing? Is not sheep’s clothing and fruit concerned with externals? Therefore would it not appear as though there was fruit in the life of the false prophet?
When God chose David, He expressly claimed that man looks on outward appearance, but God looks into the heart. How, then, does the Christian make sense of it all?
The Pharisees appeared godly based on their practices, teachings, and customs. However, they were far from being godly in actuality. The whole Sermon on the Mount could be viewed as a guide for testing fruit.
The Pharisees were not living up to the Beatitudes. Furthermore, they did not love, show kindness when wronged, give, pray, fast, etc., as Jesus commanded. Thus, the fruit was not there.
“every good tree bringeth forth good fruit”
Jesus then concludes. Every good tree, not some or most good trees, every good tree brings good fruit. The connection is clear between a tree’s nature and its fruit. When someone is genuinely redeemed, it will affect his nature.
This is especially true of the New Covenant. The Christian has been given a new nature, and his old nature died with Jesus on the cross.
God’s seed is in the Christian, and God’s seed produces fruit. There is no way around it. It is tantamount to a law of nature and will come to pass. As long as a tree is healthy, it will produce good fruit.
“but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit”
However, when a tree is bad, its fruit will also be bad. When a tree is diseased, the reality of the disease will come out in the fruit it bears.
Paul said, “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death” (Rom. 6:20-21).
“A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit”
But now that the Christian has been set free from sin, he must bear good fruit. Paul would go on to say, “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (Rom. 6:22).
The connection between a good tree bearing good fruit is as clear as the connection between a slave serving his master. There can be no other way. It must be so. A healthy tree cannot bring bad fruit. If a tree is truly healthy, its fruit will prove its health.
So it is with a slave and a master. How a person lives gives evidence to Who his master really is.
“neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit”
On the contrary, when a tree is corrupt, it will not bring about good fruit. Good fruit is an evidence of life. When a tree lacks life within, it will show through visible manifestations.
The Bible speaks in clear terms when it says, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:1-2).
Death and life are polar opposites.
When someone is spiritually dead in his sins and trespasses, he will walk according to the course of this world. To walk in biblical terms is to live and continue in something. As the world has a course, so a man has a walk. The walk and the course show clear evidence of the heart.
“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them”
The conclusion has been stated in several ways already. The fruit gives evidence to the tree. The fruit gives evidence to the root. The fruit gives evidence of health or lack thereof. God established the inseparable link from the beginning.
He said, “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so” (Gen. 1:11).
Fruit will always give evidence of the type of tree and its condition.
Final prayer
Father, I thank You for the warnings You have given me in Your Word. Please help me to examine myself today. Teach me more about what You have to say concerning my fruit. Help me to bear much fruit and prove to be a disciple of Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen.