Luke 6:43-45 – The principle of right judging

The issue in verses 36-38, we have discovered, is not about not judging, but being not judgmental and critical. We have established that Jesus did not ask us not to use our brain. He expects us to make sound moral judgment. In the life of the Pharisees, through the many encounters with Jesus, we see clear illustrations of them being judgmental. They were blind to their own sin but quick to see it in others. Jesus does not want this to be found among His disciples. Hence His call is not to try to remove the speck in our brother’s eye, before taking the log out of ours. But Jesus did not forbid us from making sound moral evaluation. In fact in these three verses, He is asking His disciples to make lifestyle judgment. They must be able to analyze and be discerning. Remember that at the onset of this great sermon, Jesus gazed at His disciples as He started His message. From there we conclude that He was telling us< His followers to exercise moral discernment and to make right Biblical judgments. He illustrated this with a horticultural and then a human example.

^“For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.” To a durian lover, we can put it this way, “Good durians do not come from bad durian trees, and bad durians do not come from good durian trees.” From that statement, Jesus shows us a principle gleaned from horticulture. He said, “For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.” Conversely, therefore “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil, for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” In other words, what is within the inner disposition of a person determines the way he conducts himself and the words he would utter. He may put up a show outwardly and give a veneer of wholeness, the real proof is in his action and his words. Implicitly, Jesus is saying that it is his mouth that we should watch out for. It would be where the evidence of his true colors would come from.   

What is Jesus saying then? We recognize a person by looking at his character. If he is a good character, like good trees, you will see good character. Hence, we must evaluate everything that we hear. There's always a clear connection between a person's words and his heart. Idle and corrupt words reveal the true state of one's heart, because that is the center of that person's affection. Be discerning, start by evaluating where and who you are learning from. Bear in mind that if you run into a skunk, you'll smell like a skunk. And if you don’t like the fruit you are cultivating, check and see where you have planted your roots.

Is judging necessary? Jesus made it clear in this passage that we should. In our day where there is a proliferation of teachings from internet, seminars, books, magazines and the countless purported good churches, being discerning is something we can’t do without. We must put our confidence in the moral standards set by the Word of God. We refuse to be gullible. We must be like the Christians in Berea recorded in Acts 17. Paul said that they were more honorable than those who were at Thessalonica. For after hearing the Word of God preached by Paul, they went home and check with the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was so.

Our world tells us that truth is absolutely relative. But Jesus tells us that there are no two ways to an absolute truth. It is or it is not. Its certainty can be verified by the result of a person’s life and moral conduct. Watch for them, they tell no lie, we won’t be hoodwinked!