GOSPEL OF MATTHEW - A TREE AND ITS FRUIT

MATTHEW 7:13-23 - THE WAY , THE WARNING, THE WILL OF GOD

We concluded the Sermon on the Mount last week with looking at God as a Good Father as He hears us, He gives to us and He gives good gifts – meeting our needs helping us to stay aligned with His Will and His Righteousness.

We also looked at the Golden Rule – and why Jesus spoke on the positive and not the negative as the don’t do requires us to do nothing and avoid people but the DO TO OTHERS requires us to interact with other and extend the Love of Christ to those around us.

Jesus is inviting us not just to ask but to keep asking, not just to knock but to keep knocking—and to walk a road that few choose but leads to everything our hearts truly long for. The door is open, the Father is good, and the path is life—if we will follow Him. 

The SOTM – gives us reassurance in Matthew 5:2-11 The Beatitudes

Last week we concluded with God giving us 10 Commands to not do and the antidote to those negatives and concludes with 1 DO!

True relationship with Christ and being led by the Holy Spirit will be marked by His conclusion – v12 – “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Today, we look at the way, the warning and the Will of God – so let us pray!

Matthew 7:13-23 – “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Big Idea:

True discipleship is not about appearances or words—it’s about walking the narrow path, bearing good fruit, and doing the will of the Father.

Point 1: Follow the Narrow Road to True Life

Scripture: Matthew 7:13–14 – ““Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

Illustration:

Two hiking trails diverge—one is paved and popular, wide, easy, and well-worn, the other narrow, uphill, steep, hidden and less traveled —but it leads to the summit.. The easy trail leads to a dead end, the narrow one to the summit. Discipleship takes effort, but it leads to life. Most choose ease, but those who endure find the best view.

Jesus turns from commandments to obedience –

Key Idea:

The way of Jesus is countercultural, isn’t always easy or popular and often lonely, but it leads to true life to those who find it.

Wide and broad come from Greek words that mean exactly that broad, wide, prosperous

Narrow – Greek word thlibo (th lee bo) – experience trouble or difficulty

Jesus does say - For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Few in terms of how many people over the whole creation of time (est 48-108 billion) due to other religions or few being the total number that get in because they give up on the hardness of the road – Lord vs Lord & Savior – this is the theological debate

Supporting Scriptures:

John 14:6 – “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Proverbs 14:12 – “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

Luke 9:23 – “And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Application Questions:

1. What wide-path choices am I tempted to take in my faith or lifestyle?

2. What distractions or detours are pulling me off the narrow path?

3. How can I encourage others to walk the narrow road with me?

4. Where is God calling me to take the more difficult, faithful route?

5. What does it practically look like for me to walk the narrow way today?

6. Why is the gate narrow?  Is it narrow because it is hard or because few will travel it?

Point 2: Discern Fruit, Not Just Words

Scripture: Matthew 7:15–20

“Beware of false prophets… You will recognize them by their fruits.”

Illustration:

An apple tree in bloom may look healthy, but only when harvest comes do you see whether the fruit is real and good. Appearances can deceive; fruit does not.  Words can deceive, works cannot.

Key Idea:

True character and faithfulness are revealed over time by the fruit a life produces—not by charisma, gifting, or spiritual language.

Jesus warns us about the situation where a great number of people will profess Christ but do not actually follow Him – pretenders or false prophets as He calls them

Wolves in sheep clothing look like they belong but don’t

We are to be discernful – know them by their fruits – their actions

Good trees – produce good fruit

Deadly Nightshade  - highly toxic but looks like a blueberry – baneberries cause immediate cardiac arrest but look like cranberries

Jesus says you will know them by their fruits – how do they treat others – words build or destroy – pray for friends or pray for those they don’t like

He concludes this analogy with where He started – you will recognize them by their fruits

Supporting Scriptures:

Galatians 5:22–26 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

John 15:5-8 – “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

Application Questions:

1. What kind of spiritual “fruit” is my life producing?

2. Who or what influences me spiritually—and do their lives bear godly fruit?

3. How can I grow in discernment to identify true versus false teaching or leadership?

4. Am I grafted into the vine?  What evidence is there?

Point 3: Do the Will of the Father, Not Just Religious Things

Scripture: Matthew 7:21–23

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom… but the one who does the will of my Father…”

Illustration:

Imagine a worker who clocks in daily, wears the uniform, and talks like an employee—but never actually follows the manager’s instructions. Their presence doesn't equal performance or purpose.  Or Frank Anagnale who Leonardo Di Caprio played in catch me if you can – who went the motions and pretended to be a pilot, doctor, lawyer and fooled a bunch of people.

Key Idea:

God is not impressed by outward religious acts—He desires a heart that obeys Him from a place of love and surrender.

Jesus here refers to God as His Father!

Jesus hear is talking about where the rubber meets the road – do your actions match your words – does your life and actions align with God’s Word and God’s Will?  Just recognizing Him as Lord will not save – demons recognized Him as Lord, as Son of the Living God – they are not saved

Jesus calls the pretenders – False prophets – Jesus reminds us that signs can come from places other than God – remember Moses in Pharaoh’s court?

Works don’t save – but works are evident of your faith and your relationship with our Lord and Savior

Verses like this imply our belief of there needing to have a personal relationship with Jesus -

Salvation is not a mask we wear but is our seal that we have surrendered all to Him!  Our pride our strengths our weakness our gifts our talents our fears our dreams

Jesus says the gate is narrow and the road is hard – is the gate narrow because few will walk through it or because the road is difficult?

Supporting Scriptures:

James 1:22 – “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

James 2:26 – For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Micah 6:8 – “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Application Questions:

1. How am I relying on spiritual activity to substitute for real obedience?

2. What area of my life am I resisting God's will while still calling Him “Lord”?

3. How can I grow in both hearing and doing the will of the Father this week?

Closing Thought:

Do we love and help those who hurt us or we disagree with?  Do we pray God’s blessings and protection on them or His wrath?

Who is on your prayer list?  Who have you helped?  Would they mirror Jesus’ or the world?

Jesus calls us to more than religious appearance—He calls us to the narrow road of obedience, the discernment of true fruit, and the humble pursuit of God’s will. It’s not about saying the right words—it’s about living the right way. Choose the narrow way, inspect your fruit, and surrender to the will of the Father. That’s the path to life.

Lets us pray!