Strange Fruit

Fruit

43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Southern trees bear strange fruit Blood on the leaves and blood at the root Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant south The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh Then the sudden smell of burning flesh

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop Here is a strange and bitter crop

gallant of a person or their behavior) brave; heroic: "she had made gallant efforts to pull herself together" synonyms: brave · courageous · valiant · valorous · bold · plucky · daring · (of a man or his behavior) giving special attention and respect to women; chivalrous. synonyms: chivalrous · princely · gentlemanly · honorable · courteous · polite ·

You are not bearing good fruit.” Good fruit shows that the tree from which it came is healthy; bad fruit indicates that the tree from which it fell is sickly. Every tree—the term tree as here used includes what we call a “shrub”—is known by its fruit.

The underlying figure fruit includes all the various ways in which a person expresses himself: his attitudes, words, deeds, etc. It includes his speech, confession, teaching. This is clear from verse 45b, “Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

ISa 8:20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.

The point Jesus drives home is that each tree yields the type of fruit for which it was planned by the Creator, a type not produced by any other tree or plant. Therefore from thorn-bushes one must not expect to gather figs, and from a bramble-bush one must not expect to pick a bunch of grapes. The same holds with respect to people; as Jesus now adds

A person’s heart is a reservoir, a storehouse

What a man produces from this inner storehouse, whether good or bad, depends on what he was carrying in it.

It is out of the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks. As a teeming population will overflow into adjoining territory, and a too full cistern into an overflow pipe, so also the overplus of the heart will burst out into speech. If what is in the heart is good, this overflow will be good; if the contents of the inner being are bad, what spills out through the mouth will also be bad. Whatever a person has set his heart on will sooner or later be revealed in his speech. Therefore what is in his heart is very, very important.

This, however, does not provide any excuse for a fatalistic view of life. It does not make it right for a man to say, “Can I help what I have in my heart?” In Matthew the parallel passage is immediately followed by the words, “But I say to you that for every careless word that men shall speak they shall render account on the day of judgment” (). The real solution is found in the prayer of .

Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke (Vol. 11, pp. 363–364). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

Baker New Testament Commentary: Luke B. 6:39–45 The Darkness of Sin He Condemns

A person’s heart is a reservoir, a storehouse

Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke (Vol. 11, p. 363). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke (Vol. 11, p. 363). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

(of a man or his behavior) giving special attention and respect to women; chivalrous. synonyms: chivalrous · princely · gentlemanly · honorable · courteous · polite ·

Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke (Vol. 11, p. 363). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

  Keep your heart with all vigilance,

for from it flow the springs of life.

 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.

() 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

English Standard Version Chapter 12

34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

English Standard Version Chapter 7

20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.