The Fruit and the Root

We’re going to be in Luke 6 again this morning, it’s the end of Jesus’ sermon on the plain. What type of people do you think would have been listening to Jesus’ sermon?

It’s clear from the context here that Jesus had his critics listening in. The religious leaders were usually around listening to his sermons. Ready to catch him somewhere in a trap…listening with suspicious ears....concerned about what this guy was teaching. Perhaps worried about your own potential loss of power. Maybe even hearing him, knowing what he was saying, but then really trying to figure out a way to weasel out of those words because you know what it would really mean for your life. Certainly such a one would have been in attendance.

I think here of C.S. Lewis’ words...

Surely you know that if a man can’t be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighborhood looking for the church that ‘suits’ him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches....the search for a ‘suitable’ church makes the man a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil.

You’d have certainly had those who had heard of his healing ministry…those who were anxious to see what he could do for them…how can he fix their brokenness. That’s not all bad, by the way, Jesus is very good, and very kind, and very strong. Jesus doesn’t rebuke them as much as he calls them into deeper following.

I think you also would have had those in attendance who had been burned by the religious system—all the hypocrisy around them—and thinking man something is really wrong with all this stuff. Something just isn’t sitting well. This doesn’t seem legit. This might be your leper, your tax collector, or maybe even a Pharisee. But this is someone who is kind of a searcher but has been burned and so is a bit skeptical. But they are hearing the message of Jesus and it’s sounding refreshing.

Then you’d also have had those who are ready to hear Jesus, ready to follow Jesus, ready to do what Jesus is teaching them. They’re going to have ups and downs—of course. But they are most certainly disciples who are willing and wanting to learn. They are faithful, available, and teachable.

Which type of hearer are you this morning? How will we receive these words of Jesus? Place yourself there as we read this text…look around you. What parts of this passage are making the Pharisees around you grumble? Which part makes that lady who has been broken by all the stuff around her get really excited and hopeful? Where do you see that searcher cock his head and raise his eyebrow—where is he getting his attention drawn in? How are his closest disciples hearing this?

I’m actually going to back up just a little and start in verse 39. I think I erred a couple of weeks ago when I stopped us at verse 42. I probably needed to do that for the sake of time and not putting too much in one sermon—but I really do believe all this is connected so I don’t want us to miss that.

READ TEXT

So what is happening here in this text? Look back up at verse 39. Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? Then verse 40. Disciples end up like their teacher. Then Jesus talks about the log and the speck.

If you were here a couple weeks ago you might remember that we talked about how this is a reflection of following Jesus or of following others. Others are going to be looking for a speck to judge—but Jesus is looking for sparks of grace. He’s looking at how to give.

So he’s saying look at the way a hypocrite does this. He goes about hunting for specks but he has a big log sticking out of his eye. Don’t be like that guy. Take the log out of your own eye—suspect yourself first—and then you might be in a position to help your brother out.

But I want you to notice something. Look at verse 43. Notice that word at the beginning. “For”. That’s not a word that you start a conversation with, is it? You say the word “for” when you’ve said something prior. So it might be helpful to take a marker or something and scratch out that little subheading there that says, “A tree and it’s fruit” and let verse 43 fall right under verses 39-42. They are connected.

So what are verses 43-45 saying. The fruit is an indication of the root. The tree is known by it’s own fruit. And there are two images here. Health and identity.

If you see apples on a tree what kind of tree is it? It’s an apple tree. You don’t expect an orange to grow there. And you don’t get made when it doesn’t have oranges. If you want an orange what do you do? You plant an orange tree.

Likewise if you have a tree that keeps producing nasty and rotten fruit…or it doesn’t produce a thing…like a bramble bush…the problem is in the source. You can’t get grapes from a bramble bush because it’s source is dead and rotten—it doesn’t produce anymore. Go back to the source.

Fruit comes from the root.

But how is that principle connected with what we see in verses 39-42? I think we can get an answer here in verse 45. The good person out of the good treasure of this heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil…here is why I tell you that…says Jesus…because it is out of the abundance of the heart—the overflow—the bubbling out of the heart does his mouth speak.

Let’s do some connecting now. “out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks...” what was the last time we had speech in this passage. Go back up…it’s not in verse 44. Not in verse 43....oh look, verse 42. “Let me take that speck out of your eye.” The last person to talk in this passage is the judgmental guy with a log out of his eye.

So how are these passages connected? What is Jesus saying? You want to know why the guy with a log sticking out of his eye is the way he is? Consider the source....consider the root. A judgmental heart produces judgmental words. A giving heart produces giving words.

If you have a good heart—or rather a “good treasure of his heart” then what you’re going to find is somebody who is out there looking for specks of grace. Who is looking to give. Who is looking to reflect Jesus. Love like Jesus. Care like Jesus. Heal like Jesus. Create thriving like Jesus. Making things new like Jesus. That’s what happens when you have a “good treasure” in your heart.

But what happens when you have an evil treasure? He’s speck hunting with a log in his eye. He’s using power and authority to harm others. He’s protecting his empire. He’s judging. He’s splandering. He’s condemning. He’s not forgiving. He’s looking at how he can tear down. How he can protect that evil treasure. And THAT is what is flowing out of him.

So what does this tell us?

Let’s go back to our first century scene. Let’s look in at the critics when they hear this message of Jesus. What are they hearing? Perhaps they are hearing a message for someone else…remember that’s what logs tend to do. They are still motivated by protecting that evil treasure, remember…so if Jesus’ words can help them do that then they’ll take his words and use them as a weapon against others.

Or they will hear those words and they’ll see that if they are followed it’s going to cause that evil treasure to be exposed and maybe even taken from them. And so they are going to dig in…keep on judging Jesus and his disciples. And that’s what we’ll see as the story continues to unfold.

What happens if that is me and I hear this and I’m convicted? This is a source problem not a fruit problem. “I’ve got to stop saying judgmental things...” that’s awesome. That’s really good. Notice that. Do that. But let’s start looking at the source. Let’s not just staple fruit on a tree.

FRUIT STAPLING.

Now look at that guy over there who has been burned by the religion of the Pharisees. Who sees them straining gnats, tithing on their spice rack, but treating a hurting woman like dirt. Look at his face as he hears how they twist text of Scripture to serve themselves instead of loving others and how they are training their disciples to do exactly that same thing. Something is wrong here…that’s what his face is saying. It’s the blind leading the blind.

He has been ravaged by their speck hunting. And so it’s really refreshing to hear Jesus call them hypocrites. Something is wrong here…that’s what Jesus is saying. Something is messed up with this religion.

That’s hopeful. You think, man, this system of religion is messed up. Hypocrisy. Jesus loathes it too. But again it’s a source. I want to show you another connection here. How is all of this connected to verse 39-40? How is 43-44 connected to those.

Blind leads the blind they both fall into a pit. Like produces like. That’s what he is saying there. What is he saying with the trees? Like produces like.

And so you’ve got the first century religious teachers using God’s name (using God’s name in vain really) but doing so while harming the people. They are saying something like, “We are the holders of God’s truth, we are communicating who God is to you, we are the ones who represent God to you...” But what they are doing is so far from that.

This isn’t my Father. That’s what Jesus is saying. You want to know what my Father looks like it isn’t this. Oh, that’s so hopeful if you’ve been burned. This isn’t God. It’s those in the name of God, misrepresenting God, that’s where those wounds have come from. Blind leading the blind.

Which I think causes that guy to say, “okay, Jesus, open my eyes that I may see.” Help me see you. And now you’ve got a disciple...

But what is Jesus saying to the disciples who are coming and listening and wanting to eat it all up and apply it to their lives and identify as a Jesus follower…what does he say to them?

That’s where we see how verses 46-49 are connected. Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord, and do not do what I tell you.”

So first off before we really dig here…do you see the importance of this? Like begets like. If Farmer Johnson tells the whole community to come down to the farmer’s market and eat some of his terrific peaches....but when it comes the morning of the farmers market and he sends his children there and they replaces all those peaches with some nasty grapefruits…he’ll be the laughing stock of the community. It doesn’t matter that he actually DOES have amazing peaches at home…if he has a sign that says, “best peaches in Neosho” but it’s actually nasty grapefruit then it’s going to come back on him. But the problem is that the kids didn’t do what they told him to do. Their disobedience was a poor reflection.

Likewise…like begets like. It’s one thing for us to talk about the fallen and incomplete and broken and backwards religion of the Pharisees....how they blew it…but it’s quite another when we have to come to grips with the fact that we’ve maybe done the EXACT same things with the words of Jesus.

It was important in the first century for the followers of Jesus to do what he told them…because like begets like…if they are living like a blind guy falling into a pit then what does that mean about their leader? Blind guy? So what about for us?

So do you see the importance here. “Do what I tell you.” It’s not just our relationship and well-being that matters the witness of the gospel is at stake. Me being a judgmental hypocrite isn’t just on me—it’s telling something about Jesus if I’m claiming to be following him.

But that’s not all Jesus is saying here. Look at verse 47…comes to him…hears his word…does his word. Verse 49…I think the comes to him is implied…but hears and DOES NOT DO. That’s the key. That’s the big difference. Doing God’s Word and not doing God’s Word.

One thing I’d have you notice here. I believe what this passage is actually showing us is that doing deepens. That’s the metaphor. If you do what I say…then you’re like a guy who isn’t okay with just planting his house right there on the top soil....he’s going to dig down a bit deeper until he hits something solid…he’s going to get him a foundation…and he’s going to build from there. Doing is what is drilling down into that foundation. That’s what Jesus is saying.

If you just hear his words....oh those are good…sounds great. I’m gonna follow that guy. But you aren’t applying them to your life…then those words, that learning, that discipleship, whatever....is going to be knocked away by the storm.

Doing deepens.

But we have to be careful with how we apply this. If I just sent you home packing right now I think we could woefully misunderstand the whole story of the gospel. It’d turn it into “do the words of Jesus” and you’ll be in good shape. But the problem with this goes back up to the tree analogy. You CAN’T do what Jesus calls you to do unless there has been a fundamental heart change—unless the root system changes.

You can see this lived out in the life of a guy named Peter. We call him the apostle Peter. He’s one of the guys who would have heard this originally. We don’t know which of those types of hearers he would have been at first but by the time we get to our story here he is a guy who is all in. As he’d say later, “Jesus, we’ve left everything to follow you.” But Peter is also a guy who essentially told Jesus, “Whatever you ask for, man, I’m going to do it. I’m going to be with you every second. I’ll never abandon you. I’m your guy. If you can depend on anyone…it’s on me.” Then he denies Jesus three times in a really short span of time.

But if you fast forward the story…hop out of the book of Luke and go to the book of Acts. What you see is a very bold Peter and his buddy John before the Sanhedrin. That’s a group of people who are ruling over them and who kind of has their life in their hands. They say, “Stop talking about Jesus.” Now Peter a few months prior…he likely would have cowered even before this moment. But now, he and John stand up and say, “No. We cannot help but testify to what we’ve seen and heard.” He doesn’t back down. He doesn’t deny Jesus. He builds his life upon the foundation of Christ, the same foundation that only a few weeks prior he had denied before a mere servant girl.

What is the difference? The cross, the resurrection, the giving of the Spirit. To put it simply the gospel has made it’s home in Peter’s heart. The new covenant has taken place. His heart of stone was now made a heart of flesh. Jeremiah 31:31-34 has come to pass.

Jeremiah 31:31–34 ESV

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

And so perhaps the first thing that needs to happen this morning is that you hear these words of Jesus…and you need that heart change. You cannot just staple fruit to a tree. You need the whole root system changed. Cry out to the Lord Jesus this morning…I need change. I need you. I need a relationship with you.

Maybe that heart change has happened. Well, you really do need to “do” the words of Jesus. Not trying to get around them but actually do them. Love your neighbor. Be a giver not a judge. Love your enemies. Look for satisfaction in God alone.

And when we actually do the words of Jesus it deepens us. It digs down deep and builds our life upon that foundation. What is Jesus calling you to do today? I’m going to believe Jesus....I’m going to believe God in His Word…over myself. I’m going to trust Him more. What is he calling you to do?