Mǎtaìfúyīn 12:33

33 Nǐmen huò yǐwéi shù hǎo , guǒzi yĕ hǎo . shù huaì , guǒzi yĕ huaì . yīnwei kàn guǒzi , jiù kĕyǐ zhīdào shù .

Mǎtaìfúyīn 12:33 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 12:33

Either make the tree good, and his fruit good
That is, either assert them both good, or

else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt:
say they are both evil, for the contrary cannot be affirmed with any consistency and propriety: the matter is easy to be determined,

for the tree is known by his fruit;
fruit will discover what a tree is, and accordingly judgment may be made. No man will say a tree is good, and its fruit corrupt; or say, that a tree is corrupt, and its fruit good: these are glaring contradictions, and can never be reconciled. The case Christ here puts, is a very easy and familiar one, and is obvious to common sense: the application of it may be made, either to the foregoing instance of Christ's casting out devils, which the Jews ascribed to the help of Satan; and then the sense is, either say I am a good man, and do good works, or that I am an evil man, and do evil works: to say that I do good works, as the casting out of devils must be allowed to be, and yet am an evil man, and do this under satanical influence, is as great an inconsistency, as to say that a corrupt tree brings forth good fruit; either therefore condemn these miracles as evil actions, done by confederacy with Satan; or if you will allow them to be good ones, as you do, ascribe them to the Spirit of God; for these things may as easily be determined, as the cause by its effect, or as a tree is known by its fruit: or else this may be applied unto the Pharisees, who, though wicked men, pretended to do good works; and though they set up for men of religion and holiness, yet did evil things, as their words and actions testified; particularly the blasphemy just now uttered by them, charging the miracles of Christ as done by the assistance of the devil, which discovered the malignity and rottenness of their hearts: and the meaning of Christ is, that they would either both say, and do, that which is right and good; or relinquish their pretensions to the character of good and religious men: nothing can be concluded from hence in favour of free will, or a power in the creature to make himself good; for the word "make", here signifies to "say, affirm, assert", and the like; see ( John 5:18 ) ( 8:53 ) ( 10:33 ) . Though it may be fairly inferred from hence, that a man must first be a good man, ever he can perform good works, truly and properly so called; and that these are fruits and evidences of the inward real goodness of a man; which must be understood not of a few single actions, but of the common, constant series and course of life.

Mǎtaìfúyīn 12:33 In-Context

31 Suǒyǐ wǒ gàosu nǐmen , rén yīqiè de zuì , hé xièdú de huà , dōu kĕ dé shèmiǎn . wéidú xièdú Shènglíng , zǒng bùdé shèmiǎn .

32 Fán shuōhuà gānfàn Rénzǐ de , hái kĕ dé shèmiǎn . wéidú shuōhuà gānfàn Shènglíng de , jīnshì láishì zǒng bùdé shèmiǎn .

33 Nǐmen huò yǐwéi shù hǎo , guǒzi yĕ hǎo . shù huaì , guǒzi yĕ huaì . yīnwei kàn guǒzi , jiù kĕyǐ zhīdào shù .

34 Dúshé de zhǒngleì , nǐmen jì shì è rén , zĕn néng shuō chū hǎo huà lái ne . yīnwei xīnli suǒ chōngmǎn de , kǒu lǐ jiù shuō chūlai .

35 Shàn rén cóng tā xīnli suǒ cún de shàn , jiù fāchū shàn lái . è rén cóng tā xīnli suǒ cún de è , jiù fāchū è lái .