Known by the Fruit

Today’s Passage: Matthew 7:15-23

Jesus is near the end of His long sermon on the mountain. He has just spoken about two roads and two gates. Now He turns to two more things that look alike from the outside but are not the same inside. Two kinds of teachers, and two kinds of hearts. He wants the crowd to know how to tell what is real.

As you read, hold this: A tree is known by its fruit, and knowing Jesus is far more than saying His name.

Matthew 7:15 (BSB)

¹⁵ Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

Jesus begins with a warning. Some teachers look gentle and safe on the outside. Inside they are hungry to use people, not to help them. A wolf can wear wool, but sooner or later it acts like a wolf.

So how do you see past the costume? Jesus gives one simple test.

Matthew 7:16-20 (BSB)

¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.

You cannot always see inside a person. But you can watch what grows out of their life over time. Words can be dressed up. Fruit (καρπός) karpos, pronounced kar-POSS. Strong's G2590, fruit, what a tree or vine produces. Fruit is what a tree makes without trying hard, simply because of what it is. A real life with God grows good fruit the same way, out of a heart that truly belongs to Him. The fruit proves the life; it is not the price you pay for it. cannot. A thornbush never grows grapes, no matter what it says about itself.

Notice what Jesus is not saying. He is not saying, “Try harder to grow fruit so God will love you.” He is saying the fruit shows what is already there. Change the tree, and the fruit follows. That is why He keeps pointing us to Himself.

Matthew 7:21 (BSB)

²¹ Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Now the warning turns closer to home. It is possible to say all the right words. You can call Jesus “Lord” out loud and still not know Him. Saying His name is not the same as belonging to Him.

Matthew 7:22-23 (BSB)

²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

These are sobering words, so let us hear them carefully. The saddest part is one small sentence: “I never knew you.” Jesus does not say, “I used to know you and lost you.” He says there was never a real friendship to begin with. They used His name, but they never came to Him. Big deeds are not the same as a true heart.

And here is the hope hidden inside the warning. The problem was never that God is hard to reach. The door was open the whole time. Jesus is not trying to scare you away from Him. He is calling you in, to truly know Him and be known by Him. Those who really belong to Jesus are safe in His hands, and He will never say those words to them.

So the test is not, “How impressive is my life?” The test is, “Do I actually know Jesus, and does He know me?” Everything good grows from that one root.

Personal Application

1. Where are you trusting the words you say more than the Savior you say them to?

2. If you looked at the fruit of your life this week, what does it show about the root?

Decision of the day: Take five quiet minutes today and simply talk to Jesus as someone you know, not just someone you know about. Tell Him you want to belong to Him, and ask Him to grow real fruit in you.

Pray to Close

The central truth: A tree is known by its fruit, and knowing Jesus is far more than saying His name.

Praise: praise Jesus that He knows those who are His, and that He holds them safe.

Confess: tell Him any place where you have leaned on your own doing instead of on Him.

Ask: ask Him to make you truly His, and to grow good fruit from the inside out.