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KNOWN BY OUR FRUITS

“The disciples of John reported all these things to him. So John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” When the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’” Jesus had just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”” (Luke 7:18-23)

 

John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask him if he was the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus doesn’t say, “Yes! Of course!” No. He replies, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them.”

His response reminds me of two things. 

First, there is the story in Luke 4 where, right after his temptation in the wilderness, Jesus returned to Galilee and “went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom.” (Luke 4:16). The scroll of Isaiah was handed to him, and he found the place that we now call Isaiah 61, where it says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. “ (Luke 4:18-19, quoting from Isaiah 61:1-2a)

Then Luke tells us that he sat down as the eyes of all in the synagogue “were fixed on him.” (Luke 4:20b) And Jesus said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Oh, how I wish I could have been in the synagogue in Nazareth on that day!

The second thing I am reminded of are these words in the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15-20)

 

My summary: you will know false prophets… you will know true prophets… you will know the Messiah (assuming you know some of the prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures)… you will know if a politician or a priest is honest… by their fruits.

When the disciples of John asked Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come…?”, he did not say, “I was valedictorian of my high school class in Nazareth and I studied under Rabbi Samuel and Rabbi Joseph and Rabbi Abraham for 17 years.” He just tells them what he has been up to - cleansing leapers, healing the blind and deaf, curing the lame, raising the dead - he didn’t even list that one first! - and proclaiming good news to the poor.

According to Jesus, their assessment of whether or not he was the Messiah should be based on the fruits that he was producing - the fruits of his words and his deeds.

 

It is the same with us.

 

People will discern if we are “good trees”… if we are faithful, loving Christians… based on our fruits.

Do our words and actions feed others… give them sustenance for their lives?

Is our presence and our listening such that people experience some kind of healing when they are with us? (Yes, the healing is ultimately from God, but God uses people as agents of healing.)

Are people built up and encouraged by our words and actions? Do they feel seen and heard by us?

Do people experience joy and humor and hope when they are around us?

Do they feel honored and respected and are they more likely to claim or reclaim their identity as a beloved child of God after they have been with us?

We are “good trees” if we bear this kind of fruit. 

If we bring with us blame, attack, prejudice, condescension, impatience, our need to be right at all costs, judgment, gaslighting and the like in our relationships with others, well… then these things are the fruits of our words and actions.

People will ultimately know us by our fruits.

Lord Christ, help us to abide in You, so that we can bear good fruit. Amen.