Matthew 7:17-18
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
This isn't just about outward actions; Jesus highlights that the "corrupt" tree's fruit is inherently bad, not just a malfunction. It points to a fundamental flaw in its very nature, meaning true goodness or corruption stems from the core, not just the observable results.
So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus is warning his listeners to be wary of false prophets who disguise themselves with a gentle exterior but are inwardly dangerous. He explains that just as you can judge a tree by the fruit it produces, you can discern the true nature of these individuals by the doctrines they teach and the life they lead. A healthy, sound teacher will produce beneficial teachings, while a corrupt one will inevitably lead people astray with harmful doctrines.
Ever noticed how a lemon tree always produces lemons, never oranges? Jesus uses this simple truth to show us something profound about our own lives.
Jesus tells us, 'Every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.' This isn't about occasional slip-ups; it's about the very nature of the tree. A truly healthy tree can't help but produce good fruit, and a diseased one can't produce good fruit. The fruit is a natural, inevitable outcome of what the tree is at its core. This applies directly to us: our actions, our words, our attitudes are the 'fruit' that reveals the state of our inner 'tree' – our heart and spirit.
It's easy to focus on changing our behavior, but Jesus points us to a deeper issue. What's going on beneath the surface?
Jesus is highlighting that the fruit we bear isn't just about outward actions; it stems from our inner condition. A 'diseased' or 'corrupt' tree, as the original language suggests, is one that is unsound or rotten at its core. This isn't about a tree that used to be good but got sick; it's about a tree whose fundamental nature is flawed. Similarly, our inner self – our heart, our motivations, our spiritual state – determines the quality of the 'fruit' we produce. True change starts from the inside out. We can't fake good fruit for long if the core is unhealthy.
Understand the original words
Ask a follow-up
agathos · Greek Adjective
Used metaphorically to describe a person's inner moral or spiritual condition. A healthy tree represents a person regenerated by God, producing righteous deeds.
sapros · Greek Adjective
Refers to moral or spiritual corruption. In this context, it describes the inner state of those who are spiritually dead or hypocritical, inevitably resulting in sinful conduct.
This passage directly parallels Matthew's teaching, emphasizing that 'no good tree bears bad fruit, nor does any bad tree bear good fruit,' reinforcing the core idea that character determines actions.
Galatians 5:22-23This passage lists the 'fruit of the Spirit' - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control - which are the good fruits that a spiritually healthy believer, a 'good tree,' would naturally produce.
John 15:5Jesus states, 'I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, bears much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.' This highlights that true, good fruit comes from a deep, living connection with Christ, the source of spiritual health.
Jeremiah 17:5-8This Old Testament passage describes two types of people: one who trusts in man (like a shrub in the desert, bearing no good fruit) and one who trusts in the Lord (like a tree planted by water, bearing fruit). It illustrates the same principle that one's inner trust and nature determine the outward 'fruit' of their lives.
Matthew 3:8John the Baptist, confronting the Pharisees and Sadducees, calls for 'fruit in keeping with repentance.' This shows that genuine inner change ('good tree') must result in outward actions that demonstrate that transformation ('good fruit').
barnesMatthew 7:17: "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit."
A corrupt tree - The word "corrupt" here does not signify, as our translation would seem to indicate, that the tree "had been" good, but had become "vitiated;" but that it was a tree of a useless character, of a nature that produced nothing beneficial.
bensonMatthew 7:17: "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit."
Matthew 7:17-20 . Even so — As grapes are not reaped from thorns, or figs from thistles, but the fruit will always be agreeable in its nature and kind to the tree that produces it; so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit — Scriptural doctrine, declared by holy men called of God to the work of the ministry, will certainly be more or less instrumental in turning men from the evil…
This isn't just about outward actions; Jesus highlights that the "corrupt" tree's fruit is inherently bad, not just a malfunction. It points to a fundamental flaw in its very nature, meaning true goodness or corruption stems from the core, not just the observable results.
Jesus is warning his listeners to be wary of false prophets who disguise themselves with a gentle exterior but are inwardly dangerous. He explains that just as you can judge a tree by the fruit it produces, you can discern the true nature of these individuals by the doctrines they teach and the life they lead. A healthy, sound teacher will produce beneficial teachings, while a corrupt one will inevitably lead people astray with harmful doctrines.
Jesus is warning his listeners to be wary of false prophets who disguise themselves with a gentle exterior but are inwardly dangerous. He explains that just as you can judge a tree by the fruit it produces, you can discern the true nature of these individuals by the doctrines they teach and the life they lead. A healthy, sound teacher will produce beneficial teachings, while a corrupt one will inevitably lead people astray with harmful doctrines.
"So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit." — This isn't just about outward actions; Jesus highlights that the "corrupt" tree's fruit is inherently bad, not just a malfunction. It points to a fundamental flaw in its very nature, meaning true g…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026
