ACC ~ Matthew 12 v33

EITHER-OR

HILARY: Though spoken in the present, Jesus’ words would be borne out in the future. For in the present he refutes the Jews. They could see that the works of Christ were beyond human power, but they were unwilling to declare them as works of God. In saying this Jesus anticipates the future of numerous perversions of faith, especially of those who would divest the Lord of the dignity and union with the Father’s nature and so plunge into heresy. They then wander aimlessly in the arena between those who act with the excuse of ignorance and those who live in the knowledge of truth. …

Through a tree’s inherent vitality, fruitfulness abounds. Therefore either the tree must be made good with good fruit or made bad with bad fruit, because by its fruit the tree is known. The meaning is not that a bad tree, according to the nature of trees, can constitute what is good or be good in its branches if it is bad. Rather, it is that Christ must either be left behind as useless or held onto as good because of the usefulness of good fruit. ON MATTHEW 12.18. [1]

[1] SC 254:284-86.

KNOWN BY ITS FRUIT

CHRYSOSTOM: This accusation [1] is against common reason, straining against all the other congruities in these circumstances. They brought no direct charge against his deeds but only against the one who did them. It is shameless to interpret maliciously. Even more so it is shameless to make up charges contrary to what everyone could see was happening.

Yet note how free Jesus is from contentiousness. For he did not simply say “Make the tree good and its fruit good.” Rather, he silenced them completely, demonstrating his own considerateness and their insolence, by saying in effect: So you are determined to find fault with my deeds. I do not quarrel with this. But I want you to be aware of how inconsistent and contradictory are your charges. For in this way your motives are transparent. You persist against what is all too clear to everyone else. In this way your malice is disclosed.

Truly the distinction between trees is shown by their fruit. It is not that the fruit is known by the tree, for one need only to examine the fruit alone to find what kind of tree it is. But what if it is argued that the tree is incongruous with the fruit? Nonetheless the fruit is what makes the tree known. His implication: It would be more consistent if you either found fault with my deeds or praised them, so that I could meet these charges openly. But having no fault to find with my works, the fruit, you pass the opposite judgment upon the tree, me. You call me a demoniac, which, as anyone can see, is self-evidently reckless. For a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 42.1. [2]

[1] From the Pharisees, Mt 12:24: “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”

[2] PG 57:451; NPNF 1 10:268-69**.

MAKE THE TREE GOOD

AUGUSTINE: When he says, “Make the tree good and its fruit good,” this is not a friendly admonition but a clear command to be obeyed. And when Jesus says, “Make the tree bad and its fruit bad,” he does not command you to do so, but he warns you to guard against it. He is referring to those who think they are able, though they are bad, to speak good things or to do good works. This the Lord Jesus says they cannot do. For a person must first be changed in order for his works to be changed. But if a person remains in an evil state, that one cannot do good works. If he abides in what is good, he will not be found producing evil works. SERMONS ON NEW TESTAMENT LESSONS 72.1.1. [1]

[1] PL 38:467; NPNF 1 6:332 (Sermon 22). In opposing those who imagined they could do good works even while remaining inwardly corrupt, Jesus admonished them to be wary lest the fruit of good works become warped by an inwardly corrupted nature. In doing so he directed them by precept categorically to make the tree (the will) good. The moral status of the requirement to avoid evil is an admonition, while the moral status of the precept to “make the tree good” is an intrinsic necessity for anyone who seeks to do good.