You Can Be Leafy, But Not Fruitful | Matthew 21 | Crossroads Daily

Hey, I'm Chuck. I'm Jamie. I'm Devo. I'm Mish. I think about, there's lots in this passage that we can touch on the triumphal entry and all of that. I'm struck by the cursing of the fig tree. That's been one that's been brewing in my head recently. And then these two parables about the vineyard. So if you were to take Jesus at his word, which we want to do, what is Jesus saying about what real spiritual fruit looks like? What's he getting at with all that? I think in a general sense, like it looks different, like a life that is different, a life that is set apart from the commonplace. And so with the fig tree, it's like, there's an expectation that if this is a fig tree, or this is any other kind of tree, an apple tree, it's going to produce apples. It's going to produce figs. And the tree wasn't. So the tree had a purpose and it wasn't yielding. And then in the process of either the sons or even the vineyard, there was a clear response and expectation of how, and a purpose, right? And in the vineyard, the evil farmers were not doing what the owner was expecting. And so I think when our, so the genuine spiritual fruit is marked difference from commonplace in the world. Like if I just put it in simple terms, like your life would look different. Your life looks different when there's spiritual fruit there. And so it can go to the fruits of the spirit, but genuinely it's like selflessness, it's love, it's patience, it's kindness. And there's no selfishness involved in that. So it just looks different than how people were living at the time and how we live now in common culture. Do you think that was the inheritance that was being referred to in the last parable or the parable of the, my translation said the tenants or the evil farmers or whatever it was. Is that the inheritance that they were saying they tried to take from the son you think was that fruit? Because it kind of strikes me that at the end it says like the Pharisees knew Jesus was talking about them. And so they plan to arrest him, which is ironic. It's like, you knew that he's talking about you in this way. So I'm going to plan to do the thing that he's talking about how you're going to do anyways in order to get the inheritance. Like was the inheritance because supposedly Jesus's inheritance is available to everybody, right? So is that fruit, that spiritual fruit? I think the inheritance is the kingdom. And think about it. If I put it in the terms of the Pharisees he's talking to, to them, that was the good life. The inheritance was the good life. It was the favor of God in this life. And it was also favor of God in the life to come. That was the goal for them. And I go back to what you said. I think that Jesus is saying something about fruit. That is it needs to produce a certain

outcome. I think he's also saying the source matters. Like the Pharisees thought we do the outcomes and we get the inheritance. And what Jesus is like, no, no, no, no, no. You have to understand it starts with relationship with me and the relationship with the father. That's how you get the good life. And it produces these fruitful actions, you know, love, joy, peace, patience, all those things. So I think it's interesting how Jesus is doing that. And so you're right. They prove his parable when he literally tells them, hey, here's the answer to the test. Let me give you a story about people who answered the test incorrectly and they killed the son, right? He's talking about himself. And they're like, you know what we're gonna do? We're gonna kill you. We're gonna kill you. What's the lesson for us in that though? Cause they're human like us, right? Oh man. Yeah. I think it's like, it's just checking your heart and like focusing more on what's happening on the inside. Cause I think about the Pharisees and there's times in scripture where I relate to them. Like, I'm like, wait, I think I kind of, I think I'll be that way. I am one of them. If I was back, you know, back in the day, like, you know, and so, but I think it all comes down to like your heart and what's happening on the inside more than what you're doing. And like you said, like the fruit that we see in people's lives that are, you know, that we want is a product of something that's happening on the inside. And so it's just like this constant like check of what's going on the inside. What am I doing? And like, how am I thinking? Yeah. I think it's just focusing on what's going on in the inside. A hundred percent. A hundred percent. I mean, your words are so right. We always have to check our heart and that's what Jesus cares about. Like he's always. is getting to the heart of the person in front of him or the heart of an issue. And I think he wants us to kind of have these things flow from a heart that's been transformed. Not just like, hey, I know the answer to the test, I'm just gonna do these good things and hope that gets me the reward that I want.

And it's also tied to the motivation or like the why behind it. So like how I respond or like what's going on on the inside. But even my motivations, like if I'm, I feel like the Pharisees and even what the farmers were doing was like, well, we did all this work. We kept all the laws. We knew every single thing. So why should we have to share this with anyone else? And then, so their motivation wasn't God. Their motivation was the carrot that they felt like God was dangling. When that was never God's intention. And so God wants relationship with us. And out of that relationship, we get access to that inheritance. But they just wanted to earn the inheritance separate from God. You know what I love about that too? Calling out that they're farmers. It's like calling out their vocation. The intent for farmers is to provide food for other people, not just for themselves. And the fact that they were- Yeah, they weren't consumers. Exactly. The fact that they were willing to avoid that calling, that vocation that they have submitted to. Say that's for the Pharisees too. They were considered the religious elites, the teachers.

Yeah. Right, of the time. Yeah. And yet they were not farming. They were not harvesting for others. They were just for themselves. Yeah. You know, lots of times when we come across scriptures like this, it's hard to figure out, like, okay, what's the practical application for me today, right? And so two questions that have been really helpful, and I'm sure we've heard these before, if you haven't, two questions to help us process verses like this is like, what is God saying to me? Like, where is he getting my attention? And what's one thing I can do about it? So why don't we just, like, let's just go down the line and answer that question, and I'll just start. I've really been convicted by the cursing of the fig tree. And what God is saying to me in that is that, Chuck, you can be leafy and not be fruitful. So your externals can look great, but that doesn't equal fruit. And I think that what God is saying to me in that is that I have to continue to examine my heart, and I have to continue to be in places that are hidden. One of the things that's true for me is I know how to be a good public Christian. Most of the time.

Sometimes maybe not, but like, I know how to be a good public Christian, but what I am in public, that doesn't mean that's what I am in private. It doesn't mean that that's what's really going on in my heart. And so I just feel this constant invitation in this season in particular to be like, God, who am I really? What are you seeing when you look at my heart? And where do you want to deal with me? And I just want to continue to be in a place where God has access to deal with my heart. So the one thing that I want to do is take this conversation back to God today and say, am I the angry farmer? Am I the big tree that didn't bear fruit today? And what is it that you want to do so I can be more fruitful? So it's inviting me to be introspective. Yeah, I think I resonate with that and just around along the lines of like, what's going on in my heart and what are my motivations? And so I think the very practical, like what I can do is when I feel offense, like I feel like that's a thing God has been like working out of me. Like when I feel offended because someone did something or someone said something, it actually probably has little to do

with what they didn't say. And it's more to do what's going on in the inside of me. So before I lash out or act out from offense, can I just really explore and sit with like, okay, what's going on? Why do I feel separated? Why am I not like, why am I not bearing the fruit that God would have me bear in this situation? That's good, Jamie. Man, thank you for that. For me, it's interesting that we're talking so much about fruit because I've read through Galatians five, which kind of lists out the fruit of the spirits a lot recently. And in that chapter as well, it lists out kind of the products of the flesh, like the opposites of the fruits of the spirit, like anger and lust and all these things. And reading that recently has been so helpful in checking my heart because I find myself in that category more than I do, fruits of the spirit. And so I think right now I'm realizing, okay, am I like feeding things of my flesh, which is just like the things of, I don't know how you'd say that, like things of this world or just things that are selfish or to my own flesh. And I find myself kind of living in that space more. And I think reading.

so much about the fruit of the Spirit or just fruit that comes from God in relationship with Him has been so helpful in realizing that I need more of that. So this is a check for me as well. I think you said this on a previous day in the app, but I think it's so relevant that I think you said it actually. So shame is not from God, but conviction is. And one of my favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 7.10, and maybe that's where you are today. It says that godly sorrow leads to repentance, which brings more salvation and leaves no regrets. And so we'll follow that thread of conviction. It actually leads to fewer regrets. And so, man, if there's something stirring your heart today, if you feel a ping, follow that thread because there's something good on the other side of that. It's the kind of fruit that will last.