<p>12:33&nbsp;<em>Either make</em>- In their interpretation of Jesus they had to see Him as either good or bad, and He urged them to make a choice. The miracles were good fruit- therefore He was good, and working by God's Spirit rather than being an agent of Satan. The fruit of the tree equals the words (as in Prov. 12:14; 13:2); a corrupt man will speak corrupt words. And these will be the basis of his condemnation. By contrast &quot;the fruit of&nbsp;<em>our</em>&nbsp;lips&quot; should be praise (Heb. 13:15). &quot;Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth&quot; (Eph. 4:29) refers to this passage- the corrupt fruit is corrupt words. But the idea is that we bear the fruit<em> now</em>- our words&nbsp;<em>now</em>&nbsp;are our fruit.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>The tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt-</em>&nbsp;The Lord had taught in the Sermon on the Mount that it was a fundamental principle with Him that true spirituality cannot be hidden; what is within is openly revealed, even in this life. Good fruit means a good tree. His works were the good fruit. The Pharisees were claiming that His fruits, His works, were corrupt, and therefore He was corrupt. The Lord is asking everyone, especially the disciples, to decide one way or the other- either He is a good man doing good works, or an evil man doing evil works. There is no half way position, as He made clear in :30 (&ldquo;He that is not with Me is against Me&rdquo;). They were to &lsquo;make&rsquo; or consider, decide, about Him one way or the other.</p>
<p><em>And its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit- </em>As so often, the Lord is repeating the principles of His opening manifesto in the Sermon on the Mount (cp. Mt. 7:17,18). The fruit of a man's life reflects who he essentially is; the good fruit of the Lord's miracles was clear proof He was not of Satan but God's Son and supreme agent.&nbsp;</p>