March 13th, 2025
33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
We live in an age where we are exposed to a variety of different voices all the time. We hear people's opinions, emotions and perspectives through every single piece of media we consume on a daily basis. If it's not through the internet, TV or movies, we are also privy to the conversations of those in our immediate circle. And whether you realize it or not, all of these voices and all of these conversations are having some kind of multiplied affect on our own mind and heart. All of a sudden, we are finding ourselves sounding and talking like the rest of the world without any control or reservation. The good news is that the Bible never shies away from reminding us just how heavily influenced we are and how much weight our words actually carry.
In our passage today, Jesus is addressing the evil attitude of the pharisees that were constantly watching and mocking everything that He had said and done. Carelessly, they attributed His deeds to the works of Satan. In doing so, they blasphemed the Son of God and labelled Christ as demonic. Some of us might read the account and think perhaps the Pharisees were simply joking around, or just being negligent about their opinions on Jesus. However, the Lord took this moment to give us all a lesson about the words we speak. He reminds us that every single word, phrase, and sentence has a deeper meaning to it. That when we speak, we are actually revealing to others the true state of our hearts.
We might have become so used to speaking before we think. Or maybe we've created a personality that believes we can get away with saying anything and everything. However, it is in these reckless moments that words are shared and not able to be taken back. Jesus doesn't leave room for us to explain ourselves or make up excuses for why we said this or that. He draws a distinct and sharp connection between our mouth and heart. If there is goodness, kindness, love and truth stored up within you, this is what will spill out of you. However, if there is jealousy, bitterness, hatred, anger or pride stored within, you can be sure that this will come out as well. As convicting and harsh as it may sound, each and every word of ours will be judged. And that should be enough for us to examine our hearts and put strict restrictions on our tongue each and every day.
Some of us may be glorifying ourselves at this point because we feel as though we never issue evil words unto others. However, Jesus also specifically addresses the concern of "empty" or "idle" words. This would be the phrases that casually slip out, jokes that aren't edifying, and opinions that we thought no one really heard. Jesus is telling us that even the conversations we forgot we had are subject to God's divine assessment. In the Lord's perspective there is no such difference between words we meant to say and words we didn't mean to say. Even the smallest most insignificant conversation matters much to Him. As James tells us, the human tongue is powerful and hidden within it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison (James 3:8).
So then, let us take heed to what God's Word commands of us. Let our speech be filled with the love and compassion of Christ Jesus. Let us offer words of encouragement that build others up and gives grace to those who hear (Ephesians 4:29). Let us set a guard over our mouth and ask the Lord to keep watch over the doors of our lips (Psalms 141:3). More than that, we ought to be so careful about what our ears are listening to. Are there particular people in your life that are negatively and sinfully influencing your words and speech? Are there specific music, videos or other media that is slowly corrupting your heart? Whatever is filling you today is exactly what will come out of you. I pray that as you begin to silence and numb every other voice in your life, the Holy Spirit would begin to speak louder and fill your heart with His love, grace and truth.