Good Fruit

By Rev. Heidi L. Barham |  July 19, 2026

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Read Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 (NIV)
 
Does anyone here remember the 1954 novel entitled, “The Bad Seed,” about a young girl, named Rhoda, who had a really dark side… one might say she was the epitome and personification of evil… masquerading as the perfect little girl.  The book went on to be adapted for stage and later for the big screen as well as television.
 
However, what we find in our text for today, is Jesus using the Parable of the Weeds to draw our attention to a farmer planting what could best be described as good seed… that will ultimately lead to a harvest of GOOD FRUIT.
 
As the story unfolds, after the good seed had been planted… the farmer and his hired hands went to sleep.  And while they were sleeping… the enemy crept in and planted weeds throughout the field… and as the grain began to grow, so did the weeds.
 
Now, once the farmhands looked at the budding crops… they confirmed with the farmer that they had indeed planted good seed; however, they expressed some confusion over where the weeds had come from. 
 
I must admit that when I look at our garden, I am amazed at how quickly and sneakily weeds can insert themselves in the midst of the flowers and gardens that Ron has so carefully planted.
 
But the farmer in our story had no illusions or delusions about the origins of the weeds… he knew exactly where they came from… and he explained they had been planted by an enemy.
 
But when the farmhands offered to pull out the weeds… the farmer cautioned them against doing so… because trying to pull out the weeds at that early stage in the growth process could potentially cause them to pull out the wheat as well as the weeds. 
 
The farmer told them to wait until the wheat grew to the point when it was ready to be harvested… that is when they would be able to tell the two apart and separate the weeds from the wheat… simply put… that is when they could more easily identify what was actually the GOOD FRUIT of their labor. 
 
And at that time, the weeds could be bundled up and burned while the wheat could be gathered up and stored in the barn.
 
Now, a short time after Jesus told His disciples this parable, they asked Him to explain it.  (After all, what good is a parable without some type of explanation?) 
 
Jesus told them that the farmer who planted the good seed was the Son of Man, in other words, Jesus Himself. 
 
He went on to explain that the field where the good seed had been planted is the world and the good seed represented the people of the kingdom… those who would go on to bear the GOOD FRUIT that comes as the result of living lives as representatives of the kingdom of God.
 
On the other hand, the weeds (or the thistles as they are called in some versions) were the people who belonged to the evil one… you might call them the original bad seeds.  And it should come as no surprise that the evil one is the devil. 
 
Jesus further explained that the time of the harvest represents the end of the age and the harvesters are God’s angels… the ones who will weed out everything from the kingdom that causes sin (the bad seed)… meanwhile the good seed… God’s righteous ones… will shine like the sun.
 
Now, Jesus was known for using parables as teaching tools for His disciples and others that He met throughout His earthly ministry… and they have been recorded in the Scriptures for our instruction as well.
 
As mentioned in the sermon last week… parables are sometimes described as earthly stories with a heavenly meaning… that is because they use common themes and images that people are familiar with to explain heavenly or spiritual concepts that might be hard for some to grasp.
 
Now, this imagery of seedtime and harvest would have been a familiar one for those who heard this story originally as well as for many of us here today… after all, I know that there are more than a few of you here and on the phone with quite the working knowledge of all things related to gardening.
 
So, this morning as we reflect on this Parable of the Weeds and think about it in the context of GOOD FRUIT… let me suggest that there are a few lessons that we can take away from this parable:
 
First, we need to proceed with caution.  What starts growing from good seeds can bear a striking resemblance to weeds… and they are often intertwined with each other.
 
The farmer told his farmhands not to try to pull out the weeds just yet… because early in the process, it can be difficult to tell the weeds and the wheat apart… which meant there was a chance that the farmhands would actually pull out the wheat instead of the weeds.
 
And believe it or not, it can be the same when it comes to us. 
 
When people are in the early stages of their faith formation, it can be difficult to distinguish between believers and unbelievers.
 
New believers may not have learned how to separate themselves from their worldly ways… or matured enough yet in their faith to know how to distinguish themselves from the rest of the world.
 
So, when we are serving as God’s farmhands so to speak… we need to show kindness and compassion to everyone rather than sitting in seats of judgment and criticism… because we do not want to cause hurt to a new believer… potentially alienating them from the church and sending them right back out into the world.
 
And if the truth be told… we need to be careful about being judgmental and critical of the more seasoned believers as well… after all, the reality is that none of us has a right to judge anyone else…
 
In Matthew 7 (1 – 2) we find Jesus’ words of caution, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
 
Now, I can only speak for myself… but this not being judgmental thing is so much easier said than done.  It can be really, really hard to look at some of the things that other people are saying and doing and not point a finger at their behavior… especially in this current environment we find ourselves living in…
 
But as you have heard me say on more than one occasion… when we point one finger at someone else, there are literally three fingers pointing back at us.
 
And if we want the Lord show us grace and forgive us of our sins… we have to be willing to do the same toward others…
 
“Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us…”  Sound familiar?
 
So, in our approach to others, let us proceed with caution and not be quick to rush to judgment… keeping in mind that good seeds and weeds can sometimes look alike.  Besides, who gave us the right to judge anyone anyway?
 
Now the next lesson that we can take from this parable is this…
 
When plants are allowed to grow to maturity… they will be known by their fruit.
 
Back in Matthew 7 (15 – 20) we read:

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

When good seed is planted and allowed to grow to maturity… it will produce GOOD FRUIT.  And just what is the GOOD FRUIT that the good seed will produce? 
 
In Galatians 5:22 – 23 we read, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
 
While in James 3:17 we read, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
 
The GOOD FRUIT that comes from good seed reflects the nature and character of the One who has done the planting… the One who calls us to love God and the people of God… the One who has shown kindness and compassion toward us and told us to “go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).
 
And conversely, when those bad seeds, those weeds, are allowed to grow into full maturity… let’s just say that we will know them by their fruit as well. 
 
I am reminded of something that Maya Angelou is credited with saying, “When people show you who they are, believe them.” 
 
As people reveal more and more of who they really are… we need to know just who we are dealing with.  Keep in mind that Jesus said to “Watch out for false prophets…” 
 
Perhaps that is why in his letter to his young protégé, Timothy, the Apostle Paul included these words of caution, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3 – 4)
 
Or as it reads in the Message Paraphrase

You’re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They’ll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages.

There are a whole lot of people in this world who are like those false prophets and teachers…
 
They are willing to say whatever people want to hear… whether it is the truth or not.  They will say whatever will help them to curry favor with others and dare I say in order to gain popularity, win votes and secure endorsements... 
 
But that is the very thing that will land us in the weeds… and that is definitely NOT where we want to be. 
 
We should always strive to bear GOOD FRUIT.  And why is that? 
 
Well, I am glad you asked because that brings us to the last lesson that I want to highlight from our text this morning.
 
The day will come when the Lord will separate the GOOD FRUIT from the bad.
 
There are several images that come to mind when I think about this final point about separating the GOOD FRUIT from the bad.
 
The first goes back to the story of Cain and Abel and the difference in the offering they each made to God.
 
In Genesis 4, we read about Cain bringing an offering of some of the fruits of the soil… from the produce of his farm… while Abel brought an offering from the fat portions of the firstborn of his flock… the choice cuts of meat. 
 
What it boiled down to is this… Abel gave the best of what he had to offer… while Cain just gave something… seemingly with little thought about what it meant to give his best. 
 
This also calls to mind the difference in offerings that Jesus pointed out in the temple when He compared the gift of two small coins offered by a poor widow with that of the rich people who gave out of their excess.
 
Abel as well as the poor widow brought forth GOOD FRUIT… giving their very best from a place of gratitude… honoring God for the gifts they had been given.
 
While Cain and the rich folks in the temple gave blemished and tainted fruit… seemingly giving from a place of complacency… without careful consideration to the original Giver of the gifts.  Something that I would definitely caution us against doing.
 
Now one of the other stories that came to mind as I thought about the Lord separating the GOOD FRUIT from the bad was the story of the sheep and the goats that is found later in Matthew’s Gospel (see Matthew 25:31 – 46). 
 
Matthew 25:31, Jesus starts by saying:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

He goes on to describe the ways in which the sheep… the folks who bear the GOOD FRUIT of kindness and compassion… have done what was pleasing and acceptable… caring for those who were hungry and thirsty, homeless and naked, sick and imprisoned… their reward will be eternal life.
 
On the other hand, the goats… the ones who bear bad fruit… have done just the opposite.  And as a result, they will find themselves facing eternal punishment.
 
The difference is actually fairly simple.
 
Good seed produces GOOD FRUIT which results in eternal life… while bad seed produces bad fruit which leads to eternal punishment.
 
Now, can I tell you the good news?
 
Jesus gave His life in exchange for ours so that when we finally grow weary and tired of living as bad seed… we have been given the opportunity to turn our lives around to become good seed and produce GOOD FRUIT just as Jesus desires for us to do.
 
Jesus calls each of us to bear GOOD FRUIT… to follow in His footsteps and do as He has commanded… to forgive as we have been forgiven… to be merciful as we have received mercy… to be gracious as we have received grace… to bless others as we have been blessed… and to love others unconditionally as we have been loved… that is GOOD FRUIT.
 
And I don’t think I am going out on a limb here in guessing that all of us want to be put into the GOOD FRUIT category and not the bad…
 
That means we must be willing to live as Christ would have us to live… loving others and being used by God to bear GOOD FRUIT that will help draw others to Jesus… never losing sight of the fact that by this the world will know that we are His disciples… if we have love for one another… (see John 13:35). 
 
And if you want to live so God can use you to bear GOOD FRUIT… then I want to invite you to stand now and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship:  I'm Gonna Live So God Can Use Me #614.

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