Brood of Vipers

Good and Bad Fruit

{Luke} Jesus spoke to a crowd and a woman called out. “Blessed is the one who gave you birth.”

{Matthew and Luke} He said, “Blessed are the people who hear the word of God and obey it. A good tree will bear good fruit and a bad tree, bad fruit. We recognize a tree by its fruit. You brood of vipers! Evil people can say nothing good. The good stored in a good man’s heart comes out as does the evil from an evil man’s heart. I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. Your own words will either acquit or condemn you.”

Hypocrisy {Luke}

On a Sabbath, Jesus taught in one of the synagogues. A woman, crippled by a spirit for eighteen years, walked bent over, unable to straighten up. Jesus set hands on her. She immediately stood tall and praised God. The indignant synagogue leader told the people to come the other six days of the week to be healed, not on the Sabbath.

The Lord said, “You hypocrite, doesn’t everyone lead their ox or donkey from the stall on the Sabbath to give it water? Why shouldn’t this daughter of Abraham, bound by Satan for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day?

Jesus’ opponents were humiliated, and the people were delighted by the wondrous things Jesus did.

Personal Thought: People used to believe all ailments were caused by evil spirits and that those suffering from them had done something to deserve their illness, a superstitious stigma we still haven’t completely rid society of. Jesus sometimes said the sins of those healed were forgiven. Mostly, as with the bent over woman, he healed out of compassion and, though warning them to go forward without sin, he didn’t ostracize or berate them, ignore or judge them.