(1) Thom 45
(2a) 1Q: Luke 6:43-45 = Matt 7:16-20
(2b) Matt 12:33-35
(3) IgnEph 14:2b
(1) Thom 45
/45:1/ Jesus said, "Grapes are not harvested from thorn trees, nor are figs gathered from thistles, for they yield no fruit. /2/Good persons produce good from what they've stored up; /3/ bad persons produce evil from the wickedness they've stored up in their hearts, and say evil things. 'For from the overflow of the heart they produce evil." [Complete Gospels]
(2) Synoptic Tradition
(2a) 1Q: Luke 6:43-45 = Matt 7:16-20
/6:43/ "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; /44/ for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. /45/ The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.
= Matt 7:16-20
/7:16/ You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? /17/ In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. /18/ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. /19/ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. /20/ Thus you will know them by their fruits.
(2b) Matt 12:33-35/12:33/ "Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. /34/ You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. /35/ The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure.
(3) IgnEph 14:2b
/2/ No man who professes faith sins, nor does he hate who has obtained love. "The tree is known by its fruits": so they who profess to be of Christ shall be seen by their deeds. For the "deed" is not in present profession, but is shown by the power of faith, if a man continue to the end. [Sayings Parallels]
John Dominic Crossan
Item: 41
Stratum : I (30-60 CE)
Attestation : Triple
Historicity : -
Common Sayings Tradition : YesCrossan does not explicitly draw on this cluster in Historical Jesus.
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Color Thom 45:1a Thom 45:1b Thom 45:2-3 Thom 45:4 Luke 6:43 Luke 6:44a Luke 6:44b Luke 6:45a Luke 6:45b Matt 7:16a Matt 7:16b Matt 7:17-18 Matt 7:19 Matt 7:20 Matt 12:33a Matt 12:33b Matt 12:34 Matt 12:35 IgnEph 14:2b The Seminar (which used the name "By Their Fruits" for this cluster), took the various elements of this saying separately. The commentary in The Five Gospels (p. 298f) notes that, apart from "the quip about thorns and brambles in v. 44b," most of the sayings in the cluster belong to everyday proverbial wisdom. While Jesus doubtless drew on conventional and traditional materials, his distinctive insights into the sacred depths of everyday life are best observed in the aphorisms and parables that have no parallels.
Luedemann [Jesus, 300f] suggests that Luke has adapted a Q parable (found in a more original form in Matt 7:16-18) by intentionally folding into this section other Q material (Matt 12:34b) to fashion a brief integrated saying around this theme. He also notes the affinity with Sirach 27:7 (sic) and the saying of Jesus in Mark 7:15;
Sirach 27
/4/ When a sieve is shaken, the refuse appears;
so do a person;s faults when he speaks.
/5/ The kiln tests the potter's vessels;
so the test of a person is in his conversation.
/6/ Its fruit discloses the cultivation of a tree;
so a person's speech discloses the cultivation of his mind.
/7/ Do not praise anyone before he speaks,
for this is the way people are tested.Mark 7:15
There is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile,
but the things that comes out are what defile.
Meier does not comment on this cluster in the first 3 volumes of A Marginal Jew.
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