Good Evening Yamon Ki Yesepar;
Luke 15:1-2: “I am the vine and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Me not bearing fruit, He takes it away; and each one bearing fruit, He prunes so that it may bear more fruit.”
Psalms 92:13: “The righteous bloom like the date tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.”
I grew up in the Baptist church and I was always taught that “bearing fruit” meant being evangelistic “soul winning,” we called it. This is taken from Proverbs 11:30: “The fruit of the righteous is the tree of life and he that winneth souls is wise.” Thus you are a wise man if you get people saved.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe in evangelism. I will never shake that Baptist root in me, however, I have a little concern when we take something out of Scripture, put our own spin on it such that we loose it’s original meaning. In the Hebrew, Proverbs 11:30 is more accurately translated, “A wise man captivates people.” In other words it’s the old “winning the hearts of minds of people.” Solomon, as a king knew that he had two ways to retain his throne and prevent a revolution. He could threaten his opposition with imprisonment or death, or he could win them over. A subject who serves him because he loves him is less likely to revolt than one who serves him out of fear. Such is the approach of a wise man. If you are a manager, you know you get the best results from an employee who works because he respects you and not because he is afraid you will fire him.
But I look at Luke 15:1-2 and wonder, how can this be a reference to evangelism? Evangelism did not exist in Jesus day. What did the Jew hear when Jesus said: “Every branch in Me not bearing fruit, He takes it away.”
In Jewish tradition there are two types of Tzaddikim (righteous people). Both are considered complete, yet there is a difference. One is constantly attached to God and fulfills the service that is required of him. However, he is a Tzaddik for himself alone and for no one else. He does not share his righteousness with others, and is like the cedar tree that does not bear fruit. That is, he does not help others become righteous.
The second type is like the date tree that bears fruit. That is , he removes the valuable from the dross, and increases goodness in the world. The sages teach that it is the second type who helps lead the world to repentance and thus his reward is far greater than the first type of Tzaddik, even though the first is a complete Tzaddik as well.
Jesus said: “Every branch in Me…” I believe the Jews listening to Jesus immediately thought of the teaching of the two types of Tzaddikim. When Jesus said
”Every branch in Me…” they recognized that Jesus was saying that the message I am giving you, you must share with others, you can not just keep it for yourself. Be the second type of Tzaddikim and not the first, be the type that bears fruit. What the Master is giving us will dry up and be removed if we do not help bring others to repentance.
So I say to my Baptist roots, “Yeah, I’m still with you. Jesus was talking about evangelism and we must share the Good News of His salvation with a lost world. He was calling us in Luke 15:1-2 to bring the message of salvation to a lost and dying world. We are not to be the first type of Tzaddikim and keep this Good News to ourselves, we must be the second type of Tzaddikim.
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