“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.
33. Either make the tree good It might look like absurdity, that men should be allowed a choice of being either good or bad; but if we consider what sort of persons Christ is addressing, the difficulty will be speedily resolved.
In these verses we have, I. Christ's glorious conquest of Satan, in the gracious cure of one who, by the divine permission, was under his power, and in his possession, Mat 12:22. Here observe, 1. The man's case was very sad; he was possessed with a devil.
Commenting on Matthew 12:22-37
Then certain of the Scribes and Pharisees answered,.... Not the same that charged him with casting out devils, by the prince of devils; but others, that were present, as appears from Luk 11:16 and who do not take upon them to make a proper reply to what he had said, or return an answer to that, but address him on another account; being willing to...