Ministry of Grace Church

My brothers, is a fig tree is able to produce olives, or a grapevine figs? So neither can a sprint yield both salt water and fresh water.

Truth to Learn

Just like a fruit tree or a fountain of water, our tongue should only produce a single kind of fruit: blessing or cursing.

Behind the Words

This verse opens with the two Greek words mē dunatai. Mē, as we have already learned, means “absolutely not” and dunatai means “it is possible” or “it is able.” These two words are used in a similar manner to the opening word of the previous verse. That is, they form a question which is expecting a negative answer.

The word “tree” does not appear in the Greek text either this verse or the previous one. It was common in James’ day to use the same word to refer to a tree and its fruit. This further emphases the fact that a tree can only bear its own kind of fruit.

The word translated “produce” is poieō, which means “to make, to do, or to produce.” This is the same Greek word that is translated “yield” later in this verse. This serves to strengthen the tie between the fact that a tree cannot produce any fruit other than its own and the fact that a spring can only produce one kind of water.

The best Greek manuscripts do not contain the words translated “So … a spring” and the word translated “and.” A literal translation of the end of this verse would be, “neither can salt water yield sweet.” However, it is obvious that this the spring mentioned in the previous verse is what James is referring to.

Meaning Explained

James’ second example is also one that people in the first century would be very familiar with. In the northern and eastern Mediterranean basin, both fig trees and olive trees are quite common. Why did he use these two types of trees, though? If you know anything about these two types of trees, you recognize that the fruit of the fig tree, when ripe, is very sweet. It has very high sugar content. Grape vines produce sweet grapes. Olives, on the other hand, even when ripe have a very bitter taste and have to be treated before they can be eaten. So you see when James talks about water being sweet and bitter, it is only natural in making a sweet and bitter analogy to use the fig tree and the olive tree.

Again, the obvious answer to James’ question by the first century reader is that the fig tree does not produce bitter olives and the olive tree does not produce sweet figs. And certainly, neither tree can yield both at the same time. Each can only produce a single kind of fruit. A fig tree produces figs, an olive tree produces olives, and a grapevine only produces grapes.

James then applies this to the spring of water; it can only produce one kind of water, either sweet or bitter. He leaves it to the reader to then apply this back to the original subject, our tongue. Just as a spring of water can only produce one kind of water, and just as a fruit tree or a vine can only produce the kind of fruit it was created to produce, so our tongue should not be producing both blessings (like sweet fruit and sweet water) and cursing (like bitter fruit and bitter water). Our tongues should not be producing both blessings and cursing. It’s just not natural!

Application

James started this chapter telling us that we should not all be trying to become teachers, because teachers of His Word will receive harsher judgment from God. James’ reason is that teaching involves using words which can be a powerful force for good or for evil. You, who have the gift of teaching in the church, bathe your teaching in prayer. May others be blessed and may God be glorified by the sweet use of your tongue.