Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 6:43

"For there is no good tree that bringeth forth corrupt fruit; nor again a corrupt tree that bringeth forth good fruit." — Luke 6:43 (ASV)

For a good tree does not bring forth . . .—See Notes on Matthew 7:16-21. Here again, judging by what we find in Saint Matthew, there may have been missing links; but even without them the conjunction “for” does not lose its force.

The good tree of a Christ-like life cannot produce the “corrupt fruit” (better, perhaps, rotten fruit) of censorious judgment; the rotten tree of hypocrisy cannot produce the “good fruit” of the power to reform and purify the lives of others. The tree of life (i.e., the wisdom of perfect holiness, compare Proverbs 3:18; Proverbs 11:30), whose leaves are for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:2), is of quite another character than that.