Matthew 3:7-10 7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of snakes, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Therefore, bear fruit in keeping with repentance; 9and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
The account of John’s ministry of baptism makes a dramatic shift in verse 7 to focus upon those who refused to repent. The Pharisees and Sadducees represented the two major religious sects of first century Judaism. The Pharisees strictly followed the laws given by Moses and interpreted through their oral teachings. They believed in resurrection. In today’s terms, we might call them the conservatives. They tended towards legalism. Jesus criticized them for missing the more important matters of the heart. The Sadduccess had a broader interpretation of Judaism and cooperated with the Romans.They did not believe in resurrection. In today’s terms, we might call them the liberals. John confronted both of them in his strong condemnation. Both groups went out in the wilderness for John’s baptism.
John’s response to them suggests that they were not sincere in seeking God. Snakes do not have a good reputation in the Bible ever since creation and the deceiving serpent. By calling the Jewish leaders the children of snakes, John implies their deceit. They were leading people astray by their insincere teachings and life style. He warns them to flee from the coming wrath. As leaders and teachers of God’s laws, they would be held accountable before God. Judgment was coming when they would have to stand before God. John shows that God offers grace and forgiveness if they would only repent and live out this repentance by bearing the right kind of fruit. John’s ministry was an opportunity for them to prepare for the coming Messiah.
John quotes what they may have been thinking. They were Jews, descendants of Abraham. They were of the chosen people of God. They had the mentality of some people today: once saved, always saved. Unfortunately, such people are deceived because pedigree or a salvation experience are not enough if there is no sincere repentance and faith lived out in obedience. John counters their thinking by showing that being a child of Abraham is not enough because God can make even stones to be children of Abraham. We can imagine him pointing to the dry rocks of the Judean wilderness.
John gives a third illustration that reflects on the need to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. The trees represent the religious leaders to whom John was speaking, but the message behind verse 10 applies to all people who are confronted with the truth about the need to repent from sin. These trees are about to be chopped down. The axe represents God’s judgment, and this judgment would come in the form of wrath to those who refuse to repent. All that needs to happen is for the axe to swing. The swing of the axe can come in the way of one’s death or Jesus’ coming again. The primary problem is not bearing good fruit, which represents the righteous life of faith implied in John’s message. The fire is God’s judgment of punishment in hell for those who refuse the words of Jesus (5:22; 7:19).
The message of these verses should have been clear to the Pharisees and Sadducees, and it should be clear to us today: we must repent of our sins and living in righteous expectation of the coming Messiah. To refuse will incur God’s swift judgment to the fires of hell. Sadly, many of the Jewish leaders refused to listen, and sadly, many people today remain in their sins and refuse to head the warning of Scripture about sin.
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