John’s Confrontation

“But when he (John the Baptist) saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Matthew 3:7

To the general public, John the Baptist felt it only necessary to say “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.  However, with the Pharisees, John felt it necessary to get more specific, more personal with them because of their background as zealots for ceremonies, for the power of the church, and for the traditions of the elders.  The Sadducees went to the other extreme denying the existence of spirits and a future afterlife.  We are not told why they came to hear John, but would speculate they came out of curiosity, because of a feeling of being threatened, or perhaps some were genuinely interest in his message.  Most were not, though.  Not everyone who hears God’s word will receive it.

John was very bold toward them, calling them a “generation of vipers”, that is, comparing them to poisonous snakes–not very complementary, but accurate.  Jesus also called them “vipers” (Matthew 12:34; 23:33).  It appears that they didn’t get along with each other until they faced a common enemy, someone they could all hate.  That Someone was Jesus, the “uncommon” “common” enemy to them.  After calling them vipers, John asked them why they came to him.  God had given John a spirit of discernment, thus he knew that they were self-righteous men who were depending on their “good works” and following the traditions they had set up to give them right standing before God.  Did they expect to escape God’s wrath by depending on their good works?  Or did someone frighten them into coming to hear John?

John wanted them to know that his call to repent went deeper than just saying, “I repent”.  He told them to bring forth the fruits of repentance, the evidence of repentance which are a change of heart and a change in behavior.  If John was here today, he would likely say, “If you are going to talk the talk, then you better walk the walk”.  He also told them that they could not depend on the fact that they were natural descendants of Abraham.  Just being a Jew did not give them right standing before God, even though Israel was God’s chosen people.  Their sin had separated them from God, and they could only return to Him through repentance and faith in His promise of a Redeemer, the Messiah Jesus Christ.  The Pharisees and Sadducees were guilty of believing only the Jews could belong to God.  They believed that if it wasn’t for them, God would have no family.  John answered that false notion quickly.  He let them know that God was able to make a way for anyone to become one of His children.

John then gave them an illustration by using nearby stones to represent non-Jews.  He said that God could raise up those lifeless stones to be His children if He so desired, implying that those hard, cold stones would have an easier time repenting than they would due to their hardheartedness and stubborn refusal to admit that they, too, were sinners (the basic requisite to repentance).  This illustration could also have been a foretelling of God’s plan to invite Gentiles into His kingdom.  If these religious leaders would not repent and believe, God would find others who would.

John gave them another illustration: “the axe is laid to the root of the tree: therefore, every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire”.  Whoa.  The axe represents the judgment of God.  The root of the tree is the leadership of the Jewish church and all those who claim to know God but do not live like they do.  Since they do not bring forth fruits suitable as proofs of repentance, they will be cut down and burned up.  There is no escaping God’s judgment without repentance.  No one will enter His kingdom on their own “righteousness”.  I can only imagine the look on the faces of these self-righteous Pharisees and Sadducees after John’s warning to them.  While they stood there dumbfounded, confused, and/or angry, John came to the most important part of his message to them.  He explained that his baptism was only an outward symbol that a person has repented, but has not been given the power to live righteously because no one can do that without help.  Hold on, though.  John told them that Someone was coming who has that power and is extremely more powerful than John.

Next time:  Baptism by fire