John’s Preaching of Repentance - Matthew 3:7–10

     John spoke out strongly against sin when he was baptizing, particularly the sin of the religious leaders.
     The pollution of the leaders. “When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers” (Matthew 3:7). The description of the religious leaders as “vipers.” was strong but accurate. It spoke of the poisonous character of their principles, conduct, and influence. They were like “that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan” (Revelation 12:9). Later Christ similarly indicted these religious leaders when He said to them, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell” (Matthew 23:33).
     The probing of the leaders. “Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7). The probing here was not seeking information so much as it expressed John’s surprise that these corrupt religious leaders were coming to his baptism, which required them to confess their sins (for they acted to the people as though they had no sin). But the probing also checked the motivation of the religious leaders. Why were they coming to John’s baptism? These rascals did many things with ulterior motives, and they needed to be aware that John knew of their deceitful conduct.
     The precept for the leaders. “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance” (Matthew 3:8). John saw clearly the hypocritical conduct of these religious leaders and therefore demanded that before they could be baptized they must evidence a genuineness of their repentance. They wanted the recognition of the rite but not the responsibility of the rite. John saw no evidence of true repentance and told them so. John’s insistence that those coming to him for baptism give evidence of the change in their lives before being baptized should encourage us to do the same in our churches. We need to be more careful about who we baptize. We need to refuse those who do not give good evidence of their faith in Christ.
     The philosophy of the leaders. “Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” (Matthew 3:9; cp. John 8:33). John condemned the belief these hypocrites clung to with tenacity. They felt that being a descendent of Abraham was all that was necessary to enter heaven. It was the physical relationship that they stressed, not a spiritual relationship. But God will have none of that. You may be a pure blooded Jew, or a descendent of the greatest preachers in history, or have a host of relatives that are outstanding Christians, but that will not make you a Christian. Only when you heart is right with God can you claim salvation. Your birth, race, country, or church is no substitute for a change of heart.
     The peril of the leaders. “Now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Matthew 3:10). No one had any trouble understanding this language in those days. When a tree or vine did not bear fruit, it was eventually cut down to make way for a tree or vine that would bear fruit. The language of John the Baptist, indicating the axe was already laid at the root of the tree, showed the immanency of the axe doing its work on non-fruit bearing trees. This illustration pictured the perilous situation of these religious leaders who did not exhibit the fruit of repentance. Lacking in fruit, judgment was imminent for them. They would soon be cut down and cast into the “fire” of hell.