Matthew 3:7b-10 “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.2”
The forerunner to Jesus, John the Baptist, watches as the spiritual leaders of his time begin showing up for baptisms. Not to participate, but to mock. Recognizing them for who they are, John addresses them sharply. “You brood of vipers!” Jewish believers of the time would have recognized Abraham as their father of righteousness and their lineage to him as a pathway to salvation.
John uproots their theology at the core, claiming they are of satanic descent, doing his will, not that of the Father. Clearly fighting words. But he does not end there. His cause for exclamation and public denunciation comes directly from witnessing their fruit.
“It has been well observed, that there is an allusion here to a woodman, who, having marked a tree for excision, lays his axe at its root, and strips off his outer garment, that he may wield his blows more powerfully, and that his work may be quickly performed.” (Adam Clarke)
Spurgeon put it this way: “No mere pruning and trimming work did John come to do; he was the handler of a sharp axe that was to fell every worthless tree.”
The axe is set and ready to strike. So what do the fruits of your life show? Are you bearing witness to the father of darkness or the Father of Light?
Stay on Mission
Leave a Reply