Matthew 3:7, commentary and pictures

John in the wilderness as the prophesied forerunner preparing the way of the Lord confronted the Pharisees and Sadducees when they came to his baptism in Jordan. He called them a brood of vipers because they were malignant and bitterly opposed to God's will, their outward show of strict piety and holiness concealing pride, selfishness, unbelief and corrupt lives. His question who warned them to flee tests whether they were truly moved by the Holy Spirit to escape judgment, which is God's judgments abroad in the land culminating in the great day of God. Neither descent from Abraham, religious reputation, nor outward interest in baptism can shield from that wrath; safety requires genuine repentance proved by a changed life and good works, receiving Christ the Lamb of God and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. His straight, sharp, uncompromising rebuke is the pattern for faithful ministers, who must plainly expose particular sins and warn of coming wrath rather than preach smooth things, especially now to prepare a people to stand when Christ comes in the clouds.

John's Hearers and Setting

The rebuke belongs to John's wilderness ministry in Judea as the forerunner preparing the way of the Lord, a God-appointed fulfillment of prophecy that no human effort can prevent. He began when public affairs were unsettled with discord and insurrection, lifting his voice from the wilderness like a trumpet with new and strange power that startled and aroused the people and made them tremble because of their great wickedness. In simplicity and plainness and with irresistible power he denounced sin, flattering none, and with discernment of character that read purposes and hearts he fearlessly told rich and poor, honorable and lowly, and kings and rulers their particular sins and deeply convicted them. Multitudes answered by repenting and confessing their sins and being baptized in Jordan.

The Pharisees who came were very strict about outward observance of forms and customs, filled with haughty, worldly, hypocritical self-righteousness. They claimed learning, piety, and holiness and considered themselves more pious and worthy than others. The Sadducees denied the resurrection of the dead and the existence of angels and were skeptical about God, being largely composed of unworthy characters, many licentious in habit.

They came with poisonous principles, corrupt practices, pride, and ambition, yet no true sense of their condition. Without conviction by God's Spirit, in unbelief and refusal to repent, their approach was insincere, for hearing the warning as merely human words brought no change of heart. They were driven by desire to strengthen their influence and to gain the prophet's favor and a share in the honors and riches they expected from a temporal kingdom and from the coming Prince. Their confession of sins and disclosure of hidden lives astonished John because they had thought highly of their own piety, yet their conduct was abhorrent to God and revealed their need for remission.

The Sadducees came while still unrepentant, since John's baptism was unto repentance but true repentance required receiving Christ first, so coming in that condition was insufficient and they would need to receive Christ and then receive a second baptism. Their works showed hatred of Christ and refusal to listen to Him. Their pride, selfishness, and cruelty made them a deadly curse to the people, and though they had received greater light than the heathen, their conduct made them worse.

Rebuke and Coming Wrath

To call them a brood of vipers meant they were malignant and antagonistic, bitterly opposed to the expressed will of God. Their pride, selfishness, and cruelty made them a deadly curse to the people, and though they had received greater light than the heathen their conduct made them worse. The rebuke exposed hypocrisy, pride, selfishness, and unbelief, for they came for baptism without true conviction of sin or genuine repentance, and their claim to Abraham as father could not shield them from coming judgment. Their outward show of godliness concealed lives contrary to God's will, for though they claimed a right to eternal blessings through the promises to Abraham they lacked Abraham's faith and piety, so ancestry alone did not make them his true children nor entitle them to those promises. Many sought baptism hoping to gain the prophet's favor and a share in the honors and riches expected from a temporal kingdom, and John exposed their pride, greed, hypocrisy, and unbelief, showing that true children of Abraham would display his faith, love, and obedience, and that without good fruit and repentance they had no claim to Christ's kingdom.

The same name belongs to self-righteous formalists today who pride themselves on attainments while wholly destitute of Christ's spirit and controlled by envy, jealousy, and love of praise and popularity. As children of the wicked one none are farther from the kingdom of heaven than they, for they cannot deny clear and convincing arguments for truth yet receive it as human reasoning rather than divine revelation, with no true sense of their condition as sinners, no real brokenness of heart, and a feeling that it is a great condescension to accept the truth. Such persons live unseen and unsuspected among believers and disguise their true character, and so they serve Satan's cause more effectively than the vilest profligate, who at least appears what he is. John's question who warned them to flee challenges their claim to be escaping judgment, rebuking them as a corrupt generation and calling sin by its right name rather than offering smooth words. They must demonstrate repentance through changed lives, for descent from Abraham does not guarantee God's favor since God can raise up children for Abraham even from stones.

Whether the warning to flee reached hearers through the Holy Spirit or merely through a human voice is the test, for response to a minister is no proof of conversion to God, and those who praise the minister while neglecting righteous deeds show where their loyalty lies, since the fruit people bear reveals the character of the tree. The wrath to come is God's judgments abroad in the land, seen in terrible calamities coming upon the world and culminating in the day of God. Everyone may escape that wrath through preparation for the future life, which requires understanding the meaning of these calamities, telling neighbors so they do not remain in darkness unprepared, and realizing where one stands lest the day of God come as a thief. Gradual growth of corruption can deceive people until they lose a real sense of sin, but God keeps account of nations' guilt. When transgression reaches its limit and God's law is made void, He reckons with the dishonor done to His government and may charge a generation with earlier generations' crimes when it continues their evil course.

The warning is explained by laying the ax at the root of the tree: every tree without good fruit will be hewn down and burned. The mightier Coming One will baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire and will separate wheat from chaff, consuming the chaff with unquenchable fire. This rebuke belonged to John's God-appointed work fulfilling prophecy to prepare the way of the Lord, which no human effort can prevent, exposing empty profession and reliance on descent from Abraham and demanding genuine repentance that brings forth fitting fruits in good works and righteous fruit. Religious standing did not protect them from coming judgment, and the leaders' failure to repent showed their conversion was not genuine. The same warning stands today because prophecies of the second coming are being fulfilled and the same message of repentance must be given, calling to repent because the kingdom of heaven is at hand in a life-and-death decision to accept the infinite sacrifice of Christ and the everlasting life given through God's only begotten Son to all who believe and come to Him for life and turn to Him as Author and Finisher of faith, while many with blinded eyes to the predictions of Christ's coming remain as chaff to be consumed. As forerunner of Jesus he sounded the solemn warning in the spirit and power of Elijah to arouse the churches and manifest their real character, and the same work was done by those who preached William Miller's message, when many who united with the churches saw their backslidings, humbled themselves with bitter tears of repentance and deep agony of soul, received the healing message, and as the Spirit rested upon them helped sound the cry that the hour of God's judgment is come.

Call to Genuine Repentance

Religious standing or profession does not make anyone safe from judgment, for even those who stood high among the people still needed repentance before they could receive Christ. That repentance meant turning from backslidings and past sins and letting truth cleanse the life, since Christ's presence would reveal sin and those corrupt in heart could not remain in His fellowship. Mere interest in baptism was not enough to flee the wrath.

John therefore demanded fruits worthy of repentance, shown in a changed life, good works, and righteous fruit. The fruit people bear reveals the character of the tree, and profession of faith without such fruit is worthless. God recognizes as His children only those who receive and retain the Holy Spirit through obedience, humility, Christ's life, and unity with Him. Merely hearing the message or receiving baptism and ceremony outwardly cannot benefit without the Spirit's transforming power to change the heart.

The warning rejects reliance on outward claims or ceremonies apart from recognizing the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Genuine repentance would have led them to accept John's testimony about Christ, to whom the sacrificial offerings pointed. It is a life-and-death decision to believe, to come to Him for life, and to turn to Him as Author and Finisher of faith in order to receive everlasting life through God's only begotten Son.

The call prepared people for the Lord's first coming because the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Without repentance of sins and thorough conversion, even those claiming to be righteous could not enjoy God's favor or have part in the Messiah's kingdom. Truth accompanied by the Holy Spirit exposed sinful practices, and those honest in heart desired salvation, confessed their sins, and submitted to what was essential to inherit the kingdom. His preaching called them to recognize disregard for their Father's authority and to do the work appointed to them, and it turned many from unrighteousness.

False Trusts Swept Away

John's warning to flee the coming wrath struck directly at national pride and a sense of superiority, for descent from Abraham and other natural advantages cannot take the place of purity and obedience to God's commandments. That same descent could not give pure principles or holy character, and by following their own ideas instead of God's requirements they lost the qualities of Abraham's children. The call to repent was thus a preparation of the people for the first coming of the Lord.

Those who came to the baptism claimed Abraham as father and rested on ancestry, religious reputation, learning, and piety, yet none of this could shield them from God's coming judgment. They arrived without true conviction of sin or genuine repentance, feeling secure in God's favor while their conduct was abhorrent to God. Their confession of sins and disclosure of hidden lives astonished John, because they had considered themselves more pious and worthy than others and had thought highly of their own piety. They were challenged to show real repentance in changed lives and not to rely on descent to escape judgment.

Standing as Abraham's children depended not on natural descent or religious profession but on bearing the fruit of Abraham's faith, love, and obedience. They lacked Abraham's faith and piety, followed their own ideas instead of God's requirements, and concealed lives contrary to God's will beneath an outward show of godliness. Therefore ancestry alone did not make them his true children in spirit nor entitle them to the promises made to Abraham. Their lack of good fruit and repentance left them without a claim to the kingdom of Christ.

God was not dependent on them to fulfill His purpose, since He can raise up children for Abraham even from stones. As He called Abraham from a heathen people, so He could call others to serve Him rather than depend on descendants who rejected the light they had received. His Spirit can give hearts as lifeless as stones the power to do His will and receive His promise.

Mere interest in baptism, hearing the message, and outward ceremony was not enough to flee the wrath. Despite standing among the people they needed repentance before they could receive Christ, turning from past sins and letting truth cleanse their lives. Christ's presence would reveal sin, and those corrupt in heart could not remain in His fellowship. Hearing the warning as merely human words brought no conviction or change of heart, for without the Spirit's transforming power the ceremony could not benefit them. Reliance on outward religious claims or ceremonies is rejected apart from recognizing the Lamb of God who takes away the world's sin, and genuine repentance would be shown by its fruit.

Pattern for Faithful Preachers

John spoke with a loud voice, not a whisper, and his message was no smooth message but the plain truth of the situation, delivered in simplicity and plainness with a power that could not be resisted. It was a straight, sharp, uncompromising denunciation that called sin by its right name, denounced sin and pointed out the errors, crimes, and particular sins of those who came, flattering none and receiving no flattery. With discernment of character and spiritual sight that read purposes and hearts, he fearlessly told rich and poor, honorable and lowly, and kings and rulers, challenging corrupt professed converts who came for baptism over their claim to escape the coming wrath. There was something in that straight warning that brought people out to hear him, and its startling plainness made a decisive impression that cut hearers to the heart and turned many from unrighteousness to recognize disregard for their Father's authority and do the work appointed to them.

Ministers must rebuke sin directly and warn of coming wrath instead of preaching smooth sermons to please men or softening the warning to avoid anger, offense, and loss of personal safety. Lack of such rebuke comes from love of approbation and policy taking the place of faithfulness, and God will not acknowledge as shepherds those who speak smooth things, while faithfulness requires plain truth even when it provokes anger and costs life. His sharp, stern rebuke was necessary because they were living in sin, and as pointed reproof exposing wrong and deception its startling power silenced sneers and convicted of sin. That same startling message carried strange power that cut even cold, unimpressible scoffers to the heart with a sense of their sins and made even Herod tremble at the call to repent because the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

That pointedness grew stronger as the danger grew, given faithfully even though it provoked anger and cost him his life in order that the people would not be deceived. The work of warning sinners to flee from the coming wrath requires earnest, burdened workers who do not use excuses to avoid duty but devote themselves to the cause rather than spending strength questioning and criticizing one another. His preaching is a model distinct from fanciful preaching designed mainly to draw a large crowd, for hearers must be led to Jesus Christ, not merely attracted to the preacher. Doing this work faithfully just before Christ's second coming requires the same spiritual experience John had, beholding God until self is lost sight of, in direct, fearless rebuke of iniquity that does not hesitate though life is imperiled.

Prophecy and Final Application

The same warning stands today because the prophecies of the second coming are being fulfilled and the same message of repentance must now be given, while many remain blinded to the predictions of that coming as chaff to be consumed with unquenchable fire. The message to come into the ranks now is the same kind of straight, truth-telling message, spoken with a loud voice and not a whisper, with no smooth words but telling the truth of the situation, warning that God's judgments are in the world and that the time of flight to the mountains is just ahead. It is a message similar to John's warning to flee from the wrath to come, giving warnings and not letting souls be drawn aside, guarding minds against those who would divert them from the necessity of heeding the true issues for this time and carrying on the work for those who need the truth and have not exchanged its evidences for fallacies and scientific presentations of satanic origin. It is plain present truth for preparing for the future life that measures with the life of God, by serving God with full purpose of a renewed heart sanctified and made holy by cleansing blood, and it has nothing to do with side issues such as whether the world is round or flat, which are brought in through minds not worked by the Spirit.

John sounded that solemn warning to escape the coming wrath, laying the ax at the root of the tree and calling for fruits meet for repentance, in the spirit and power of Elijah to arouse the churches and manifest their real character. He stood alone to rebuke the pride and formalism of the nation, directly and sternly rebuking even cold scoffers with a startling power that silenced sneers, cut to the heart with a sense of sin, and made even Herod tremble at the call to repent because the kingdom was at hand. The same direct, fearless rebuke of iniquity, not hesitating though life is imperiled, is the work to be done just before Christ comes in the clouds to prepare a people to stand in the great day, with the message to prepare to meet God, and doing it faithfully requires the same spiritual experience of beholding God until self is lost sight of.

The preachers of William Miller's message carried this same warning to the churches, urging worldly people, church members, and even children to flee the wrath, repent, turn from sin, and prove repentance by bearing good and fitting fruit in preparation for Christ's coming. Many who heard saw their backslidings, humbled themselves with bitter tears and deep agony of soul, received the healing message, and as the Spirit rested upon them helped to sound the cry that the hour of God's judgment is come. That Advent warning followed John's example by exposing sin at its root rather than offering assurances of peace and safety, awakening people from religious complacency to recognize sin and seek the Lord with humility. Ministers should likewise warn of transgressions and exhort to purity and holiness, especially when a church claims peace and prosperity while tolerating sin.

The reproof also applies to many today who are self-righteous formalists filled with pride in attainments while destitute of Christ's spirit and controlled by envy, jealousy, and love of praise and popularity, as children of the wicked one farthest from the kingdom. Though unable to deny clear and convincing arguments for truth, they accept it as human reasoning rather than divine revelation, with no true sense of their condition as sinners and no real brokenness of heart, feeling it a great condescension to accept the truth. Such persons live among believers unseen and unsuspected, disguising their true character, and serve Satan's cause more effectively than the vilest profligate who appears what he is. The warning applies beyond the Jewish age, since claims to learning and piety cannot shield from coming wrath and the sins that brought God's wrath anciently can bring wrath on the church as well.

Its call is to turn from sin and perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord, since nothing short of perfection will enable seeing the King in His beauty, repenting not only of immorality and vice but also of worldliness and backsliding in view of the approaching judgment. The call to flee is urgent and without delay because probation is passing, the end of all things is near, and Christ will soon return with the choice between salvation and loss. Amid terrible calamities abroad in the land that show the meaning and nearness of God's judgments culminating in the day of God, people must understand their meaning, prepare for Christ's soon return, and tell neighbors so they do not remain in darkness unprepared, each realizing where he stands lest that day come as a thief. John's example of speaking plainly to professed converts and warning of coming wrath while calling for repentance shown in life shows that faithful preachers before the second coming must give an even more pointed testimony against sin, and those who speak smooth things will not be acknowledged as shepherds.