In the previous paragraph, which served as an introduction to the preaching of John and eventually, Jesus, Luke told us the date that the word of the Lord came unto John the Baptist. It is with this statement that we begin to see that God is again doing a mighty thing in the midst of His people, for all of this was spoke of by the prophets.
Now in this paragraph, we will see not just the mode of operation of John the Baptist, but we will see the normal and regular content of John’s preaching. We must remember what was said of John in chapter one. It was said that, “Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:16–17), and that he will be “called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins” (Luke 1:76–77). This paragraph will show how John’s preaching is getting the children of Israel ready for the coming of the Lord.
There are three main components of John’s preaching: rebuke, repentance, and wrath. Each of these components are necessary part for John so that he could accomplish his task of getting the children of Israel ready for the Lord. These three components are also necessary parts of our preaching today so that we may clearly communicate the Gospel.
Rebuke (3:7)
John is addressing a crowd that is coming to be baptized by him. This would mean that have come to hear his preaching. Baptism was an integral part of John’s ministry. He used practice of baptism to signify the remission of sin that comes through repentance. As you will remember from last week, remission or ἄφεσις is “the act of freeing from an obligation, guilt, or punishment, pardon, cancellation.”78 The act signified a spiritual cleansing. Our baptism is similar. It signifies not only God cleansing you of your sin but it also signifies participating in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In Matt. 3:7, we have a parallel account, and it states that John is addressing the Pharisees and the Sadducees when he opens his discourse. It very could have been that the Pharisees and the Sadducees were not the only people that were present. John, a talented preacher, was probably generally speaking to the crowds but was making a heavy handed remark towards the Pharisees and Sadducees.
John is not afraid to call it like it is. He openly calls them Γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν (offspring of snakes). These are individuals that are supposed to be the religious leaders of the day. However John is calling the Pharisees and Sadducees children of snakes—individuals that are poisonous. They may have the religious leaders of the day but they were not teaching as according to the Law of Moses like they thought. They were not teaching a repentance of sin but a form of self-made righteousness that comes through following the traditions of men. Therefore they were not teaching the Law but they were leading them astray. They were putting the children of Israel in Jeopardy. John is right to call them snakes.
Jesus does the same thing when he comes across the Pharisees and Sadducees saying, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” (Matt. 23:33; cf. 12:34). In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells the Jews that they are of their father the devil who was a murderer and a liar from the beginning (John 8:44). Jesus was accusing them of being murderers and liars by using the adage, like father, like son.
Jesus and John were not afraid to call like it is. They saw someone that was prideful of their sinful state and they were afraid to declare who they truly were. “You, who think that your are so righteous, are nothing more than poisonous snakes, murderers, and liars.” When you are without Christ, you are sinner and are of the same character as Satan. Sin is still sin no matter who does the act, no matter how well dressed they are, no matter how much political power they have. Sin is sin. Sin is sickening. Sin is disastrous. Sin is destructive. Sin is poisonous.
John makes a reference to the wrath to come. John is using some imagery with the snakes concerning wrath. In a brush fire snakes will often crawl out of the hole trying to escape from the heat of the fire. However, when the Day of the Lord comes, there will be no escape for those who have trusted only on their own efforts and not the work of Christ.
The question that John puts forward is meant to be used rhetorically. John knows full well that these men are not looking to understood what John is preaching. The only reason why they have come is seen in John 1:19–28. They are curious about a man that has come from the wilderness and is drawing a crowd. If we saw a spiritual awakening being led by a homeless, I’m sure that there would be many curious yet inconspicuous men looking for answers for the crowd. John knows that they do not understand the true purpose of his ministry. He there to prepare the hearts of Israel for the coming of their King and Messiah.
Repentance (3:8)
John then relays the only way in which a person can escape the wrath that is to come—repentance. A man cannot earn his way out of condemnation. A man cannot make himself better. An unregenerate cannot even do good works. An unregenerate is nothing more than a brood of vipers. The only possible way in which a man may escape the judgment to come is through repentance. A man has to be willing to say that the only thing he has ever done is sin.
However, John makes it clear that repentance does not come only with words on lips but is attended and attested with good works on hands. The repentance needs to be a true repentance which evidenced by a changed lifestyle. God saved us so that we can be free from the bondage of sin and death. He has given life and liberty so that we might walk in the good works that He has set before us (Eph 2:10). James says the same in his letter, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17). There is no such thing as fire insurance Christianity. A simple statement will not suffice. If a man is a true believer, he will have the Holy Spirit living within him Who is working to set him apart unto righteousness. If you say that you are a believer there must come evidence of one’s belief.
After giving a positive, John gives the negative to push it further. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and many other children of Israel thought that being a child of Abraham would be good enough to enter the kingdom. Such men are poorly mistaken. We still deal with this problem today even. There are many confused people who think that because their parents were Christians then they must be Christians as well. The Catholic Church teaches such ludicrous ideas to children and are leading them astray, leading their souls into eternal torment. Children of pastors and missionaries make the same mistake. They may have grown up in a home that has loved the Lord but the parent’s faith bears no effect on the faith of the child. Growing up in a Christian home will not save you. Having Christian parents will not save you.
The true children of Abraham are not always the ones that calls himself and Israelite. The one who is a son of Abraham is the one who has trusted in the promises of God as Abraham had trusted. “And [Abraham] believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). Paul states the same in his letter the Galatians, “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29).
Therefore, these men should not even begin to say (καὶ μὴ ἄρξησθε λέγειν) that Abraham as their father will save them from the wrath to come. They have no hope found in their lineage or nationality. They may lean upon their family tree only to have it break under their weight of sin. We should instead understand that God is able to make any person a child of God. This is what is meant by God raising children from these rocks. Salvation is not only for the Jew. Salvation is also available for the Gentile that comes to Christ for remission of sins.
Wrath (3:9)
John explains that there is immediate impending judgment, “yet even now (ἤδη δὲ καί).” The Day of Lord may seem like it is a long way off but you need to understand that a man will judgment upon death for “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). And you are not aware of when your appointed time of death will come. Therefore one must be ready for when he will appear before God.
John’s imagery is extremely with displaying how immediate the danger is for the unrepentant man. The axe has already been placed at the root of the tree. The axe is not in the shed or hanging on the wall with other tools. The axe is in hand and is ready to be swung. Judgment is able to come in a swift moment. There will be no warning.
For the tree that will be cut down that fails to bear good fruit will be used to feed the fire. The tree bearing good fruit will not cut down for it of use to its master. The keeper of the orchard receives good fruit from a good tree and is able to take his fill and be satisfied. The good fruit that John is referring to are the good works that is evidence of the true repentance that was made. However, the tree, the man that shows no good fruit will be thrown into the fire. A keeper of an orchard will see a withering tree and quickly cut it down. The tree is good for nothing but to keep the man warm at night and to heat his stove. A man may come to Church, may say on Sunday that he follows Jesus but if the rest of his life shows nothing of good works then we know that his faith is dead! The man has no good works whereby he has glorified Christ with. He has not shown that the Spirit resides within him. He is a man that is destined for eternal torment in the fire of hell. The axe will fall and he will be cast into the fire. God may not have glorified in the display of his good works but God will certainly be satisfied in the man’s destruction.
Preaching the wrath of God is not old-fashioned. Preaching and hearing of the wrath of God and the torments of hell is preaching the entire counsel of God. Every man is destined for eternal flame unless he trust His sins were paid for by Christ on the cross. God spoke of His wrath in the Garden of Eden to Adam and Eve, that if they were to eat of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil that they would surely die. Noah warned the world of God’s wrath that would come in the form of a flood upon the earth. Make no mistake, it was God that sent the Flood for their hearts were evil. It was God that poured out His wrath on Sodom and Gomorrah because there was not enough righteous men in the city to spare it. God spoke of His wrath to Moses when the Israelites worshipped the golden calf in the wilderness but wrath was averted when Moses asked for forgiveness. Moses promised Israel that they would be cursed by God if they abandoned the covenant. The prophets warned Israel so many times of the coming Day of the Lord. Paul warns that all will appear before His throne. Peter reminds that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. Scripture concludes with the saints standing in pure righteousness but not before God judges the entire earth, even personally leveling His enemies in the place of Armageddon. John the Baptist preaches about the wrath of God because it is to be seen from cover to cover. Even Christ Himself makes numerous warnings about the final eternal punishment of the damned. Just in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus mentions the fire of hell, or the gnashing of teeth 13 times. Hell and torment is a regular part of Jesus’ preaching as well. Know this well, it will God that will cast you into hell you are found to not be bearing fruit of repentance. Dear brothers and sisters, work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12). For it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living Godπ (Heb. 10:31). Repent this day and be saved!
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78. BDAG, 155.
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