It appears that they said the words of repentance, but did not follow through with actions. So if you grieve and say you are sorry for your sins before God, but do not change your ways, have you really repented? John had a few words for those who did this.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Was John the Baptist just being mean? It’s not like he spoke kindly with gentleness and niceness to the Pharisees and Sadducees. Is being “nice” always the way to go?

The Pharisees and Sadducees were supposed to be the religious leaders. The shepherds of Israel. That ones who drew them nearer to God. But they were as corrupt as they could be. “White washed tombs” Jesus would later call them. Clean on the outside, filthy on the inside.

“Nice” would not have worked with them. Nor would it have woken them up. So John speaks to them in a way that perhaps they would hear.

He calls them out. It’s not enough just to repent. You actually have to follow through with your actions. Stop doing the things you did before.

There are no claims of, ‘we’re good as we’re descendants of Abraham.’ No ‘we’re good because we are ordained.’ No ‘we’re good because we go to synagogue and tithe.’ Repentance that was proven by action was what mattered most.

Then John the Baptist says something interesting. “Out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.” What does that mean?

In the big picture he saying to them that they cannot claim to be special and exempted from sin just because they are descendants of Abraham. God could have chosen anyone he wanted. And he can and will. He did so in the Gentiles through faith in Him, grafted in to Israel.

Then he gives them a message of judgment. The time is coming soon that there will be a separation. Those that produce good fruit will be saved. Those who do not will be thrown into the fire.

Wait, what? How does this go with Eph 2:8-9?

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

Because some are quick to use this verse in Matthew to say that John the Baptist is teaching salvation by works. But look at it again.

Good works are a FRUIT. They are not the root and they are not the tree. They are the result of a tree that is planted righted and growing. If a tree has dead branches and dead limbs, no leaves and no fruit. It isn’t alive. But if it is alive, it can be seen by the fruit.

This is where it gets mixed up.

Good fruit is the result of salvation.
Salvation is not the result of fruit.

In the end John the Baptist is confronting them about their fruit. If they had truly repented, there would have been change with how they were doing things. But they had remained the same. Which is not true repentance. And so John was warning them. A fire is coming and it will destroy that which is not alive.

It made me think. Are there areas in my life where I say I have repented but there is not much fruit? Or I keep repenting but there’s not much change?

The answer is yes. If I’m honest with myself.

So what is the bad root here?

It’s my love for pleasure and belonging.

It’s a profound feeling of helplessness that leads to anger and bitterness.

I too need to repent. I may be quick to judge the Pharisees and Sadducees. But what is going on in my own heart? That’s really the message I need to understand.