The Brood of Vipers

Matthew 3:7-10 (ESV)
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [8] Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. [9] 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. [10] 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.
I don’t like snakes. I hate them. Most people have a distaste for them. Unfortunately this dislike of snakes is not shared by my son. He loves them. Personally, the only thing I ever found them good for was scaring my mom, and other females for whom I held special affections. So it was with mixed joy that I found in the woods a whole brood of Garter snakes as a kid. The first look at this breeding mass of reptilian flesh sent chills up the spine, crazed beady eyes enjoying ecstasy. But then I realized if I could get over my mild fear, I could have endless entertainment before I’d be grounded for a week. (Yes, endless, I still enjoy those few moments of hysterical screaming.) I think about that day every time I read this text. “You brood of Vipers!”
It is hard to comprehend why it is John the Baptist (but not Southern, American or Two Seeds in the Spirit Baptist) was so incensed to see Pharisees and Sadducees coming to be baptized. It is said you can’t look into a person’s heart to see what they believe. I suppose that is true. You can take them for their word though. John didn’t like Pharisees, nor did he like Sadducees. But I think there is a bit more going on here than a distaste. John the prophet is going to take this moment to put the axe to the root of the trees bearing bad fruit. He is going to cut the Pharisees and Sadducees down to size.
This may have been the first time a Pharisee had ever been challenged like this. Here John the Baptist is baptizing the whole country side. I’m imagining that the people are confessing those things we consider to be real sins, forinication, prostitution, drunkenness, fighting, murder, adultery, breaking the Sabbath to watch a football game, well probably a horse race they put money on. And then come the Pharisees who probably think they have a lot in common with John’s preaching. I mean they commend him and his disciples for fasting, as they condemn Jesus and his disciples for not.
And the Sadducees? Well here you have the liberals of the day. Those captivated by Greek rationalism and see Judaism as nothing more than a nice set of quaint rituals to be observed in Jerusalem. The Pharisees and the Sadducees had the same thing in common that liberals and pietists have in common today, they saw the essence of religion being morals. The Sadducees remind me of Mormons I hear here and there defending their faith by saying it teaches good family values, all but asking you to ignore the fantastical claims the religion makes on behalf of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. But sorry, you are going to have to do better than that to get me to give up Wine, Beer, and Coffee… (still not sure how giving up those things has anything to do with family values.)
John lambasts the Pharisees and the Sadducees worse than the rest of the sinners. Maybe he had to. If he was going to convict them of their sins, they had to know how serious they were. They were both hung up on their outward righteousness to a fault. And John isn’t going to have them come and be baptized with the false idea that this would be good pr. This isn’t something you do because it is the popular thing to do.
Who warned you to flee the wrath to come? John so despises them he wishes they would be foolish enough not to be baptized so they would not escape the judgment to come, so that they would be foolish enough not to flee the wrath. John is being clear here. The wrath of God will be directed to such as these, those who sacrifice but do not know mercy. Here he makes it clear to them, your birth means nothing, God can raise up from these stones children for Abraham. That is even these gentiles will be considered children of Abraham, for children of Abraham are those who trust in the mercy of God, and not in themselves.
Bear fruit in keeping with Repentance. This is one of the oddest phrases of the New Testament, especially considering those to whom it is aimed. Most would not think to chastise the Pharisees and the Sadducees for the fruit of their lives. John did. Their fruit looked impeccable to everyone else. These were the upright citizens. These are the ones who tithe ten percent of the dill from their garden. They adhered to the law better than most, at least outwardly. And yet John holds out his harshest words for them. Their fruit was rotten. They did not do it in faith and gratitude, but from a sense of obligation. They did not know mercy. And this was the problem. There works were tainted with bad motives, and selfish ends. Repentance bears fruit, it comes naturally. Repentance is the flip side of faith. it produces works from the love of mercy and the forgiveness of sins. It’s like a Chinook Helicopter, it doesn’t look like it should work, but it does.