John's Preaching of Repentance

John's Preaching of Repentance [∞]

Common Elements in Matthew 3:7-10, Luke 3:7-9, and Luke 3:10-14

John’s Rebuke ("Brood of Vipers") – Both Matthew and Luke (3:7-9) include John’s strong rebuke, calling the people a "brood of vipers" and questioning who warned them to flee from the coming wrath.
Call to Bear Fruit – Both accounts emphasize that true repentance must be evidenced by good fruit.
Warning Against Ancestry as Salvation – Both reject the idea that being a descendant of Abraham guarantees salvation.
Judgment Symbolism (Axe at the Root of the Trees) – Both use the image of an axe at the root of unfruitful trees, symbolizing imminent judgment.

Differences Between the Accounts

Audience:
- Matthew specifically addresses Pharisees and Sadducees.
- Luke (3:7-9) addresses "the crowds" in general.
Expanded Ethical Teaching in Luke (3:10-14):
- Unlike Matthew, Luke continues with specific instructions for repentance (3:10-14):
  - Crowds: Share with those in need.
  - Tax Collectors: Collect no more than required.
  - Soldiers: Do not extort or accuse falsely; be content with wages.

How Study During the Gaps of Authorship Explains the Differences

Mark Did Not Include This Passage – Both Matthew and Luke developed this independently.
Matthew’s Discovery:
- Matthew, having realized that Israel was a shadow of Christ, framed John’s rebuke as a direct attack on Israel’s failed leadership.
Luke’s Discovery:
- Luke, having discovered that those before Abraham were also shadows of Christ, broadened the message to include all people, not just Jewish religious leaders.
- He also emphasized the ethical implications of repentance, tying it to real-life actions.

Unique Ideas of the Gospel Authors

Matthew:
- Focuses on Jewish religious leaders’ hypocrisy.
- Emphasizes Israel’s failure to bear fruit.
Luke:
- Universalizes John’s message.
- Expands the idea of repentance into practical ethical instructions.

Memory triggers for Matthew

Matthew and Luke likely connected John the Baptist’s rebuke to several Old Testament passages. Here are some key scriptures that could have reminded them of this event:

1. The Brood of Vipers (Isaiah and Psalm Connections)

Isaiah 59:5 – “They hatch adders’ eggs; they weave the spider’s web; he who eats their eggs dies, and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.”
- This passage associates vipers with deception and wickedness, fitting John’s rebuke of the Pharisees and crowds as a “brood of vipers.”
Psalm 140:3 – “They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s, and under their lips is the venom of asps.”
- This could have reminded the authors of the hypocrisy and poisonous speech of the religious leaders.

2. Bearing Fruit in Keeping with Repentance (Isaiah and Jeremiah)

Isaiah 5:1-7 (The Song of the Vineyard) – Israel is compared to a vineyard that should bear good fruit, but instead produces wild grapes, leading to judgment.
- This aligns with John’s demand for genuine repentance that produces good fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 – “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord… He is like a tree planted by water… it does not cease to bear fruit.”
- The contrast between fruitful and barren trees would have been relevant to John’s warning about trees being cut down.

3. The Axe at the Root of the Trees (Judgment Prophecies)

Isaiah 10:33-34 – “Behold, the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the great in height will be hewn down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe.”
- This imagery of God’s axe cutting down the proud would have resonated with John’s warning about judgment.
Ezekiel 31:12-13 – “Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen.”
- This is another prophetic image of trees being cut down due to their failure to honor God.

4. Don’t Rely on Being Abraham’s Children (God Can Raise Up Children from Stones)

Isaiah 51:1-2 – “Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you.”
- This could have been in John’s mind as he rebuked the idea that simply being Abraham’s descendants guaranteed righteousness.
Ezekiel 36:26 – “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
- The idea that God could transform even stones into His people aligns with John’s statement that God could raise up children from stones.

5. What Shall We Do? (Ethical Instruction in Luke 3:10-14)

Micah 6:8 – “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
- This fits with John’s practical instructions to tax collectors and soldiers about fairness, honesty, and contentment.
Isaiah 1:16-17 – “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression.”
- This aligns with John’s call for repentance through ethical actions.

Summary of Connections

Vipers → Isaiah 59:5, Psalm 140:3 (deception and wickedness).
Fruit and Trees → Isaiah 5:1-7, Jeremiah 17:7-8 (repentance must be real and visible).
Axe at the Root → Isaiah 10:33-34, Ezekiel 31:12-13 (judgment on the unfruitful).
Abraham’s Children from Stones → Isaiah 51:1-2, Ezekiel 36:26 (God can transform and call new people).
Ethical Repentance → Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:16-17 (justice, fairness, and righteousness).

Memory triggers for Luke

Several passages from Genesis could have reminded Matthew and Luke of John the Baptist’s rebuke.

1. The Brood of Vipers (Serpent Imagery) → Genesis 3:1, 14-15

Genesis 3:1 – “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.”
Genesis 3:14-15 – “The LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock… I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.’”

Connection to John’s rebuke:

Calling the religious leaders a “brood of vipers” links them to the offspring (seed) of the serpent, opposing the seed of the woman (Christ).
Just as the serpent deceived, the religious leaders twisted God’s word for their own purposes.

2. Bearing Fruit in Keeping with Repentance → Genesis 1:11-12, 28

Genesis 1:11-12 – “Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind.’”
Genesis 1:28 – “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…”

Connection to John’s message:

The idea of fruitfulness originates in Genesis. Just as trees must bear fruit according to their kind, true children of God should bear the fruit of righteousness.
Spiritual fruitfulness is tied to obedience to God’s word, just as physical fruitfulness was part of creation.

3. The Axe at the Root of the Trees → Genesis 2:9, 17; 3:22-24

Genesis 2:9 – “The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
Genesis 2:17 – “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 3:22-24 – “Lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever… He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”

Connection to John’s warning about judgment:

The axe at the root recalls the cutting off from the Tree of Life after Adam and Eve’s sin.
Just as Adam was removed from the garden for disobedience, unfruitful trees (people) are cut down.
The tree metaphor connects to judgment, showing that those not bearing good fruit face destruction.

4. Do Not Rely on Being Abraham’s Children → Genesis 12:1-3, 15:6, 21:12

Genesis 12:1-3 – “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you…”
Genesis 15:6 – “And he [Abraham] believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”
Genesis 21:12 – “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”

Connection to John’s rebuke:

John warns that physical descent from Abraham is not enough—what matters is faith, like Abraham’s.
True children of Abraham are those who believe, not just those who are physically descended (Paul makes this point in Romans 4).
John’s statement that God can raise up children from stones may reflect how Isaac’s birth was miraculous, showing that God can bring life from unexpected places.

5. Ethical Repentance and Justice → Genesis 4:7-10

Genesis 4:7 – “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door.”
Genesis 4:9-10 – “Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’”

Connection to John’s ethical teaching (Luke 3:10-14):

John tells people to share, be honest, and not oppress others.
Cain’s failure to love his brother contrasts with John’s call for people to act righteously.
Just as Cain ignored his responsibility to his brother, John warns that true repentance must be lived out through just actions.

Summary of Genesis Connections

Brood of Vipers → Genesis 3:1, 14-15 (serpent’s deception and offspring).
Bearing Fruit in Keeping with Repentance → Genesis 1:11-12, 28 (fruitfulness as God’s design).
Axe at the Root of the Trees → Genesis 2:9, 17; 3:22-24 (cutting off the unfaithful from life).
Do Not Rely on Being Abraham’s Children → Genesis 12:1-3, 15:6, 21:12 (faith, not ancestry, defines God’s people).
Ethical Repentance → Genesis 4:7-10 (Cain’s failure to love and act justly).

Unique Ideas of the Author (You) in This Approach

Gaps in Authorship Reveal Growth in Understanding – The shift from Matthew to Luke reflects a developing revelation of Christ’s fulfillment.
Word Formations and Christ-Centered Typology:
- The axe (גרזן) could be studied in relation to cutting away (גזר) and how judgment is not just destruction but pruning for new life in Christ.
- Trees (עץ) as wisdom/counsel (עיצה) could show how repentance is connected to receiving true wisdom in Christ.
Israel as a Shadow of Christ:
- Matthew emphasizes judgment on Israel’s leaders, while Luke expands it to include judgment and guidance for all nations.
Judgment as a Call to Transformation:
- The axe at the root signifies the removal of the old man so that Christ, the true fruitful tree, may grow.