Brood of Vipers

You Brood of Vipers Meaning

LUKE 3 COMMENTARY ◄
Luke 3:4-6 Prepare the Way of the Lord

Luke 3:7-9 Brood of Vipers

LUKE 3:7-8 7 Then he was saying to the crowds that were coming out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as father,’ for I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

How welcoming was John the Baptist to “the crowds that were coming out to be baptized by him” (Luke 3:7)?
He called them, “Brood of vipers!” (Luke 3:7).

Was it because they told him that they won't repent of their sins?
Since they came to him to be baptized after he proclaimed the baptism of repentance to them, they likely claimed that they will and/or want to repent of their sins.

Then why did John call them, “Brood of vipers!”?
They lacked the “fruits worthy of” - i.e., that serve as evidence of - “repentance” (Luke 3:8).

What was the fall back claim by those who lacked such fruits?
Pedigree: “We have Abraham as father” (Luke 3:8). The Jews believed that being born a Jew - being a descendant of Abraham - automatically gave them the right to be saved.

What do “stones” (Luke 3:8) become when pulverized?
A mound of dust.

How much of an exaggeration is “God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones” (Luke 3:9)?
“And the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).

So what was John the Baptist saying to the Jews?
Their pedigree affords them no 'right' to salvation, which is the prerogative and the gift of God.

What pedigree do some people claim today to evince their salvation?
“My mother is a Christian.”
“My father is a pastor.”
“I've been attending your church.”

LUKE 3:9 9 “And even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Where is the “fire” (Luke 3:7)?
In hell, where the “wrath” (Luke 3:7) of God awaits those who claim to repent of their sins and may even have been baptized but do not “bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8).

What do most pastors shy away from when qualifying the people who come to them to be baptized?
Asking about some of the sins from which they have even decided to repent, let alone assessing whether or not they are bearing “fruits worthy of repentance.”

Why don't they qualify baptism candidates as John the Baptist qualified them?
Baptisms grow the size of their church and can be reported to assert the effectiveness of their ministry.

What has been the result?
Millions of baptized “Christians” who don't bear fruits worthy of repentance, and remain in sin, unsaved, hell-bound.