Warning of Judgment

Matthew 3: Kingdom Trailblazer (3)

Pray Psalm 96.1-4.
Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!
Sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Sing to the LORD, bless His name;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.

Sing Psalm 96.1-4.
(Mit Freuden Zart: All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above)
Sing to the LORD! O, bless His Name! All nations tell His glory! 
Salvation’s tidings loud proclaim; let earth rehearse His story! 
For God is greatly to be praised; His throne above all gods is raised! 
Fear Him, and sing His glory!

Read Matthew 3.1-10; meditate on verses 7-10.
What will “good fruit” look like in your life today?

Prepare.
1. Of what did John warn the Pharisees and Sadducees?

2. What did he call them to do?

Meditate.
Religious leaders arrived to find out who this upstart prophet was (cf. Jn. 1.19-28). The Pharisees and Sadducees were the keepers of tradition and, by implication, the certifiers of all preachers. When they heard about John, they sent a delegation to learn whether he had the proper credentials for this sort of work. 

Before the delegation could get a word out, however, John spoke a word to them: “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” He reinterpreted their mission. They thought they had come to find out about John, but John said they had come to escape the judgment that was building against them.

I can’t help it: Every time I read this passage, I think of the scene in The Princess Bride where the evil count says to Wesley, “Surrender!” To which Wesley replies, “You wish to surrender? Very well, I accept.” The Jewish leaders came to find out about John. John helped them find out about themselves. And it wasn’t what they’d always believed.

John even anticipated their response: “We have Abraham for our father!” But John said God can raise up children of Abraham from these stones. John told them what they needed to know, not what they’d come to discover: They needed to repent, because “even now” (v. 10) the judgment of God was about to break bad on them. 

People need to know Jesus. But first they need to know that they need Him. The Good News of Jesus is incomplete unless it is accompanied by the bad news of what lies ahead for those who reject the Lord. And since judgment begins at the household of God (1 Pet. 4.17), John’s warning is appropriate for us as well.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance…” (Matt. 3.8).

This statement alludes to the fact that some visible change must take place in those who repent.
Repenting without turning away from sin is not a worthy response.

Well then, how do we know what a worthy response looks like?
It looks like following God’s Law (Ex. 20.1-17; Matt. 22.37-40).

And how will we learn about good fruit?
Reading the Word is the first step:
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, 
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, 
and self-control” (Gal. 5.22, 23).

Will I get in trouble for bearing this fruit?
Happily, no, as there is no law against it (Gal. 5.23).

Will I get in trouble for not bearing this fruit?
If you understand that you are described as a tree, and that an ax is being laid to the root of your disobedient being in preparation for cutting you down and throwing you into the fire because you are not bearing fruit, then I would have to say, yes.

We have been duly warned (Matt. 3.7).

God is able to make our tree flourish in repentance and obedience.
God is able to raise up believers out of stones (Matt. 3.9) and 
He is able to elicit praise from stones (Lk. 19.40); therefore 
He can raise us up to be His children and to praise Him
after we wholeheartedly repent and turn away from our sins.

“The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in old age;
they shall be fresh and flourishing,
to declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my Rock, and 
there is no unrighteousness in Him” (Ps. 92.12-15).

God’s warning of judgment comes with His declaration of forgiveness—His redemption of stones.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; 
I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and 
you will keep My judgments and do them…
I will be your God” (Ezek. 36.26-28).

From a brood of vipers to children of the living God—the work of His hand.
“But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter;
and all we are the work of Your hand” (Is. 64.8).

Reflect.
1. Can you imagine yourself giving this warning of judgment to a non-Christian friend? Explain.

2. But it’s not us saying this; it’s God’s Word. Where would you turn in God’s Word to explain the judgment to come?

3. Why do we need to explain the judgment to come? How is this part of the Good News of Jesus and His Kingdom?

There is no doubt this axe signifies the power of the divine word, for God says through Jeremiah the prophet: “Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces?” Therefore this axe which is laid at the very roots of interior faith in this forest of humanity always implies the severe threat of divine judgment. Chromatius (fl. 400), Tractate on Matthew 11.1

Pray Psalm 96.8-13.
The judgment of God is upon the earth even now (cf. Rom. 1.18-32). Pray that God will spare the nations, and that His people will proclaim the Gospel and call people to repent and believe.

Sing Psalm 96.8-13.
(Mit Freuden Zart: All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above)
Bring off’rings sweet to Him, our LORD, in holy garments praise Him! 
Tremble before Him, all the earth; among the nations raise Him! 
The earth is fixed, it will not move; the peoples will His justice prove.
Exalt the LORD and praise Him!

Let heaven sing with lusty voice; let earth and sea sing sweetly! 
Let fields and trees in Him rejoice, for He is coming swiftly 
to judge the world in righteousness, the peoples in His faithfulness.
He comes; exalt Him greatly!

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast begins readings from If Men Will Pray. Our Crosfigell teaching letter concludes its brief series on the early 6^th-century Irish saint, Coemgen. The ReVision column continues its look at how to grow the divine economy. Check out our other excellent writers. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.