7 He said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance; and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 9 Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:7–9)

John deliberately challenges their identification and assumptions. In first century thought, to be born of something or someone is to share its character and natures. While the people think that they are children of Abraham, John implies their behavior is not of the character or nature of Abraham. But their behavior is consistent with that of poisonous snakes/vipers. Even without this identification explicitly developed, the qualities associated with vipers—poisonous, hostile to life, evil—are enough to give rise to John’s question, “Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” Clearly, the crowds are destined for judgment on the day of the Lord. In the intervening days, since they produce no good fruits, they are worthless. They can be replaced by stones.

But not all is hopeless: God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. God’s intent, if necessary, is to make a new people, raised up from the lifeless. This includes people in the crowds who have come out to John. Some scholars offer that this also foreshadows the inclusion of the Gentiles.The true children of Abraham will be anyone who embraces God’s purpose and acts in accord with that purpose. The rest will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Image credit: John the Baptist Preaching | Pietre Lastman | 1219 | Chicago Museum of Art | PD-US