Not everyone who came to the river was seeking renewal and Elijah. ⁷ When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Historically, in the Judaism of Jesus’ time, the Pharisees and Sadducees were opposing religious parties, unlikely to work together. Matthew is not reporting the facts of an event, but is describing the Jewish opposition as a united front, already manifesting itself against John as it would later against Jesus. John does not shy away from the opposition, but labels them a “brood of vipers” (literally “sons of snakes.”) It paints the image of people scurrying away from the coming eschatological judgment like snakes fleeing a forest fire. 

John’s words seem to be aimed at the “brood of vipers,” but the words equally apply to all gathered at the river: ⁸ Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. ⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. The theme of the coming eschatological judgment appears again with an image of the axe at the root of the tree but is prefaced with “even now.” The judgment is just over the hill and headed this way, relentless and will brook no exceptions. You will not be saved on the basis of your lineage to Abraham. But then the story of John in the wilderness also has an audience in the nascent church (as well as today) – membership in the Church in certainly a new lineage to Christ, but judgment is based the call to discipleship, to baptism, and giving evidence of one’s conversion in the fruits of one’s life lived out as disciples to Jesus, a theme repeated in 7:16–20; 12:33; and 21:18–19).