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).

The Greek for “repent” (metanoeo) means, “to change one’s mind.” However, given Matthew’s emphasis on “bearing fruit,” his idea of “repentance” probably goes back to the Hebrew shuv — “to change one’s ways.” It involves more than just thinking in a different way. The word “Repent” is really a command, and is in the present tense, which denotes continual or repeated actions, i.e., “Keep on repenting!” Repentance is not a door we pass through once that gets us into the kingdom; repentance is the ongoing life of the kingdom people here and now. Warren Carter enhances this understanding by noting that when people repent when prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight. Both “way” and “path” are metaphors for God’s will and purposes (Deut 5:33; Jer 7:23; Matt 7:13-14). God’s purposes, manifested in Jesus, will be experienced either as salvation or as condemnation depending on one’s response to the call – here seen in John’s call to repent. To repent signifies, then, not only specific changes in structures and ways of living, but a basic receptivity to God’s purposes.

Repentance is also a daily renewal of our baptismal vows.  St Paul wrote: “Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life” (Roman 6:3–4). It is living the newness of life that is the focus of repentance best understood. But there is a potential pitfall. If we understand living the newness of life as a sequence of “I can” – “I am sorry for my sins. I can do better. I can please you, God.” Then we over accent our “doing” to our openness to God’s will.  It is the subtle difference between our turning to God without recognizing that in Jesus God has turned to us.

In repenting we ask the God, who has turned towards us, buried us in baptism and raised us to new life, to continue his work of putting us to death. In other words, to repent is to volunteer and ask that the “death of self” which God began to work in us in baptism continue to this day. The repentant person comes before God saying, “I can’t do it myself, God. Let me die to self so that you can give me new life. You buried me in baptism. Bury me again today. Raise me to a new life.” That is the language of repentance. Repentance is a daily experience that renews our baptism. 

Luke introduces the ministry of John the Baptist with a careful historical introduction listing the year, the emperor, the rulers of the surrounding territories, and the high priest who was in office. Matthew introduces John’s ministry with a very general, “in those days.” The point is not that Matthew was unaware of the interval of about thirty years that he is passing over. Rather, his purpose was to show that the birth of Christ and the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry are part of the same flow of God’s activity in salvation history. There are two major sections within this passage. Verses 1-6 introduce the ministry of John the Baptist while verses 7-12 summarize the message of John.

On the 2nd Sunday of Advent each year, the Gospel reading presents the preaching of John the Baptist. This passage is the traditional text for Year A and reflects the advents themes of preparation and expectation. Matthew 3:1–12 describes John’s preparation for Jesus (also see Mark 1:2–8; Luke 3:1–18; John 1:19–28). Although we normally call him “the Baptist,” Matt 3:1-12 does not focus on his baptizing activity as much as on other aspects of his ministry: John as Preacher/Prophet, and John as the Forerunner to Jesus.

Contrary to today’s popular misconceptions, biblical prophets do not merely or even primarily “predict” the future. Rather they “speak on behalf of God” (Greek pro-phemi), and they do this through both their words and their actions. Thus, John not only talks like a prophet (preaching a message of repentance), but he also acts like one (as Matthew describes his clothing and diet in the desert). John not only calls all people in general to repent, but he has particularly harsh words for some of the more “religious” people, challenging them to show their repentance in their actions, to “produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance” (3:8), as all other biblical prophets also did.

Near the end of this reading, Matthew portrays John in a related, but slightly different role: that of a forerunner to Jesus. John is quoted as speaking about “the one who is coming after me,” who “is mightier than I” (3:11), which makes this selection especially appropriate for Advent. The strong focus on judgment, however (“the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire”; 3:12), might not seem very “Christmassy” to us, yet it can remind us that during Advent (and all year long) Christians are not only preparing to celebrate the birth Jesus from 2000 years ago, but are also preparing for the future coming of the Son of Man and our final judgment and the daily coming of Jesus into our lives – something that all the Advent readings call to our attention.

Matthew’s Summary

Matthew’s summary comes at the very beginning (v. 2), where John’s preaching is summarized in exactly the same words as Jesus’ preaching is summarized in 4:17: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Both preachers demand a radical conversion of the whole person to God, and both urge it as preparation for the new age when the God of Israel will be acknowledged as the Lord by all creation. The phrase “is at hand” does not do justice to the perfect tense of engizō, which literally means “has come near”. The perfect is used also in 26:45 and 46 (cf. Luke 21:8, 20) and introduces a state of affairs which is already beginning and which demands immediate action. John’s summons are urgent: the time for decision has already come.

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

Did John seem to understand that the end-time was at hand? Or were his actions done in anticipation of the arrival of the Messiah and the inauguration of a new era?  Or was he fulfilling the role of the prophet to call people to the covenant now in anticipation of the unknown coming of the promised Messiah? These are questions about how John saw himself and his role in God’s plans.  If there is some scholarly consensus about the meaning of John’s baptism, there is far less concerning John’s own self-understanding, e.g., did John see himself as one like Elijah, the herald of the Messiah. And as a corollary question, did John understand his cousin Jesus to be that Messiah? 

In the three Synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) John’s motivation for his preaching and action are clearly prophetic, but there is nothing that seems to indicate John understood his role narrowly as herald of the Messiah (cf. Mt 3:11-12; Mk 1:7-8; Luke 3:15-18).  In Mark’s account Jesus then simply appears and is baptized – what transpires immediately seems to be a private intended for Jesus only. The Lukan account is similarly private.  In Matthew’s gospel (3:13-17) there is an exchange in which John asks Jesus if it is proper for Jesus to be baptized by John – at least indicating that John had some sense of Jesus’ role; but then the following events are again a seemingly private moment intended for Jesus alone.

It is in John’s Gospel that the Baptist calls out “Behold, the Lamb of God” (John 1:31) and where John testifies that he saw the Spirit descend upon Jesus and recounts that “the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit’” (John 1:33).

We must be mindful as we study Matthew’s gospel we should resist reaching into another gospel to exegete Matthew’s intention and understanding.  John’s gospel carries an account that is the same and yet differs from the Synoptic accounts.  All are the same Gospel, but each is according to a different inspired author.

So – what was John’s understanding of himself? After reading the corpus of scholarly works – again, concerning only Matthew’s gospel – it seems to me that the question is interesting, but in the end, obscures the more key question: Did Matthew, the inspired writer, see John in the role of Elijah and Jesus as the promised Messiah? From the whole of this gospel it is clear that Matthew indeed understood John and Jesus in those respective roles. (11:14; 17:12).  So, why didn’t Matthew include that information earlier in his account.  Possible answers range from its being part of the craft of the narrative, to the fullness of the revelation was only revealed by Jesus later in the ministry. 

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

¹ In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea ² (and) saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” ³ It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: 

“A voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’”

 ⁴ John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him ⁶ and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. 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? 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. ¹¹ I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Mt 3:1-12)

John’s Baptism

“to lead righteous lives, to practice justice toward their fellows and piety towards God, and so doing join in baptism” John’s baptism was a symbolic act that people who had already done these things – or were committed to living as such – were forming a “faithful remnant” of the covenant.  In the gospel accounts, all of John’s words (except the word against Antipas) are spoken to persons seeking this baptism. His words show that John was unreceptive to those whom he judged to have bad faith, while he was friendly to those who were truly repentant. To the former he repeated threats and warnings and perhaps added new ones, while to the latter he gave hope for further dramatic renewal of their lives as well as ethical guidance relevant to their particular vocations. The former group seems to have been made up of people whose commonality was lording power over the common people: the religious leadership, the wealthy, the tax collectors and soldiers.

It is natural for Christians to begin to interpret John’s baptism within the framework of Christian symbols, but it is perhaps better to consider John’s actions as prophetic and within the context of the OT prophets mentioned above.  A significant possibility for the meaning of John’s water baptism is purification. Purification is linked with an anticipated messenger in Mal 3:1–3: “the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming…For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fuller’s soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver …” This imagery is reflected in the words of the Judean desert Qumran community whose purification rites were connected with conversion of heart: “Like waters of purification He will sprinkle upon him the spirit of truth, to cleanse him of all the abominations of falsehood and of all pollution through the spirit of filth” (1QS 4:20, 21). Both these actions and John’s Baptism echo Ezek 36:25–26: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses … A new heart I will give you and a new spirit I will put within you …”

A new section of Matthew begins at Mt 3:1. From Jesus’ infancy we jump several decades in time.  Without warning or preparation, John the Baptist appears in the wilderness preaching not (as in Mark 1:4) a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,” but rather repentance, “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2). This is also different from Luke’s gospel in which we follow the story of Zechariah, Elizabeth and their son John (Lk 1); we are not told of the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth – hence there is no announced family relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus.  

Yet the structure of Matthew’s gospel points to a more key relationship between John and Jesus. The section (3:1 to 11:19) brackets a chiastic pattern that describes the parameters of the relationship that are central to Matthew’s understanding of the gospel good news.

• The content of John’s preaching is clear from the beginning: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”  Later when John is in prison, those words are repeated verbatim by Jesus (Mt 4:17). 
• John’s announcement of the “one who is coming” (3:11) corresponds to his question in 11:3 – “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”
• In Chapter 3 John is the one “on stage” whereon the reader hears the Baptist’s view of Jesus. In Chapter 11, John is offstage, Jesus is the primary voice, and the reader receives Jesus’ view of the Baptist and himself.
• This chiastic bracketing informs our reading of lays between: Jesus’ words and actions are signs that the kingdom, long promised, is indeed at hand and Jesus is that long promised Messiah.