JOHN THE BAPTIST: TRANSITIONAL PROPHET

 

           Scenes in a Life: Panel E (2006)

As a transitional figure spanning the gulf from the long line of Old Testament prophets to those with prophetic gifts in the New Dispensation, John the Baptist's preaching sends out waves which reach out both backwards and forwards in time. A short selection of his message can be seen in both Matthew 3:7-10 and its parallel in Luke 3:7-10, and each verse has its parallels in the OT and the remainder of the NT, as can be seen below.

Pharisees and Sadducees

When he sees these two groups approaching, John's response is first to label them a “brood of vipers.” He then asks rhetorically, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery points out that “generation of vipers” is also Jesus' designation for his enemies (cf. Matthew 12:34; 23:33). And Cohick says that “Matthew explicitly names Pharisees as Jesus' antagonists (Mt 3:7-12; 9:32-34; 12:22-24), while Luke identifies them more generally as 'the multitudes' (Lk 3:7-9), 'some of the people' (Lk 11:14-15) or 'others' (Lk 11:16).”

“He mellouse orge ('the wrath to come') finds its roots in prophetic traditions (cf. Isa. 13:9; 30:27; Zeph. 2:2). The manifestation of the wrath of God on those who oppose him is well illustrated in Mal. 3:2; 4:1, where one finds imagery of destructive fire. The relevance of these passages is affirmed in light of the significance of Mat. 3-4 for the portrayal of John the Baptist.” (Pao and Schnabel)

In the context of this verse, M.M. Thompson speaks of “the inexorable unfolding of events according to a predetermined fate or fortune...with the gracious will of God, who superintends history and accomplishes his purposes for the salvation of all flesh (Lk 1:77; 2:32; 3:8; Acts 15:14-17).”

Bearing Fruit

His next advice to them was that if they wished to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, they should “bear fruit worthy of repentance.”

Overman notes that bearing fruit was “one of the goals of life according to Jesus ([Matt.] 7:16-20; 13:23,30).”

“Luke, like Matthew can express the expectation for righteousness or covenantal obedience through the imagery of bearing fruit (Lk 3:8-9; 6:43-45; 13:6-9).” (J.K. Brown)

Baptism “is a once-and-for-all act demonstrated in the bearing of good fruits (Mt 3:8; Lk 3:8). Repentance has, then, an ethical dimension; it is a turning to God that has consequences for the relationship to the neighbor.” (DBI)

Father Abraham

Anticipating their reply to this direct criticism, John warns them not to simply claim Abraham as their ancestor since “God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.”

“The assertion to have 'Abram as...ancestor' was a claim to privileged standing with God through natural birth (see Jn 8.33,39; Rom 2.28-29).” (Soards) As Cummins puts it, “Heritage, ethnicity and even covenant status in themselves are insufficient.”

Similarly, Keener says, “Traditionally, Jewish people understood themselves as God's children (Ex 4:22; Is 43:6) and children of Abraham (Jn 8:33), but in John (as elsewhere in our early sources [e.g. Mt 39//Lk 3:8; Rom 4:1-16; Gal 3:18]), such titles apply to Jesus' followers.”

“Negatively, the immutability of stone is evoked in references to spiritual hardness...In an image perhaps strengthened by the farmer's daily battle against it, stone forms the antithesis of living things. It is sterile and lifeless...” (DBI)

Pao and Schnable bring up some additional possibilities here: “The mention of 'stones' (lithon) may reflect pagan worship (cf. Acts 17:29), or it could be an Aramaic wordplay on benayya ('children') and abnayya' ('stones'). A clear OT parallel can be identified in Isa. 51, where Abraham is compared to the rock from which God's people are hewn....In Luke...this imagery is strikingly used in a way to suggest that Abrahamic ancestry alone will not secure one's position among God's people.”

Coming Judgment

Finally, John returns to the subject of the “wrath to come,” this time using an agricultural metaphor and returning to the theme of fruit bearing: “Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Cummins points to the following parallel passages in the Old Testament and Apocrypha expressing this same idea: Isaiah 10:33-34; 32:19; Wisdom of Solomon 4:3-5; and Sirach 6:3.

Summary

Finally, Blomberg briefly summarizes the main Old Testament parallels specifically for Matthew's version of this whole passage:

“Fleeing from God's wrath (3:7) may echo language like that of Zech. 14:5. The idea that one's nationality guaranteed one' spiritual safety (3:9) harked back to Israel's elect status as the sole nation of the world with whom God had made his covenant (see esp. Deuteronomy), but the cycles of judgment and redemption throughout the OT should have made it obvious that such complacency was unjustified. The metaphor of the axe laid at the root of the tree may echo Isa. 10:34. Eschatological fire appears paradigmatically in Isa. 66:24. That non-Jews can be blessed through Abraham reflects God's promise to the patriarch as early as Gen. 12:1-3.”