You should have known better. Are there any more condemning words than those? And so much the worse when they are true. Sometimes it is even our job to know better. And when those words strike the deepest chord; is when we did know better, and made our choices in spite of knowing better. Those kinds of decisions and actions, of doing something in spite of knowing better, reflect a hardness alive and well in our hearts.
Behavior like this in a child seems more forgivable. Perhaps a child with minimal personal experience chooses to do something they know they should not, for the personal experience of having done so. As their parent, we hate this; not because it hurts us from the suffering of that action, but because it hurts us to see our children suffer from the hurt of that action. It hurts a parent to see their child suffer. When the child suffers from bad decisions, we still suffer. When the child suffers from bad decisions, and they are fully equipped with the knowledge of what would happen, we still suffer. Our love of our child, will always lead us to suffer when our child suffers. What we as parents want, is for our child never to suffer.
And what happens when you get a bad egg? No parent ever wants to admit, that their little Johnny has grown up to be a bad egg, even if Johnny has become a serial killer. But it happens. And perhaps worse than a serial killer, is a leader in the “right” church, teaching all the “right” things, to those who do not understand, but completely devoid of love. At least a serial killer only murders the body. But a religious leader has the potential to murder the soul, kill hope, and portray an image of God that resembles Satan instead.
Who would want to serve a God that looks so much like Satan? And who would want to serve a God, when all His servants are so mean, or so apathetic, or so hopeless? And His servants, employed in His ministry, are the very ones who should know better. But too many don’t. And still our heavenly parent looks to redeem what causes Him so much grief, and destroys so many other of His children. Our Heavenly Father looks to redeem bad eggs, even ones that should know better, even ones that continue to do so much harm, from the pulpit.
John the Baptist had a message for these religious leaders. Keep in mind these leaders had the right Bible. They were not Hindu’s or Buddhists, or pagans. These were Jews, and considered the top leaders of their faith. These were Jews who had access to scripture, and debated it for a living, and in all their spare time. They were supposed to be upright. They were supposed to know more about the Bible than any other living person on planet earth. Nobody was supposed to know more than them. Nobody. These men could have been a shining example of what love for others looks like in the flesh. But they were not. They were serial killers of hope in the pulpit instead. They were obsessed with offerings, tithe, and the financial wealth they would bring. They were obsessed with “control” over the faith, over doctrines. They were obsessed with keeping the church pure. Sound familiar?
As we read the message of John the Baptist for the religious leadership back then, let us instead apply it to ourselves as we should know better as well. Matthew continues his account of the fire and brimstone preaching of John in chapter three of his gospel picking up in verse 7 saying … “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Am I the snake John pleads with? Do I slither between the pews, acting just interested enough in my neighbor to fool them into thinking I care for them, but maintaining my heart of stone within? Is this the plight of my generation, and the one to come, and the one behind? What wrath does John speak of?
This was a message of shock and awe. John was talking straight to people who demanded respect and he offered them none. They were snakes to him. They were snakes for what they did to the flock of God. And then beyond the insult of calling them snakes, John throws the end of days in their face. John brings up the judgment past, and the flames as destiny for them. This was beyond unthinkable. How could I be a snake when I only try to do good? How many people rationalize their religion with just such a question? They never seek perfection, believing it impossible. They are right. For perfection is only possible when Jesus does the work of transformation within us.
But instead of seeking Jesus, we choose to continue to do the work of perfection upon ourselves, by ourselves. We talk of partnerships with God, but this is deception. It is only an excuse to do work ourselves, and then blame God because we cannot finish it. We are snakes obsessed with control over our salvation. We are snakes spreading a gospel of self-salvation to all who will listen, but this gospel leads only to flames of destiny. We call the gospel of self, truth, when it is the farthest thing from it. And in so doing we pave a highway to flames, instead of freedom.
Matthew continues in verse 8 saying … “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:” Time to let our deeds reflect our reality. We are not to try to do good works. We are to submit, be transformed, and develop a passion for others that cannot sit still. A transformed heart loves others so much it cannot sit still, it must reach out in love to help them. A transformed heart would never think to allow the words that proceed from the mouth to ever be interpreted as hateful, judgmental, or condemnatory. Words that flow from a transformed heart are pure love, pure support, and ever point to Jesus as the only way to find salvation. The fruits we are to bring are NOT our own. They are fruits of the Spirit. They are gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit to be employed in the tireless ministry of God. These fruits show all who look that our heart is ever filled with repentance and love. These fruits alone are worthy to bring. Our fruits, our skills, our offerings are as the offering of Cain, based in self, and reflective of snake behavior.
Matthew continues the admonitions of John in verse 9 saying … “And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” John the Baptist at last removes the only surety Israelites had, he takes away the relevance of their ancestry. The faith of Abraham belongs only to him. It does not belong to those men who have no faith in God for their salvation some 2000 years later. It is no different with us. Our church fathers may have had great faith, and done great deeds in the eyes of the Lord. But their faith belongs only to them, not to us, if our actions do not reflect the transformed heart that drives this kind of passion. John the Baptist makes no excuses for them. They will each face eternity for what they have done, for what they have believed. Transformation is personal. What my wife experiences is not my own. What my mother believes is of no consequence to me. My heart must be transformed by Jesus, or my heart remains in the provinces of snakes.
John concludes his warning in even starker language in verse 10 saying … “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” Our ancestry is terminated. From this day forth, each man will face his fate, based on the submission to Jesus Christ he has pursued. John was preaching of the nearness of God in human form. John was saying it is here, it is now. Now is the time to abandon trust in self, trust in self-made interpretations of the law, and instead seek the author of the law. Every prophecy ever given could be rightly interpreted by the God who was walking the streets of Nazareth and the roads of Galilee. No more need for majority opinion, each leader could seek the author Himself. What remains in the province of snakes after this opportunity was destined for the flames that will someday purge the earth of all evil.
John then shifts the focus even more squarely upon Jesus as the only way to avoid this fate as Matthew continues in verse 11 saying … “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:” Here is where the twist re-emerges even for bad eggs, even for vipers, even for me. The offer of baptism unto repentance is freely offered to ALL of these same men. Notice, John never once calls out any of them for the specific sins he knows they are guilty of. Notice, that John only continued to offer repentance, and to starkly make them aware that even as religious leaders, they need it too. Perhaps their need is greater than all. And now he offers a promise, and a prophecy. John foretells of the baptism of the Holy Spirit by fire to all who believe. John is offering this promise and this prophecy to these very men. These vipers could become baptized by the same Holy Spirit that would baptize the other followers and disciples of Christ.
Think of this offer for a minute. Not only is God interested in the redemption of these men, He is willing to restore them to what proper leadership means in the New church, in the New faith. If anyone was less deserving it is these very men, yet it is to these men who God appeals to. To receive this offer, one must only embrace humility and submit before Jesus who is right around the corner. Think of the freedom of that embrace. All your questions answered. All your words motivated by the Holy Spirit from that day forward.
A new gospel. A new method of preaching and teaching by testimony, instead of by intellectual awareness. They are each and all offered a personal experience with God on earth. This is not fire and brimstone, this is heaven reaching out to each of them. This is not the punishment that vipers deserve, it is the honor of becoming a participant in the ministry to redeem others. This is not a message of fire and brimstone based on fear to motivate, only shock and awe to awaken how desperate the need is. And it is ONLY this way of frank speech within the leadership of the church. As it is in ours, never intended for the common sinner.
John then describes Jesus as more than God in human form, but God in eternal form as Matthew continues in verse 12 saying … “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” The God of eternal judgment is also the God of eternal redemption. To refuse to allow our salvation from Jesus, is to embrace self to try to find the same result. But self can only fail at salvation. Only Jesus can succeed at that work, at the work of perfecting us from us, saving us from us.
Should we refuse to trust Him, refuse to accept His gift of salvation to us, we are destined to become the chaff of eternal history. The mercy of God to extend time to try to save every last soul that can be saved is not infinite. Time will one day reach its end, and the days of sin have been numbered. The method of escape is so easy, and so clear. It should be best understood by those in ministry. Yet John shows us, that those in ministry often have the greatest need. Learning to be devoid of self, to forego trusting in self to save, is sometimes hardest for those involved in religious things.
John the Baptist has said harsh things. He has preached fire and brimstone, but only to the leadership of the church to wake them up to their great need. But his twist has ever been the hope of Jesus Christ. Even to those bad eggs who should have known better, and most deserve condemnation, John has offered none. Instead he offers continued opportunity to be baptized not only to repentance, but with fire by the Holy Spirit in days to come. That is quite a twist, and it is one we should all seek. And then, if only to add heaven’s stamp of approval on the ministry of John, Jesus would enter the scene …
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