The ministry of John the Baptist is well described in Matthew chapter 3. This vibrant servant of God began preaching in the Desert of Judea, and his ministry's location is seen to be symbolic and not sheer coincidence. The African Bible Commentary (2006) suggests that considering that the nation of Israel had been formed in the desert under the leadership of Moses, in the exodus from Egypt to Canaan, the nation's association with the desert became so ingrained such that subsequent renewal movements were associated with the desert (Hosea 2:14-15).John was loaded with a very concise message: "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near." His purpose was to prepare the way for the Messiah, in fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy (Isaiah 40:3). The African Bible Commentary (2006) is of the opinion that although Matthew in verse 1 of chapter 3 chose to refer to John as "John the Baptist", John should actually be referred to as "Jesus' forerunner, the preacher of the baptism of repentance," because his ministry involved more than just baptism. John's primary message entailed calling people to turn away from their sins for the reign of God was nigh. Subsequently, those who repented were baptised with water, as a physical expression of their conversion.
Matthew 3:5 records that many people went to John from Judea, Jerusalem and the whole region of the Jordan. Perhaps some came to John out of curiosity for he led an unusual life: he wore camel's hair and his food was locusts and wild honey. NIV Commentary (1991) states that John also attracted so many people because he was the first true prophet in four hundred (400) years. Notwithstanding their motivation for coming to listen to John, the bible records that many confessed their sins and were baptised by him.
Noteworthy is that John seemed intolerant to two groups of people: Pharisees and Sadducees. In fact, he sternly rebuked them in Matthew 3:7b: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?" Was John too harsh to these people? Was he not judging them too harshly? How come he was not impressed by their coming to him, yet these were people with high religious and social status? To understand why John reacted the way he did, one would need to further understand who the Pharisees and Sadducees were. The NIV (1991) commentary states that the Pharisees carefully followed the Old Testament and the oral traditions handed down through the centuries whereas the Sadducees believed the Pentateuch (Genesis to Deuteronomy) only. The Pharisees came from all classes of people whereas the Sadducees descended mainly from priestly nobility.
Though the Pharisees were committed to obeying all of God's commands, they also believed that their oral traditions and religious rules were just as important. They were also so obsessed with obeying their legal interpretations in every detail that they completely ignored God's message of mercy and grace. Many common men admired them for their piety, but their piety was often hypocritical. On the other hand, the Sadducees relied on logic while placing little importance on faith. In addition, they did not believe in bodily resurrection or eternal life. Sadly, they were often willing to compromise their values with the Romans and others in order to maintain their status and influential positions.
Jesus dedicated a detailed message covering a whole chapter, Matthew 23, to help us understand the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees, that is their teachings (Matthew 16:5-12). They did not practice what they preached (vs 3); they loaded men with heavy religious requirements (vs 4); they did things for men to see (verse 5); they loved the place of honor (vs 6); they loved men's attention and recognition (vs 7); they hindered others from entering the kingdom of heaven, yet they did not enter themselves (vs 13); they led their disciples further away from God (vs 15); they were blind guides and relied on human wisdom thus exhibiting foolishness (vs 16); they focused on petty matters, such as tithing spices, yet neglected the important matters of the law- justice, mercy and faithfulness (vs 23); they cleaned the outside of their cups but inside they were full of greed and self-indulgence (vs 25); and they had an outward appearance of righteousness but on the inside, were full of hypocrisy and wickedness (vs 28).
No wander John uncompromisingly demanded the following from the Pharisees and Sadducees: "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'we have Abraham as our father'. I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." It was not enough that the Pharisees came to John for baptism in water; their hearts needed to be truly repentant and they needed to bear fruit that would witness to such repentance. No wonder Christ in His early messages taught in Matthew 5:21 that, "...unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt 3:8-10)."
It would be tragic to read through the Pharisees and Sadducees and fail to spare a moment of self-reflection and evaluation, for God's word should be a mirror that reveals us to ourselves. Most of us, if not all, have Pharisaic and Sadducee tendencies emanating from our sinful nature. Such are the weights and sins that believers are encouraged in Hebrews 12:1 to shake off, if they are to run the race of perseverance. Some of us are guilty for nullifying the word of God by our traditions (Mark 7:13); some of us are guilty of loving praise from men and in that pursuit, we have lived hypocritical and disobedient lives for the sake of earning men's accolades; some of us are spiritually dead yet have a reputation of being alive; whereas some, have willingly compromised their faith in order to maintain social, political and economic status.
God is speaking to us today: "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance". God is not calling us to fulfillment of religious rights and requirements. On the contrary, He is calling us to a life of absolute surrender to His Lordship, such that our hearts are genuinely converted and we are clothed with His righteousness. This is a higher calling to Sonship!
Does Matthew 3:10 which states, "... and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire," contradict John 6:37 which states that, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." Matthew 7:15-23 helps us understand God's message in Matthew 3:10. It is impossible to pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles. It is non-disputable that a good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit. Thus, when Christ stated in Matthew 7:19 that "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire," He did not merely refer to a Christian who was not producing fruit, but to those "Christians" who were not followers of Christ in the first place- the bad trees.
Such "Christians" despite exhibiting religiously admirable behaviour, lack a personal relationship with God and have not experienced the saving grace of Jesus Christ for the conversion of their souls. Their "Christianity" is merely an outward appearance. Romans 2:28-29 states, "A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God." Is your heart circumcised or is your righteousness merely an outward display of good works?
Matthew 7:21-23 states, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’" Judgement awaits those who pursue religion, just like the Pharisees and Sadducees did, with no inward transformation that emanates from a relationship with God. Such people hold on to religion, and puffed up in its pride and self-righteousness, fail to acknowledge that only Jesus can redeem them from their bondage of sin. No wonder Christ will confess on the Day of judgement that he never knew them. They never came to Him, despite them associating themselves with Him for their own conveniences. The axe is at the root of such trees!
Some readers may wonder why I toil so much to write to believers such a message. It is sad to note that many today are caught up in the "yeast of the Pharisees" that Jesus commanded his disciples to guard against (Matthew 16:6). Christianity is truly demonstrated by the fruit of the Spirit (which is a reflection of a converted heart) and not merely by what we do (prophesying, casting out demons and performing many miracles). God is primarily concerned about our being, not about our religious image and achievements. Those who Christ never knew and are cast out, are equated to chaff which at the day of the harvest, will be gathered and burned with unquenchable fire. The axe is at the root of the trees, produce fruit that keeps with repentance!
