Flee from the Wrath to Come
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| "John the Baptist Preaching" by Rembrandt |
But 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 wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew
3:7-8).
Grace to
you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
John the Baptist is preaching in the wilderness of
Judea, down by the Jordan River. This is a big deal. And Matthew wants you to
realize this, so he gives you some of John’s credentials. John is the
fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 40:3, “The voice of one crying in the
wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.’” John is
there to flatten mountains and fill valleys, to prepare the people for the
coming of the Messiah—and the saving comfort that He brings.
John’s wardrobe and diet is as coarse as his
demeanor: a robe of camel’s hair and a leather belt tied around his waist,
locusts and honey for breakfast, dinner, and supper. It’s not the latest
fashion or fad diet, but the same attire and menu of the prophet Elijah back
when he preached repentance to Israel years ago. Remember: as we heard a couple
of weeks ago in Malachi 4, the Lord promised He would send an Elijah just
before the Messiah. He was talking about John the Baptist.
John’s appearance in the wilderness is a big deal. The
prophets Isaiah, Elijah, and Malachi have all pointed to John; and John is
there to point to Christ. That explains his sermon: “Repent, for the kingdom of
God is at hand.” And the kingdom of heaven is at hand because the King is about
to appear. That explains his location—out in the wilderness by the Jordan. It’s
time for the people of Israel to repent, to “cross the Jordan and enter the
Promised Land” all over again.
The people understand this is big, and it seems
like everybody is going out to hear John preach repentance. They listen to him,
and they understand that their sins just won’t do. They haven’t been living up
to God’s expectations for His people Israel. So they repent. They confess their
sins. They’re baptized by John in the Jordan. They’re taking his preaching
seriously. They understand he’s calling for a change, a turning. But what kind
of change? What kind of turning?
Let’s think this through as they’re thinking it
through, because this is critical to understand the story. John has called the
people to repent, to confess their sins. It makes sense that, if you’re turning
away from sin, then you’re turning toward not sinning, right? To put it
another way, if you’re turning away from doing bad things, then it only makes
sense that you’re turning toward doing good things, right? That would be a 180,
a complete turnaround in the opposite direction.
It only makes sense, then, when the Pharisees show
up at the Jordan River. The Pharisees are all about doing good things, about
keeping the Law—they’re admired by most people for the good example they provide.
They’re also all about washing things: they baptize their dishes, cups, and
couches before every meal so that they’re clean. So when the Pharisees show up,
you can bet that a lot of people expect John will welcome the Pharisees as role
models. Oh, they’re not perfect—nobody is—but they’ve got a good start. They’re
setting the bar for how Israelites should be acting. This is also true of the
Sadducees, who don’t have a lot in common with the Pharisees, but also hold to
a code of good behavior. So John will welcome them and hold them up as role
models; and the Pharisees and Sadducees will be baptized to demonstrate their
commitment to making the turnaround.
That’s what a lot in the crowd expect. It’s almost
certainly what the Pharisees and Sadducees expect. But then John drops the bomb:
“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit
in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have
Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise
up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees.
Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into
the fire” (Matthew 3:7-10).
Is John crazy? He’s just called the religious
leaders and good examples vipers, snakes—dangerous and deadly to others. He’s
told them that their ancestry and careful lives mean nothing to God. He’s
called them trees that bear no fruit, about to be cut down and thrown into the
fire. What on earth is John up to?
And if the Pharisees and Sadducees are that bad
off, if their righteousness isn’t enough before God, if they haven’t made the
turn… who then can be saved?
John’s outburst against these leaders is
earth-shaking. Everybody thought they had John figured out, but now they’re dumbstruck.
This is the forerunner of the Messiah, and he’s just told the role models that
they’re under God’s wrath? How can he say such things? I mean. It’s almost like
he looked at the Pharisees and said, “These tax collectors and the prostitutes
go into the kingdom of God before you.” John doesn’t go that far; but the Messiah
Himself will (Matthew 21:31).
One thing’s for sure: when John speaks of this
repentance, he’s not talking about turning from “sinning” to “not sinning”—not
if he’s reserved his ire especially for the Pharisees. Whatever he’s talking about
must be something different, something new. The “something new” is this:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The kingdom of heaven is at
hand. It isn’t far away. It’s near—not just in time, but in location. The
kingdom of heaven is near because the King of heaven is near. He’s born of
Mary, God-made-man, and He’s about to be baptized by John. The King is near,
and the kingdom is wherever He is.
If the King stays far away along with His kingdom,
then it makes sense that you’ve got to go to Him. If you’ve got to go to Him,
then it makes sense that you get on your way by cleaning up your act, by flying
right, by walking straight, by turning from “sinning” to “not sinning as much
as possible.” But the King is coming to you, and that changes everything. The
turn is not from “sinning” to “not sinning.” The turn is from “trusting
in yourself” to “trusting in Him,” from “trusting in your works” to “trusting
in His work” for your salvation.
That’s what repentance is. Repentance is not
saying, “I’ve sinned and so I’m not going to sin anymore.” The one who says
that is lying to himself. Repentance is saying, “I’ve sinned and I can’t save
myself, so I trust in Christ to forgive me and save me.” As St. John writes: “If
we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we
confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).
That’s why the Pharisees, the Sadducees and many in
the crowd are so far off and under the wrath of God. Everyone who thinks that
repentance is about doing better and sinning less is still unholy and
unforgiven. The one who says, “I am sinful and I need the King to save me” is
the one who has truly repented, even if he still sins. If you want proof, then
fast-forward to Calvary: the Pharisees, counting on their own righteousness,
have arranged for the death of Jesus. It’s the thief on the cross, with no good
works to his name, who says to the thorn-crowned King, “Remember me when You
come into Your kingdom.” And it’s to that thief that Jesus says, “Truly I say
to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Repentance is a turning: not from “sinning” to “not
sinning,” but a turning from trusting in one’s own righteousness to trusting in
the King to save. That’s what John declares in the rest of our text: “I baptize
you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than
I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His
threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn
with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:11-12).
The King comes to save. He baptizes with the Holy
Spirit, who gives faith and salvation. His baptism purifies like fire, leaving
those who trust in Him sinless and holy. Trust in yourself, no matter how good
a life you live, face the coming wrath of God, you’ll be swept into
unquenchable fire. Turn from that and trust in Him, and you’re in the kingdom
of heaven forever.
We proclaim
the same message as John the Baptist, because we have the joyful privilege of
pointing to the King who has come, died, and is risen again for our salvation. So
we proclaim, “Repent! Flee from the wrath that is to come! Bear fruit in
keeping with repentance.” And when we proclaim repentance, we mean this: “Turn
from trusting your own righteousness to save you, and trust in the King who
died on the cross to deliver you from sin.”
We do not mean, “Turn from sin and do your best to
stop sinning.”
That’s a controversial statement for a couple of
reasons. One reason is that most people who identify themselves as Christians (even
many non-Christians) perceive Christianity to be all about doing your best to
live a good life, loving your neighbor, and keeping the commandments. In other
words, so many believe that the message of Christianity is that “if you keep
the rules, God will save you.” That is salvation according to the Law; and it
is a view that is held by many very nice, very sincere, very pleasant people
who are even holding society together.
But to those who believe this, John would say, “You
brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? You’re
dangerous to others because you tell them to rely on their good works, and
you’re not bearing good fruit before God because you don’t trust in Christ and
you’re not forgiven, so sin clings to everything you are and do.” Be ready:
when you speak of salvation in Christ alone, a lot of “Christians” are going to
be put off.
It’s a shocking statement for another reason: as
soon as we say that repentance does not mean, “Turn from sin and do your best
to stop sinning,” the response will be, “Oh! So you’re saying that it’s
perfectly fine for Christians to keep on sinning as long as they trust in Jesus?”
Our answer: Not at all! If someone says, “I can keep on sinning as long as I
trust in Christ,” he is worse than the Pharisees of our text. Why? Because he’s
saying, “I trust in my own righteousness so much that I believe I can keep on
sinning, be unforgiven, and still be saved!”
To put it another way, true repentance is turning
from trusting in your own righteousness to trusting in Jesus; and the one who
trusts in Jesus will, by definition, work to keep God’s commandments and avoid
sin as much as possible. He’ll still stumble, fall and sin, daily and much. But
he’ll continue to repent, confess his sin, and trust in Jesus for salvation.
So, like John, we continue to proclaim, “Repent!
Turn from trusting in yourself, and trust in Christ for salvation instead.”
And, like John, we continue to proclaim, “Repent!
Flee from the wrath to come! Turn from trusting in yourself, and trust in
Christ for salvation instead.”
And, like John, we also proclaim, “The kingdom of
heaven is at hand,” because it is. The kingdom of heaven is at hand because the
King is at hand. Your crucified and risen King is not only enthroned in heaven
at the right hand of the Father. He is as near to you as His Word and His
Sacraments, His means of grace. By His Word, He gives you forgiveness. He gives
you faith. He gives you His Holy Spirit. He gives you true repentance. Do not neglect
that comfort of the King at hand: the more distant you believe Jesus to be, the
more you will believe it is up to you to get to Him by your own works, your own
righteousness. But it is not so: Christ your King comes to you, to give you
forgiveness, life, and salvation.
So repent—for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! Rejoice
to confess the truth of your sinfulness and inability to save yourself, for
that confession is a gift of God: if you deny your sin, you still believe the
lie that you can get to heaven unforgiven. So rejoice to repent. And rejoice
that the kingdom of heaven is at hand—by His grace, the Lord has turned you:
from impenitence to penitence, from unbelief to faith, from death to life…because
you are forgiven for all of your sins.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen
Unless
otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English
Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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