Main Text: Luke 3:7-14
Title: Fruits Worthy of Repentance
Today’s topic is something we touched on last week. It’s about John the Baptist calling the people coming for baptism “a brood of vipers.”
Baptism represents death—a promise of separating from sin. It’s a joyful ceremony but not just about washing away sin. When John saw the crowd coming for baptism, he didn’t address one person but called the entire crowd “a brood of vipers.”
John then asked them, “Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” This question lets us understand the spiritual state of that society. Clearly, people were aware of sin, and they had been taught to “flee from the coming wrath.” But it seems their understanding was flawed.
Repentance means recognizing our wrongs and turning back. Repentance has three elements: agreement, gratitude, and change. In Korea, there’s a saying, “Better to take the beating first.” But people often try to avoid consequences. This avoidance looked quite troublesome to God.
Jesus also spoke about the blind leading the blind. Many were taught incorrectly, leading them to act wrongly. When people blindly follow and form groups to spread their beliefs, false ideas can start to seem like the truth. If everyone agrees to endorse each other’s ideas, no one can stop them. This can lead to a lack of real responsibility and conscience.
Scholars and those with knowledge have a duty to think critically and correct mistakes. But it seems even this conscience was lacking back then. John’s question, “Who taught you?” can be rephrased as, “Who was your teacher?” or “Did you learn this in school?”—a way of correcting their behavior.
John the Baptist was a true teacher, pointing out the wrong teachings and actions he saw.
Who is the coming wrath from? It is God’s wrath. God is angry, perhaps for reasons people did not fully understand.
Wouldn’t it have been good for John to have a large following? A businessman would be pleased with a lot of customers. But John spoke God’s truth, not what people wanted to hear. He told them, “Produce fruits in keeping with repentance. Don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’”
Why does mentioning Abraham as their ancestor matter? This represents pride in their heritage as descendants of Abraham, who is considered the father of faith. God’s promise to Abraham was that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. They believed this meant they were safe. This attitude can lead to pride, treating others with superiority, and not seeing their sins as serious.
They thought of themselves as “God’s children” and others as outsiders. This was like dividing people as “Christian” and “non-Christian” today. They believed Gentiles could not be saved and that only their own nation was chosen by God. This led to a lack of compassion for others, which bore bitter fruits of cruelty.
These bitter fruits still exist. Even today, Christians may harbor harsh thoughts toward those who don’t believe. This may go unnoticed until hard times arise. God didn’t save us for our merits but solely by His grace.
Paul also warned the Jews not to become arrogant about being “God’s children.” While this identity can be positive, it can have side effects, such as conflict with others who believe differently.
Believing in Abraham’s lineage is not that extraordinary, John said, since God could raise up children of Abraham from stones. This statement was a reality check, challenging their pride.
Producing “fruits worthy of repentance” is more important than just claiming Abraham as their ancestor. Salvation may be a personal matter, but its impact is societal. For whom are these fruits? They benefit society.
In tough times, we cannot think only about getting to heaven ourselves. If the fruit is bad, it will be judged, and the tree will be cut down and replaced. Israel experienced this in its history.
When thinking about this metaphor, it’s clear the fruits of labor are not just for one person. The society we live in is also part of the bigger picture. Some are God’s children, and some are not, but the fruits benefit everyone.
Yet, these people had learned incorrectly and didn’t know what was wrong. So they asked, “What should we do?” John replied, “If you have two coats, give one to someone who has none. Do the same with food.” In those days, a coat was as valuable as a home. So if someone had two houses, John was saying to share one with someone in need. In modern times, we might think of renting out extra property for profit, but God is not pleased with income earned without effort.
If Christians are leading in such activities and no one feels it’s wrong, what would John the Baptist say to them? He might call them “a brood of vipers,” just as Paul called out those who serve only their own interests.
So, what should we do? We should think about who benefits from our work and actions. Christians especially need to practice, teach, and show these values.
유엠아이 교회 