Matthew 3:7-12: a reflection

7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance! 9Don’t think to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire. 11“I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.”

When John sees the religious leaders coming to his baptism, he warns them that repentance must show itself in fruit, and that they cannot rely on their heritage while their lives go unchanged. Produce fruit worthy of repentance, John says; and don't think to yourselves, we have Abraham for our father. John will not accept a repentance that is only words or ritual, or a reliance on religious heritage, being children of Abraham, while the life goes unchanged. Real repentance, he insists, bears fruit: it shows itself in a changed life, in conduct that matches the claim to have turned. Do not rely on your heritage, he warns; God looks for fruit. This shows that true repentance bears fruit and cannot rely on heritage without a changed life. True repentance shows itself in fruit, in a changed life. Do not rely on your heritage or status without real change. God looks for the fruit of repentance, not merely the claim. Repentance that is only words, without changed conduct, is not enough.

Notice what John demands and what he refuses to accept. He demands fruit worthy of repentance: a repentance that shows itself in a changed life, in conduct that matches the claim to have turned from sin. And he refuses to accept two things: a repentance that is only words or ritual, without real change; and a reliance on religious heritage, we have Abraham for our father, as though belonging to the right people were enough while the life goes unchanged. God, John warns, looks for fruit; even now the ax lies at the root, and every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down. This holds a searching challenge for us. It is possible to claim repentance in words, to go through religious motions, to rely on our belonging, our heritage, our status as God's people, while our lives go unchanged, bearing no fruit of real turning. But John insists that true repentance bears fruit: it shows itself in a changed life, in conduct that matches our claim. We cannot rely on our heritage or status while our lives remain unchanged; God looks for the fruit of repentance, real change, not merely the words or the belonging. We do well to let our repentance be real, bearing fruit in a changed life, rather than relying on heritage or words while our conduct goes unchanged. Let your repentance bear fruit in a changed life, not only words. Do not rely on your heritage or status while your life goes unchanged. God looks for the fruit of repentance, not merely the claim. Real turning from sin shows itself in changed conduct.

That is worth taking to heart, for true repentance bears fruit in a changed life, and we cannot rely on our heritage or words while our conduct goes unchanged, as John warned the religious leaders. We can claim repentance in words, go through the motions, or rely on our belonging, while our lives go unchanged; but John demanded fruit worthy of repentance and refused reliance on heritage. Let repentance be real. Do not rely on your heritage or status while your life goes unchanged; let your repentance bear fruit in changed conduct, which is what God looks for. Let your repentance be real, bearing fruit in a changed life rather than relying on your heritage or status or on mere words while your conduct goes unchanged, as when John saw the religious leaders coming to his baptism he warned them that repentance must show itself in fruit and that they could not rely on being children of Abraham while their lives went unchanged, telling them to produce fruit worthy of repentance and not to think that having Abraham for their father was enough; for John would not accept a repentance that was only words or ritual, or a reliance on religious heritage while the life went unchanged, insisting that real repentance bears fruit and shows itself in a changed life and in conduct matching the claim to have turned, warning that God looks for fruit and that the ax lies at the root of every tree that does not bear good fruit, which holds a searching challenge for us, since it is possible to claim repentance in words, go through religious motions, or rely on our belonging and status as God's people while our lives go unchanged and bear no fruit of real turning, but John insists that true repentance bears fruit and shows itself in a changed life, so that we cannot rely on our heritage or status while our lives remain unchanged since God looks for the fruit of repentance and real change, and we do well to let our repentance be real, bearing fruit in a changed life.

Lord, when John sees the religious leaders coming to his baptism, he warns them that repentance must show itself in fruit, and that they cannot rely on their heritage while their lives go unchanged. Produce fruit worthy of repentance, John says; and don't think to yourselves, we have Abraham for our father. John will not accept a repentance that is only words or ritual, or a reliance on religious heritage while the life goes unchanged. Real repentance, he insists, bears fruit: it shows itself in a changed life, in conduct that matches the claim to have turned. Do not rely on your heritage, he warns; God looks for fruit. Show me what John demands and what he refuses to accept. He demands fruit worthy of repentance: a repentance that shows itself in a changed life, in conduct that matches the claim to have turned from sin. And he refuses to accept two things: a repentance that is only words or ritual, without real change; and a reliance on religious heritage, as though belonging to the right people were enough while the life goes unchanged. You look for fruit. This holds a searching challenge for me. It is possible to claim repentance in words, to go through religious motions, to rely on my belonging, my heritage, my standing as one of your people, while my life goes unchanged, bearing no fruit of real turning. But John insists that true repentance bears fruit: it shows itself in a changed life. I cannot rely on my heritage or status while my life remains unchanged; you look for the fruit of repentance, real change, not merely the words or the belonging. Take that to my heart. Keep me from claiming repentance in words or relying on my heritage while my conduct goes unchanged; help me let my repentance be real, Lord, bearing fruit in a changed life and in conduct that matches my claim to have turned to you, for you look for the fruit of repentance, not merely the claim.