Luke 3:7-8, NLT
When the crowds, many being Pharisees and Sadducees, came to John to be baptized, he called them a brood of snakes, wanting to know who warned them to flee the coming wrath – God’s holy anger against sin (Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary) (v.7). These religious leaders opposed the prophet and failed to accept God’s call for spiritual change. Repent and turn from your evil ways to the righteousness of God for the forgiveness of your sins. Then be baptized as an outward show of your inward change.
John probably saw them as a brood of snakes because they behaved like Satan’s unbelieving offspring who doubted God’s word. They mirrored the craftiness of Satan in Gen. 3 when he disguised himself as a serpent, causing the woman to doubt and disobey God’s word. He commanded them in v.8 to prove by the way they lived that they have repented of their sins and turned to God. King James Version commanded: “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance…” The point is that saying you have repented is not enough; action must follow your confession. “Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.” Therefore, just being God’s chosen people was not enough to save them. He declared that all people would see the salvation of God (v.6), who is Jesus Christ. He is coming, and His eternal wrath will fall on the ungodly – Jew and Gentile.
Today, will you choose to honor God and bring forth fruits worthy of repentance? Raise your voice and shout, “Yes!”