Posted on 12/04/2022 6:51:06 AM PST by fidelis
(Daily readings from the USCCB)
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 coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.” Matthew 3:7–8
This was both a very intense and yet very holy encounter. It was intense in that Saint John the Baptist, who had become quite popular and respected and was considered a great prophet, spoke harshly toward the Pharisees and Sadducees. “You brood of vipers!” he says. This was not the way the Pharisees and Sadducees were normally spoken to.
John speaks this way because it was the truth. These religious leaders were not leading anyone closer to God. One only needs to ponder all that Jesus would eventually say to the Pharisees and Sadducees to understand what kind of people these religious leaders had become.
So this passage is certainly intense. But it is also very holy. It is holy because this “brood of vipers” needed to be chastised. They needed to be condemned and challenged. They needed to be humbled. And there is nothing more humbling than sincerely repenting of one’s sins in a public way.
Notice that John does not dismiss the leaders outright. Rather, he requires of them “evidence” of their repentance. Why? Because of the spiritual damage these men did to the people of Israel on account of their pride, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, love of public honors, condemnation of others, etc. They had so distorted the faith that the good of their souls required public repentance. It required that everyone see sincere good fruits flowing from their lives as a sign that they had changed. Though this is a tall order for the Pharisees and Sadducees, it’s the way to holiness for them.
The same is true for us. If you have allowed yourself to fall into some of the same traps as the Pharisees and Sadducees, then you, too, will greatly benefit from clear and humble public change. If you have struggled with self-righteousness, a critical tongue, a “holier than thou” attitude or a judgmental attitude toward others, then you might have great need for a humble and public repentance.
Reflect, today, upon the Pharisees and Sadducees. Try to understand their sin and the reason John called them a “brood of vipers.” If you see any of their pride and self-righteousness within your own soul, then listen to this exhortation from John the Baptist as if it were spoken to you directly. “Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.” Do this, and God will free you through the gift of true humility.
My humble Lord, You call all people to repentance with great humility and sincerity. Please help me to see my sin and to never shy away from facing it, so that You can free me from that filth and set me more firmly on the path to holiness. Jesus, I trust in You.
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I hereby nominate John the Baptist as the "patron saint of speaking the truth in a time of universal deceit".
Exactly. John wasn't just being insulting when he called them a "brood of vipers." Being out in the desert, John probably saw a lot of them. Vipers were known to be stealthy and deadly. They were also associated with Satan and his demons (Genesis 3 and Revelation 12). By calling them a "brood" of vipers, he was basically calling them children of Satan. Ouch!
Jesus also applied this term to the Pharisees in Matthew 12:34: “You brood of vipers; how can you say good things when you are evil? For from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Jesus also spells it out in John (?), telling them that they are of their father the devil.
That's right. And like in this Sunday's words from John the Baptist. Jesus is telling them not to depend on their heritage to be acceptable to God:
John 8:39-44
"They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not what Abraham did. You do what your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
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