Luke 3:7-18 Dec 13 2009

As you many recall from last week, John the Baptist’s father, Zachariah, is a Temple priest. At the Temple one received atonement (at one ment) in return for an animal sacrifice. The sacrificial animals had to be unblemished so you most would most likely purchase the animal at the temple. Additionally, each adult male was required to make an annual half-shekel “donation” to the Temple, this is the so called Temple tax.

The Jewish authorities however only accepted Hebrew money for payment of the Temple tax. So, money changers were allowed to set up tables and where they exchanged not just local Roman money, but also foreign currency from distant travelers, for shekels. Along with them were peddlers who sold animals, birds and various items for sacrifice. This was a very lucrative business.

Enter John the baptizer proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. No priest needed, no trip to Jerusalem, no moneychanger, no animal sacrifice, no Temple tax. And most of all no profit. All you had to do was repent and mend your ways.

Luke 3:7-18

John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’

And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

I love John’s opening line, ‘You brood of vipers,’ taken right out of Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. In Matthew, it is clear that the brood of vipers he had in mind were the religious authorities. He also had some hard words for King Herod, who had married his brother’s wife, which influenced Herod imprison him and later chop off his head. As some of you know, Luke and Matthew copied this story from Mark and put their own spin on it. Comparing the three accounts of John’s preaching to the crowds at the River Jordan is like comparing newscasts of the same event from three different networks.

The earliest account of John’s baptizing is Mark 1:4-8. It is the shortest and he does not have the “brood of vipers” line, nor does he single out any group of people for specific condemnation.

Matthew’s “brood of vipers” comment is directed directly at the religious authorities: “But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7)

Luke’s version is the longest and he directs his “brood of vipers” comment towards the crowd in general. Matthew and Luke, but not Mark, warn their audience that having Abraham as an ancestor, that is being Jewish, does not mean they are exempt from the requirement to bear good fruits.

For people like us, well-educated, religiously independent, 21th century UUs, whom are the voices calling from the wilderness for repentance? In what way might we be a “brood of vipers” for some reformers? From what are they asking that we repent? How do we bear good fruits? In what ways are we not bearing good fruits?