The Peaceable Kingdom

John the Baptist’s words in verse 7 strike out at the Pharisees and Sadducees of Matthew’s story with a quickness and venom fitting the snake imagery. Given only the scant background information that these religious elites are joining many going out to John to be baptized, John’s rebuke may seem strong to us. “You brood of vipers!” he lashes out. “You descendants of snakes!” John’s words become clearer and sharper as he continues, “Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor.’” In place of the honor and strength of calling themselves children of Abraham, John casts these Jewish religious leaders as children of snakes.

The painful sting of John’s words can strike us too. Like the Sadducees and Pharisees, we might come to signs of confession and restoration with unspoken confidence that our backgrounds—our religious pedigrees—save us or make us superior. While our words might not be “We have Abraham as our ancestor,” perhaps we too may feel our religious affiliation or family background, our education or church involvements give us the freedom to go through the motions of repentance without making real change. John’s words can strike us painfully; all our perceived privilege is worthless. We might as well be children of snakes.

The beauty of this sharp critique, though, is that it still allows for transformation. God does not abandon the Pharisees and Sadducees to their arrogance. John offers them, and us, the chance to “bear fruit worthy of repentance.” No one is outside God’s possibilities of repentance and promises of redemption. We are all welcome to transform our lives. While we might sometimes be more akin to children of snakes than children of Abraham, our Advent passages remind us that even vipers and their offspring have a place in God’s promised future.