Wednesday 24 June 2009
- Bible Book:
- Luke
"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'." (v.8-9)
Background
Our theme for this week is Abraham, the father of many nations.So far, we have read about God's call to Abram (Abraham's previousname), the promise of offspring and land. The privileges andblessing that the people of Israel enjoy are dependent utterly uponGod's promise and the peculiarities of their vocation.
In this passage, John the Baptist's message is harsh andunrelenting. Descent from Abraham does not bring automaticprotection against God's wrath. Israel cannot presume upon theirheritage because they have become "a brood of vipers". The Greekword 'echidna' (translated as vipers) is used by the Roman poetOvid to describe cunning, wicked people.
John's rhetoric could hardly be more insistent. Do not presume, hesays. Instead, the people must bear the fruits of repentance. Likethe prophets of the Old Testament, John recalls the people to theTorah (Law). Snakes flee before fire. The descendants of Abrahamwill similarly need to escape from the judgement to come.
Who, then, is a true child of Abraham? John's eschatologicalteaching (about the end times when God's wrath will be revealed)implies that mere physical descent is not enough. The deeperallegiance owed to God is acceptance of divine sovereignty over alllife, as expressed through obedience to God's gift of theLaw.
John the Baptist both narrows and widens what it means to be achild of Abraham. The matter turns on living in obedience to divinejustice. The apostle Paul later refers to Abraham as the father ofthose who live by faith (
For Paul, spiritual descent from Abraham is extended to theGentiles (a Jewish term for non-Jews) through Christ (
Some scholars suggest a word play in the Aramaic (the languagespoken by John) between 'stones' (/'abnayya) and 'sons'(benayya).
To Ponder
"Look to the rock from which you were hewn"(Isaiah 51:1-2). In what sense, if any, do you regard yourself as achild of Abraham?
To what extent does obedience to the Torah (God'sgift of the Law) feature in your answer?
What other 'spiritual quarries' might youmention?