Strange things have happened in this chapter. The current thinking of both religious leaders and followers was that because they were related to Abraham, they were spiritually sound. Then came a man who almost looked insane. Since a child he had been raised by the Essenes who were a desert group separated from the general population to seek God’s wisdom. After his parents died of old age, John was taught by these seekers of truth. He was so devout that he drank no strong drink, did not cut his hair, and wondered about in the desert wearing camel skin while eating locusts and honey.
His speech was loud and piercing. He was intolerant of those who were self-righteous. John called them to the mark for their examination. He was a cousin of Jesus, but it is , unlikely they had much in common in their upbringing. This man who came blustering from the desert demanded that his hearers repent. He was intolerant of false conversion; of false religion that it was ineffective. Because of the years of his isolation in the desert and the influence of the Essenes, John was hyper focused on the coming of the Messiah.
He was not bashful to confront even those who had a great high position among the Jews. He recognized their claims, yet he disavowed any influence from them. As far as he was concerned, their bragging to be a descendent of Abraham had no value since, if God wished, he could rise up stones with the same claims they made.
Later, Jesus would curse a fig tree that seemed to give evidence of fruit that was not produced. That fig tree had no value because it had no fruit. In the same way, John drew a comparison to the empty religion of the Jews. He said that if there was a tree that appeared to be healthy, but produced no fruit, it was useless and should be cut down. John the Baptist would’ve gladly volunteered to be the lumberjack. He said there was an axe lying at the root of the tree. Perhaps in his illustration, the axe was covered by grass surrounding the tree. It was not laying against the trunk of the tree! It was at the very root of the tree.
The fruitless tree stood forth before all of mankind’s like the Pharisees and Sadducees who had much to declare. Yet, they had nothing to give. They offered no guidance for redemption. It was John the Baptist who said that the truly sincere must repent and then be water baptized. Many people came from Judea and elsewhere to hear the railings of this unusual person. For some he struck a cord and gained their repentance and baptism as God so instructed him.
Any tree that professed the quality of life without fruit was worthless. It should be cut down, burned in the fire. The fact that the axe was laying at the tree root indicates pending doom. The only purpose of an axe was to cut. It was to cut the tree from whatever life it possessed and proclaimed. Who among us today look spiritually healthy yet have produced no fruit? How obligated is God to such an empty profession? As John the Baptist wailed his sermons, the Messiah was approaching. There would come a time in which that Messiah would arrive with an axe in his hand. Sometime in the future all of us will give account to him. Those with empty claims who have no true relationship with the Heavenly Father will find themselves cut at the very basis of their voided claims. John the Baptist was saying to people in his day and to us also, beware the axe that lays at your roots. God is intolerant of spiritually phony claims. Look to your roots from where your nourishment comes. Do you take pleasure in the beauty of what you are and not the beauty of the fruits you should produce?
Christian Writer 