Matthew 3:7,8
‘But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance.”‘
This is interesting. The religious leaders were coming to be baptized. Were any of these ones that would oppose Jesus? John confronts them in front of everyone. More than that, he calls them snakes. He allows them to come with the charge to be sure they are sincere. There should be fruit consistent with repentance.
Jesus called John one of the greatest who had ever lived. He is certainly strong here. He must have had quite a message to bring the pharisees out participating.
I’m not good with this. I would have thought he was insulting those wanting to join. Jesus would do this to. His crowds were getting big at one point. John 6:26 says, ‘Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate some of the loaves and were filled.”‘ A few verses later He says, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you”, (v.53). This is what happened, “As a result of this many of His disciples left, and would no longer walk with Him”, (v.66). He wasn’t seeking popularity.
Part of this is refreshing. He’s not worried about losing some. He encouraged it. I can recall sharing Christ with someone who wasn’t ready. I was trying to accommodate him. I shouldn’t have done that. I may have been casting pearls before swine. He had no interest, yet I continued. I’ve since learned to recognize interest as well as conviction of sin. If one doesn’t know he’s a sinner, he sees no reason for a savior. In these times talking of the law might open one’s eyes to his sin.
There were times throughout Jesus’ ministry that some tried to draw crowds. Jesus never encouraged that. Quite the opposite. He would heal someone and and would say to them to tell no one. His purpose wasn’t to create a movement. It was to train the twelve disciples and to die for sins. The crowds would come in the book of Acts.
There are times when we need to be strong in the message. Basically to tell the truth. If uninterested, possibly refer to our need for a savior. We can also speak to what God says about issues in society.
There has been a movement in the church to not say anything controversial. They are afraid of being political. I agree with some of that. However, it’s a trick from the opposite site to keep us quiet.
Lord, give us wisdom and give us courage. We don’t want to speak out of line, but we also don’t want to shy away from Your truth.