ACC ~ Matthew 3 v7 - 12

OVERVIEW:

Even the Pharisees came to be baptized by John, but they did not continue faithfully in the preaching of John (CHRYSOSTOM). By reason of their deceptions they were called a brood of vipers, because by doing the will of the devil, who from the beginning was called a snake, they made themselves the devil’s children (CHROMATIUS). Vipers are beautiful on the outside but on the inside full of poison (ANONYMOUS). Those who remain faithful to Abraham are his posterity in faith, but those who are unfaithful are changed into the devil’s offspring (HILARY). So do not take pride in saying that we have Abraham for our father; rather, be ashamed if you are his children yet not heirs of his holiness (ANONYMOUS). God, who made everything out of nothing, can produce the softness of a tender people out of the hardest stones (JEROME). Insofar as children are given to Abraham, this is not by their possessing his flesh and spirit but by their sharing his virtue (THEODORE OF HERACLEA).

Even while bringing the axe so near to the root, John makes its cutting depend upon you. For if you repent, this axe will be laid aside without doing any harm (CHRYSOSTOM). The former world is ending, and the future world is now approaching (ANONYMOUS). The cutting and burning of the trees signifies the destruction of barren faithlessness that is being prepared for the fire of final judgment (HILARY, CHROMATIUS, CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). John left to the apostles the glory of spreading God’s word (HILARY). Sandals here prefigure the footsteps of gospel preaching (CHROMATIUS). John states his case without compromise, yet he does not dwell on the axe alone or on the tree that is thrown into the fire but on the remission of sins (CHRYSOSTOM). The ripened fruit of believers will be stored in barns, but the chaff of unfruitful human futility is fit for the fire of judgment (HILARY). The fire is the life-giving energy of the Spirit (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). Fire on the one hand is suitable for the formation and ripening of fruits. On the other hand, it is useful for destroying and consuming. As fire outperforms all the elements, so too the Almighty overpowers all gods, rulers and powers (THEODORE OF HERACLEA). The threshing floor is the church, the barn is the heavenly kingdom, and the field is this world. Therefore, like the head of the household who sends out reapers to mow down the stalks in the field and bring them to the threshing floor that he may winnow them and separate the wheat from the chaff, the Lord sends out his apostles and teachers as reapers (ANONYMOUS).

3:7 | Pharisees and Sadducees Came to John

THE CLASH WITH RELIGIOUS LEADERS

CHRYSOSTOM: They did not continue to follow John. [1] This is what Christ meant when he later refused to disclose his own authority to the Pharisees. [2] When they refused to receive the very One of whom John was preaching, this was hardly a convincing expression of their faith. The Pharisees imagined that they had the highest regard for the prophets and Moses. But Jesus said they had disregarded Moses because they had not received the one foretold by him: “If you believed Moses, you would believe me.” [3] Then he confronted them: “I also will ask you a question: now tell me, Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” They debated: “If we say, from heaven, he will say, why did you not believe him?” [4] From all this it was clear that they came indeed and were baptized by John, but they did not continue faithfully in the preaching of John. John’s Gospel also points out their corruptness, reporting how they sent representatives to the Baptist asking, “Are you Elijah? Are you Christ?” This is why it was added: “Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.” [5] THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 11.1. [6]

[1] Mt 21:32.

[2] Lk 20:1-8.

[3] Jn 5:46.

[4] Lk 20:5; cf. Mt 21:25-26.

[5] Jn 1:24.

[6] PG 57:191-92; NPNF 1 10:67-68**.

BROOD OF THE DEVIL

CHROMATIUS: John put it clearly to the Pharisees and Sadducees who had come to him for baptism when he said, “Brood of vipers! Who has shown you how to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, produce fruit that matches genuine repentance.” [1] Those who for a long time were called God’s children are now by reason of their faults called a brood of vipers, because by doing the will of the devil, who from the beginning was called a snake, they made themselves the devil’s children. “The devil is your father, and it is your will to fulfill your father’s desires.” [2] TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 10.2. [3]

[1] Mt 3:7-8.

[2] Jn 8:44.

[3] cf. Eccles 10:2; Prov 4:27.

THE POISON OF MALICE

ANONYMOUS: “Offspring of vipers.” The nature of vipers is such that when a viper bites a person, it immediately heads for water. If it does not find water, it dies. [1] So too John called those persons the offspring of vipers who, committing grave sins, hastened to baptism so that, like vipers, through water they might avoid the danger of death. Also, the nature of a viper is that it ruptures its mother’s entrails in order to be born. Therefore, because the Jews who were doggedly persecuting the prophets ruptured their mother the synagogue, as the lamenting woman says in Canticles, “My mother’s children were angry at me,” [2] they are called the offspring of vipers. Further, vipers are beautiful on the outside and adorned as it were, but on the inside they are full of poison. Thus John calls both hypocrites and Pharisees the offspring of vipers, because the hypocrites showed the beauty of holiness on their face while they bore the poison of malice in their hearts. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 3. [3]

[1] Misconceptions of the strangest sort regarding animals abounded in the ancient world and were often included in literary works (Aelian, Pliny the Elder). Such misconceptions served as starting points for the allegorical interpretation of animals named in the Scriptures, as is evidenced here.

[2] Song 1:6.

[3] PG 56:651.

3:8 | Fruit That Befits Repentance

SUCCESSION OF FAITH, NOT FLESH

HILARY: He advises them to “bring forth fruit that matches repentance” and not to boast that they have Abraham as their father, for God is able to raise up children to Abraham out of stones. Indeed, succession to Abraham in the flesh is not required, but the inheritance of Abraham’s faith. In this context, dignity of origin consists in examples of works. The glory of one’s race lies in the imitation of faith. The devil was faithless, but Abraham was faithful. The devil was treacherous in his treatment of humanity, whereas Abraham was justified by faith. Therefore the very life and character of each person is acquired by a close relationship, so that those who are faithful to Abraham are his posterity in faith. But those who are unfaithful are changed into the devil’s offspring by their unfaithfulness. ON MATTHEW 2.3. [1]

[1] SC 254:104-6.

FRUITS OF REPENTANCE

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: One might say that the fruits of repentance are, by way of anticipation, faith in Christ. They are also the evangelical society that exists “in newness of life,” [1] changed from the present dullness of the letter. FRAGMENT 20. [2]

[1] Rom 6:4.

[2] MKGK 159.

3:9 | Claiming Descent from Abraham

A NOBLE FAMILY WITH CONTEMPTIBLE CHILDREN

ANONYMOUS: It is better to be born noble from a contemptible family than to be born contemptible from a noble family. As for the one who is born noble from a noble family, the glory of his nobility is not his alone, but he has it in common with his family. As for the one who is born contemptible from a contemptible family, the baseness of his contemptibility is not his alone. … Therefore do not take pride in saying that “we have Abraham for a father.” Rather, be ashamed that you are his children and are not heirs of his holiness. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 3. [1]

[1] PG 56:651.

THE POWER OF GOD TO REMAKE A PEOPLE

JEROME: “God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.” He calls the Gentiles stones because of their hard heart. We read in Ezekiel: “I will revive their stony heart and give them a heart of flesh.” [1] He shows the hardness in a stone and the softness of flesh. In other words, this passage indicates the power of God, who made everything out of nothing and can produce a people out of the hardest stones. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 1.3.9. [2]

[1] Ezek 36:26.

[2] CCL 77:17-18.

THEODORE OF HERACLEA: If from “stones children are given to Abraham,” this is not by their possessing his flesh and spirit but by their sharing his virtue. [1] Therefore the people of God are able to call Abraham “father.” How so? Consider the following: Stones are employed by the Gentiles not only for building but also for idolatry. Besides this, remember this: the heart of the dragon is said to be as hard as a stone. [2] FRAGMENTS 15-16. [3]

[1] Abraham’s virtue is faith.

[2] Cf. Job 41:24 (LXX 41:15).

[3] MKGK 61.

CHILDREN FROM STONES

CHRYSOSTOM: Although John terrified them with his preaching, he did not permit them to fall into despair. He did not say “God has raised up” but “God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.” In this way he simultaneously alarmed and comforted them. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 11.3. [1]

[1] PG 57:195; NPNF 1 10:70**. John’s preaching of repentance both terrified and offered hope, combining threat and promise.

3:10 | The Axe Laid to the Tree’s Root

THE AXE LAID TO THE ROOT

CHRYSOSTOM: He did not merely say that the axe was barely “touching the root” but “laid to the root”—it is poised right next to it and shows no sign of delay. Yet even while bringing the axe so near, he makes its cutting depend upon you. For if you turn around and become better persons, this axe will be laid aside without doing any harm. But if you continue in the same ways, it will tear up the tree by the roots. So note well that the axe is neither removed from the root nor too quickly applied to cut the root. He did not want you to become passive, yet he wanted to let you know that it is possible even in a short time to be changed and saved. He first heightened their fear in order to fully awaken them and press them on to repentance. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 11.3. [1]

[1] PG 57:195; NPNF 1 10:70**.

THE ROOT

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: He calls Christ an axe “sharper than a two-edged sword,” [1] which was to cut off the unbelieving Jews and dissociate them from the honor and communion of the patriarchs. Those spoken of as “the root” are the fathers of old who remained well pleasing to God, those who with Abraham and as with many people in former times were holy. The unbelievers who sprang from them were cut off as fruitless branches. But the root remained, onto which those of the believing Gentiles were engrafted. And as Irenaeus reminds us, God’s Word is like an axe in accordance with Jeremiah’s saying: the word of the Lord is “like a pickaxe chopping stone.” [2] Why am I saying that you are going to fall away? God did not spare the root. FRAGMENT 24. [3]

[1] Heb 4:12.

[2] Jer 23:29 LXX (RSV: “like a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces”).

[3] MKGK 160.

THE AXE

ANONYMOUS: The axe is the utter wrath of the destruction about to strike down the whole world. If that axe was prepared, why did it not strike down? And if it was not about to strike down, why was it made ready? The trees [1] of which we speak have a rational quality and have the power either to do or not to do good. Since an axe has been laid at their roots they fear being cut down, as they were called to bear fruit. An evildoer is not corrected by fear. But a good person will perish unless he has appropriate fear. Therefore, even if angry denunciation does nothing to change evildoers, it serves to distinguish the bad from the good. Note, however, that the axe is not said to be laid at the branches that they may be cut down and then restored. It is laid at the roots that they may be irretrievably eradicated. Why? Because as long as this world steeped in evil has not come to final judgment, [2] sinners are chastised but not cut away altogether. This is for two reasons. First, it was necessary for people responding to God to have a locus of action in the world, even if the world is full of iniquity. Second, with the world continuing on, there was hope that some just people might be born from the generations of the unjust. But now with the former world ending and the holy world fast approaching, sinners are not being chastised but turned out. There is room for hope that from the generations of the unjust, some just people may possibly be born. But it would be inappropriate in this coming holy world to have people who are not holy, as it is written: The upright of heart shall inhabit the earth, but “the evildoers lie prostrate, they are thrust down, unable to rise.” [3] INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 3. [4]

[1] Symbolizing human beings.

[2] 1 Jn 5:19.

[3] Ps 36:12 (35:12 LXX).

[4] PG 56:652.

THREAT OF DIVINE JUDGMENT

CHROMATIUS: There is no doubt this axe signifies the power of the divine word, for God says through Jeremiah the prophet: “Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces?” [1] Therefore this axe which is laid at the very roots of interior faith in this forest of humanity always implies the severe threat of divine judgment. Unfruitful trees or barren people, bearing no fruit of faith, will be cut down and consigned to perpetual fire. TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 11.1. [2]

[1] Jer 23:29.

[2] CCL 9a:239.

FAITHLESSNESS DESTROYED

HILARY: The axe laid at the roots of the trees witnesses to the power present in Christ. The cutting down and burning of the trees signifies the destruction of barren faithlessness that is being prepared for the fire of judgment. ON MATTHEW 2.4. [1]

[1] SC 254:106.

3:11a | Baptism with Water

HE WHO COMES AFTER ME

HILARY: The work of the law is now ineffectual for salvation. John appeared as a messenger of repentance to those about to be baptized. It was the task of the prophets to call people away from their sins, but it was proper to Christ to save those who believe. Thus John said that he was baptizing them for repentance. He also said that a mightier one would come whose sandals he was not worthy to untie. And he left to the apostles the glory of spreading God’s word. It would be their duty to go about with their trusty feet and proclaim God’s peace. [1] He therefore points ahead to the time of our salvation and judgment in the Lord, saying, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” [2] ON MATTHEW 2.4. [3]

[1] Cf. Rom 10:15.

[2] Mt 3:11.

[3] SC 254:106-8.

GRACE AND JUDGMENT BLENDED

CHRYSOSTOM: See how great is the wisdom of the Baptist in his preaching? Note how he states his case without compromise, unafraid of alarming his hearers and filling them with anxiety. Yet his very next words are mild, speaking of that which is apt to make them recover. He does not dwell on the axe alone or the tree that is cut down, burned and thrown into the fire, or the wrath to come, but also speaks of the remission of sins, the removal of punishment, righteousness, sanctification, redemption, adoption and community, a partaking of the inheritance and an abundant supply of the Holy Spirit. For to all these remedies John implicitly pointed when he said, “He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” [1] At once, by this very figure of speech, John witnessed to the abundance of grace. He did not say “He will give you the Holy Spirit” but “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Then to specify the volatile and uncontrollable quality of divine grace he adds, “and with fire.” THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 11.4. [2]

[1] Mt 3:11.

[2] PG 57:197; NPNF 1 10:71**. To ask whether judgment or grace was the heart of John’s preaching is to miss the point: he preached both entwined.

3:11b | Baptism with Fire and with the Spirit

SANDALS AS A BIBLICAL TYPE

CHROMATIUS: Now we must focus on what is meant by these sandals from the spiritual standpoint. We know that Moses said long ago: “Put off your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” [1] We read that Joshua the son of Nun likewise said, “Remove the latchet from your sandal.” [2] But as to why they are ordered by the Lord to remove their sandals, we must understand this to be the type of a future truth. According to the law, if a man is unwilling to accept the wife of his brother after his brother’s death, he should take off his shoes, so that another may marry her and succeed by right of law. [3] As to the commandment prefigured in law, we find it fulfilled in Christ, who is the true bridegroom of the church. Therefore, because neither Moses the lawgiver nor Joshua the leader of the people could be the bridegroom of the church, not without good reason was it said to them that they should remove the sandals from their feet, because the true future bridegroom of the church, Christ, was to be expected. John says concerning him: “He who has the bride is the bridegroom.” [4] To bear or loosen his sandals, John professed himself to be unworthy. The Lord himself through David revealed that these sandals signify the footsteps of gospel preaching when he says, “Upon Edom I cast my shoe”; [5] through his apostles he will take the steps of gospel teaching everywhere. TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 11.4. [6]

[1] Ex 3:5.

[2] Josh 5:15.

[3] The law of levirate marriage; Deut 25:7-9.

[4] 42.

[5] Ps 60:8 (59:8 LXX); 108:9 (107:9 LXX).

[6] CCL 9a:240-41.

FIRE OF THE SPIRIT

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: The blessed Baptist added to the word spirit the active and meaningful phrase “and with fire.” This was not to imply that through Christ we shall all be baptized with fire but to indicate through the designation fire that the life-giving energy of the Spirit is given. FRAGMENT 27. [1]

[1] MKGK 161.

THE FIRE IS TO PURIFY

THEODORE OF HERACLEA: The words “behind me” are used in the sense of “after me.” “He who is coming” is said rather than “he who shall be revealed.” The souls of the saints, in order to receive the mystery of revelation, are said to be baptized purely “in fire.” This is because the Spirit first came down upon the disciples in tongues of fire, by which they were baptized and their souls made perfect. [1] Or because, in the age to come, all will be baptized with fire, for “everyone will be salted with fire,” [2] so that “the fire may test everyone’s work, of what sort it is.” [3] Fire is appointed for the material element, which in itself is neither wicked nor evil but powerful and able to purify from evil. For the power of fire is deemed to be beneficial and strong, destructive of evil things and preservative of what is better. This is why fire is associated with wisdom by the prophets. For this reason also, when God is called “a consuming fire,” [4] this is to be understood as a term and symbol not for evil but for power. As fire is the strongest of the elements and conquers everything else, in the same way God is all-powerful and almighty, able to conquer, to create, to make, to nourish, to multiply, to save, possessing authority over both body and soul. Just as fire outperforms all the elements, so too all gods, powers and rulers are no match for the Almighty.

Fire has a twofold potency. On the one hand, it is suitable for the formation and ripening of fruits and for the birth and sustenance of animals. The sun is the primary image of this power. On the other hand, fire is fit for destroying and consuming, as is the case with earthly fire. When God therefore is called a “consuming fire,” able to destroy, he is being called a mighty and irresistible power. To God nothing is impossible. Concerning such a power the Savior also says, “I came to cast fire upon the earth.” [5] This is a power that purifies the saints, causes material things to disappear and, we might say, educates. Fire induces fear. Its light spreads outward. FRAGMENT 18. [6]

[1] Acts 2:3.

[2] Mk 9:49.

[3] 1 Cor 3:13.

[4] Deut 4:24; Heb 12:29.

[5] Lk 12:49.

[6] MKGK 61-62.

3:12 | The Wheat and the Chaff

THE THRESHING FLOOR

ANONYMOUS: The threshing floor is the church, the barn is the kingdom of heaven, and the field is the world. Therefore, like the head of the household who sends out reapers to mow down the stalks in the field and bring them to the threshing floor that he may thresh and winnow them there and separate the wheat from the chaff, the Lord sends out his apostles and other teachers as reapers. He will cut down all the people in the world and gather them onto the threshing floor of the church, where we are to be threshed at one point and then winnowed. As the grain of wheat enclosed in the chaff cannot escape unless it has been threshed, so too it is hard for one to escape worldly encumbrances and carnal affairs while one is enclosed in the chaff, unless one has been shaken by some hardship. Note that once the full grain has been slightly shaken it sheds its chaff. If it is flimsy, it takes longer to escape. If it is empty, it never emerges but is ground in its chaff and then thrown out with the chaff. In this way, all who take delight in carnal things will be like the grain and the chaff. But one who is faithful and has a good heart, once he experiences adversity, disregards those things that are carnal and hastens to God. If he has been somewhat unfaithful, however, only with great difficulty will he go back to God. As for him who is unfaithful and empty, though he may be sorry over his circumstances, like empty grain he will emerge from the chaff—he will never leave carnal things or worldly encumbrances behind, nor will he go over to God. Rather, he will be ground up with the things that are evil and thus be cast out with the unfaithful like the chaff. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 3. [1]

[1] PG 56:655.

THE WHEAT AND THE CHAFF

HILARY: It remains for those who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit to be consumed with the fire of judgment, for “his winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.” The function of the fan is to separate the fruitful from the unfruitful. That the decision lies in God’s hands is indicated by his splendid wheat, the ripened fruit of believers, to be stored in barns. But the chaff indicates the futility of the unprofitable and unfruitful who are fit for the fire of burning judgment. ON MATTHEW 2.4. [1]

[1] SC 254:108.