Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
(Matthew 3:5-12 ESV)
I think Mat. 3:5-12 if written today would be something like this:
Some fire and brimstone preacher comes to Pelican Rapids and he gets to preach at a church in town, maybe E-Free. Now he's a famous guy- he's been on CNN a few times and so all sorts of people show up- from the town drunk to pastors from Fergus and Detroit Lakes. As they sit down, the pastors sit with the good congregants, there's Campus Crusade college students, the sweet old man who frequents the Dairy Queen, and all the upstanding moral people in the community. Heck, even the mayor's there.
On the other side of the aisle are the people who haven't been to church in years, decades for some. Many of them are alcoholics. There's the guy who cheated on his wife, the guy who was in jail for stealing a car, and the guy who embezzled money from the company, and the town drunk.
As the preacher gets going, it heats up quick as he starts talking about the wrath of God and the need to repent. As he tells story after passionate story, many of the 'good' people on the right start smirking, "maybe now old Jim the adulterer will finally become a Christian and get his life straightened out." Just as the good guys are feeling like the sermon for the others is coming to an end, he stops and turns.
Then, he looks at all the 'good', responsible family people: "You scumballs! You smirk inside because you think you're better. You think this sermon is for someone else. You are the worst people in this room. Hear it again, you. are. the. worst. You have offended a holy God and there is wrath coming. Repent- and turn to Jesus."
You see for the religious people who smirked, they were farthest from the kingdom of God. For the adulterer, it's no mystery that he is a great sinner, that who he is actually offends God. He can feel the weight of his guilt and if he is to have any chance of forgiveness it is all based on what Jesus has done for him. Jesus' death in his place makes his standing with God perfect, apart from anything good the man has done.
For the pastors, the family men and women, the sweet old men, the ones who've gone to church their whole lives, who followed the rules, who played it right: how hard is it to see that they are in the same position as the drunkard. How hard is it to see that by trying to follow the rules and do the right thing and be the best they could be they were trying to save themselves, thinking they could be good enough because of their moral uprightness or the fact that they read their bible or go to church. And thinking you can somehow attain to the standard of God apart from a pure, 100% undeserved gift is the worst stink to the God of the Bible.
So when the preacher tells these 'good' guys to repent he is actually telling them to repent of their religion- of thinking that they're good people and that they're fine saying that Christ is their Savior without actually trusting him to save them from their sin. The little smirk during the sermon, whether inward or outward, pointed without a doubt to the sad state of their souls.
So be careful when you read this parable. Once you start to say, "Oh those dumb Pharisees", you, my friend have become a Pharisee. Don't be one of those. Recognize where you are one, and trust Jesus instead.
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