This is the day that celebrates John the Baptizer in the life of the church…June 24th is forever his day.
John’s favorite way of addressing his congregation was as being “a snake pit.”
You do not call your congregation a “brood of vipers!” Feisty perhaps, but not a pit of snakes…It’s not nice. And you don’t usually last long in the ministry if you do.
The viper was seen to be ‘an evil creature.’ Its ‘venom was deadly’, and it was also ‘devious’—you may or may not remember it was a viper that bit the Apostle Paul, as it was hiding in a bunch of firewood.
It was a creature known for “hiding” and staying out of “eye-shot.”
The Hebrew Scriptures, which the Pharisees and the Sadducees and all good Jews knew well, associate the “serpent with Satan” going all the way back to the third chapter of Genesis.
For John to call anyone, much less his own congregation or the Pharisees and Sadducees a “brood of vipers” implies that they bore “satanic qualities.”
This idea was also clearly stated by Jesus when he said the unbelieving Jews “belong to [their] father, the devil” as recorded later in John’s gospel.
When John called the Pharisees and others a “brood of vipers,” he was pointing out that these men were deceitful, dangerous, and wicked—deceitful in that they were hypocrites, dangerous in that they were “blind leaders of the blind,” and wicked in that, “their hearts” were full of murderous thoughts and evil deeds.
It also left a visual reminder in people’s minds…because farmers, then as now, were known to burn the stubble off their fields to get the land ready for the next planting season.
As the fires neared the vipers’ dens, the snakes would actually slither away from the flames, but they often did not escape being consumed.
Snakes fleeing the fire …was a common enough sight, and words to the Pharisees and others – like these – would likely have called it all – to their minds.
How could they think they would escape the fire of God’s judgment by relying on their “own works,” which were not at all “honest or good?”
John’s calling them a “brood of vipers” was meant to make them aware of their own wickedness and it was a call for them to repent like everybody else.
The Pharisees and Sadducees of course, were the religious leaders in Israel during the time of John the Baptizer.
You may also remember the Pharisees were the “law-keepers and the promoters of tradition,” and the Sadducees comprised “the wealthier ruling class” in league with the High Priest.
Over the centuries, these religious and “once well-meaning groups” had become corrupt, legalistic, and hypocritical and would eventually be responsible for crucifying Jesus.
John got in trouble more than once for what came out of his mouth.
Like many of us, things just seemed to pop out…uncontrollably. He had difficulty controlling the tongue. He was use to the rough and tumble world of the wilderness.
His tattered clothes and his starvation diet did not call for the “refined language” of city dwellers and Temple prancers. Therefore he called ‘em the way he saw ‘em…a spade was a spade.
The kingdom was coming alright…and everybody no matter “who you are” – or “what your background was” – had better start shaping up.
Because as the Baptizer saw it, everyone from the High Priest on down was in need of good old – on your knees – repentance!
Hell was waiting and the fires were piping hot…
Yep, if you didn’t shape up, God would give you the axe like “an elm with the blight” or toss you into the waiting incinerator – like where you stick the left over’s when you have “lambasted all the good out of the wheat.”
And of course, his worse case of “open mouth – stick in foot” was when he single handedly tried to take on King Herod. You do not mess with a sitting king. Especially one with a devious wife and daughter… John rebuked Herod for marrying Herodias, the ex-wife of his brother, Philip. Apparently he had some pretty unpleasant things to say about them and their relationship!
He simply wanted the royal household to shape up, as well. And we all know where that got him!
So a word to the wise is to watch the mouth and the tongue…because they can get you in trouble…way over your head!