Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 3:12

"whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor; and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire." — Matthew 3:12 (ASV)

He sets forth his Lord under another figure—that of a Farmer. This time He holds in His hand, not the axe, but the winnowing shovel. Pharisees, Sadducees, and all the rest, lie on His floor. It is with them He deals. He will thoroughly purge his floor. If they do not wish to be purified by Him, they should not be there. But there they are, and He deals with them. His fan is in his hand. He throws up the heap to the breeze that He may test and divide.

His wheat He gathers, for this He seeks. The chaff is blown further off to the place where a fire is burning, and so it is consumed out of the way by what He tells us is unquenchable fire. Our Lord's teaching would act like a great winnowing fan, leaving the true by themselves and driving off the false and worthless to utter destruction. It was so in the life of our Lord. It is so every day where He is preached. He is the Great Divider. It is His Word which separates the sinners from the saints and gathers out a people for Himself.

Thus the herald prepared the people for the King, who would be the Cleanser, the Hewer, the Winnower. My soul, behold your Lord under these aspects and reverence Him!