Church Fathers Commentary Luke 3:7-9

"He said therefore to the multitudes that went out to be baptized of him, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And even now the axe also lieth at the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." — Luke 3:7-9 (ASV)

Origen of Alexandria: No one who remains in his old state, and does not forsake his old habits and practices, can rightly come to be baptized. Whoever, then, wishes to be baptized must go forth. This is why those words are spoken so significantly: And he said to the multitude that went out to be baptized by him. To the crowds, then, who are going out to the water of baptism, He speaks the following words, for if they had already gone out, He would not have said, O generation of vipers.

St. John Chrysostom: The dweller in the wilderness, when he saw all the people of Palestine standing around him in wonder, did not bend beneath the weight of such respect, but rose up against them and rebuked them. Holy Scripture often gives the names of wild beasts to people according to the passions that drive them, sometimes calling them dogs for their shamelessness, horses for their lust, donkeys for their folly, lions and panthers for their predation and recklessness, asps for their deceit, and serpents and vipers for their venom and cunning. And so, in this place, John calls the Jews a generation of vipers.

St. Basil the Great: It may be observed that the words natus and filius are spoken of animals, but genimen can be said of the fetus before it is formed in the womb. The fruit of palm trees is also called genimina. However, that word is very seldom used with respect to animals, and when it is, it is always in a negative sense.

St. John Chrysostom: They say that the female viper kills the male during mating, and the offspring, as it grows in the womb, kills the mother. It thus comes into life by bursting open the womb, as if in revenge for its father’s death. The viper’s progeny, therefore, are parricides. Such also were the Jews, who killed their spiritual fathers and teachers.

But what if he found them not sinning, but beginning to convert? Surely, he ought not to rebuke them, but to comfort them. We answer that he paid no attention to outward appearances, for he knew the secrets of their hearts, as the Lord revealed them to him. They boasted too much about their forefathers. Therefore, cutting at this root, he calls them a generation of vipers—not because he blamed the Patriarchs or called them vipers.

St. Gregory the Great: Because the Jews hated good men and persecuted them, following in the steps of their physical ancestors, they are by birth the poisonous sons, as it were, of poisonous or sorcerous parents. But because the preceding verse declares that at the last judgment Christ will be seen by all flesh, it is rightly added, Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? The “wrath to come” is the sentence of final punishment.

St. Ambrose of Milan: We see these men, through the compassion of God, inspired with the prudence to seek repentance for their crimes, dreading with wise devotion the terror of the coming judgment. Or perhaps, according to the precept, Be you wise as serpents, they are shown to have a natural prudence. They perceive what is coming and earnestly desire help, though they still do not forsake what is harmful.

St. Gregory the Great: But because a person who does not now turn to the sorrows of repentance cannot then flee from the wrath of God, it is added, Bring forth therefore fruits...

St. John Chrysostom: For it is not enough for the penitent to stop sinning; he must also bring forth the fruits of repentance. As it says in the Psalms, depart from evil and do good. Just as in healing it is not enough only to pull out the arrow, we must also apply a salve to the wound. But he does not say “fruit,” but “fruits,” signifying abundance.

St. Gregory the Great: He warns them that they must bring forth not only the fruits of repentance, but fruits worthy of repentance. For one who has violated no law is permitted to enjoy what is lawful. But if a man has fallen into sin, he ought to cut himself off from what is lawful to the same degree that he remembers committing what is unlawful.

The fruit of good works ought not to be the same for the person who has sinned less and the person who has sinned more, nor for the one who has committed no crimes and the one who has committed some. In this way, it is adapted to the conscience of each person that they should seek a greater blessing on their good works through repentance, in proportion to the heavier penalties they have brought on themselves through guilt.

St. Maximus the Confessor: The fruit of repentance is an equanimity of soul, which we do not fully obtain as long as we are still sometimes affected by our passions. For we have not yet produced fruits worthy of repentance. Let us, then, repent truly, so that by being delivered from our passions we may obtain the pardon of our sins.

St. Gregory the Great: But the Jews, glorying in their noble birth, were unwilling to acknowledge themselves as sinners because they were descended from the stock of Abraham. So then it is rightly said, And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father.’

St. John Chrysostom: This does not mean that they had not descended in their natural lineage from Abraham, but that it does them no good to have Abraham as their father unless they maintain that relationship with respect to virtue. For Scripture is accustomed to define relationships not by nature, but by virtue or vice. Whichever of these two a man conforms to, he is called its son or brother.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: For what good is the nobility we inherit through the flesh, unless it is supported by kindred virtues in us? It is foolish, then, to boast of our worthy ancestors while falling away from their virtues.

St. Basil the Great: For the speed of its sire does not make a horse swift. Rather, just as the goodness of other animals is looked for in individuals, so also a man’s legitimate praise is that which is determined by the test of his own present worth. It is a disgraceful thing for a man to be adorned with the honors of another when he has no virtue of his own to commend him.

Gregory of Nyssa: So then, having foretold the rejection of the Jews, He goes on to allude to the calling of the Gentiles, whom He calls stones. Hence it follows, For I say to you...

St. John Chrysostom: It is as if He said, “Do not think that if you perish the Patriarch will be deprived of sons, for God can raise up children for him even from stones and prolong the line of his descendants.” For so it has been from the beginning, seeing that for men to be made for Abraham from stones is merely the equivalent of a son coming forth from the dead womb of Sarah.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But although God can alter and change the most diverse natures, in my mind a mystery is more significant than a miracle. For what else were they but stones, who bowed down to stones and so became like the idols they made? It is prophesied, therefore, that faith will be poured into the stony hearts of the Gentiles, and through faith the oracles promise that Abraham will have sons. But so that you may know who the men are that are compared to stones, he has also compared men to trees, adding, For now the ax is laid to the root of the tree. This change of figure was made so that, through this comparison, a more gracious growth of humanity might be understood to have now begun.

Origen of Alexandria: If the completion of all things had already begun then, and the end of time were close at hand, I would have no doubt that the prophecy was given because it was to be fulfilled at that time. But now that many ages have passed since the Spirit spoke this, I think it was prophesied to the people of Israel because their own destruction was approaching. For he gave this warning, among others, to those who went out to him to be baptized.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: By the ax, then, he declares the deadly wrath of God, which fell upon the Jews on account of the impieties they committed against Christ. He does not say the ax is yet fixed to the root, but that it was laid there (Latin: ad radicem), that is, near the root. For although the branches were cut down, the tree itself was not yet entirely destroyed, for a remnant of Israel shall be saved.

St. Gregory the Great: Or we may understand it this way: The tree represents the whole human race in this world, but the ax is our Redeemer. Like an ax with its handle and iron, He is held, as it were, in the hand of man, but strikes by the power of God. This ax is now laid at the root of the tree; for although it waits patiently, it is clear what it is about to do.

We must observe that this ax is to be laid not at the branches, but at the root. For when the children of the wicked are taken away, what is this but the cutting off of the branches of an unfruitful tree? But when the whole family, together with the parent, is removed, the unfruitful tree is cut off from the very root.

Every hardened sinner finds the fire of hell prepared for him all the more quickly as he disdains to bring forth the fruits of good works. Hence it follows, Every one then...

St. John Chrysostom: It is elegantly said, that does not bear fruit, and it is added, good. For God created man as a creature fond of work, and constant activity is natural to him, while idleness is unnatural. Idleness is harmful to every part of the body, but much more to the soul, for the soul, being by nature in constant motion, does not permit sloth. But just as idleness is an evil, so also is unworthy activity. Having spoken of repentance before, he now declares that the ax lies near—not actually cutting, but only instilling terror.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Let him, then, who is able, bring forth fruit leading to grace, and him who ought, fruit leading to repentance. The Lord is near, seeking His fruit; He will cherish the fruitful but rebuke the barren.