Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 3:7

"But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" — Matthew 3:7 (ASV)

Representatives of the Sanhedrin (composed of Pharisees, Sadducees, and the elders) came to examine what John was doing (cf. Jn 1:19, 24). The question with which the Baptist confronted them has this sense: “Who suggested to you that you would escape the coming wrath?” Thus John’s rhetorical question takes on a sarcastic nuance: “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath and come for baptism—when in fact you show no signs of repentance?” John the Baptist stands squarely in the prophetic tradition—a tradition in which the Day of the Lord points much more to darkness than to light for those who think they have no sin (Amos 2:4–8; Amos 6:1–7). “You brood of vipers!” also belongs to the prophetic tradition (cf. Isaiah 14:29; 30:6; cf. Matthew 12:34).