John preached a message of repentance Matthew 3:7-10: There were those that John refused to baptize because they showed no repentance. (Matthew 3:7-8) He called these people a generation of vipers because of their hypocrisy and malice. They, like their parents, were children of the evil one. John felt that if these people had truly repented that there would be works that would show the genuineness of their repentance.

John anticipated or possibly had already heard them say that they were Abraham's seed. Just because they were Abraham's seed did not mean that they were not responsible for their actions. Repentance was still their urgent need!

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