Matthew 3:7

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? BUT WHEN HE SAW MANY OF THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES COME TO HIS BAPTISM (on these sects, and what they represented, see Remark 2 at the close of this Section), HE SAID UNTO THEM [ASTONISHED AT SUCH A SPECTACLE] O GENERATION OF VIPERS, [ Genneemata (G1081) echidnoon (G2191)] - 'Viper-brood;' expressing the deadly influence of both sects alike upon the community. Mutually and entirely antagonistic as were their religious principles and spirit, the stern prophet charges both alike with being the poisoners of the nation's religious principles. In...

Matthew 3:7._And when he saw many of the Pharisees. _It is here related by Matthew and Luke, that John did not merely preach repentance in a general manner, but that he also applied his discourse to individuals. And the manner of teaching will, in point of fact, be very unprofitable, if instructors do not judiciously inquire what the season demands, and what belongs to individuals. Nothing can be more unequal, in this respect, than a constant equality. (261) For this reason John, we are told, addressed the Pharisees and Sadducees with greater severity: because he saw that their hypocrisy, and swelling pride, rendered them liable to be more severely censured than the common people. To comprehend more fully his design, we must understand, that none are more stupid than hypocrites, who deceive themselves and others by the outward mask of holiness. While

7-12 To make application to the souls of the hearers, is the life of preaching; so it was of John's preaching. The Pharisees laid their chief stress on outward observances, neglecting the weightier matters of the moral law, and the spiritual meaning of their legal ceremonies. Others of them were detestable hypocrites, making their pretences to holiness a cloak for iniquity. The Sadducees ran into the opposite extreme, denying the existence of spirits, and a future state. They were the scornful infidels of that time and country. There is a wrath to come. It is the great concern of every one to flee from that wrath. God, who delights not in our ruin, has warned us; he warns by the written word, by ministers, by conscience. And those are not worthy of the name of penitents, or their privileges, who say they are sorry for their sins, yet persist in them. It becomes penitents to be humble an...

Verse Matthew 3:7. _PHARISEES_] A very numerous sect among the Jews, who, in their _origin_, were, very probably, a pure and holy people. It is likely that they got the name of Pharisees, i.e. _Separatists_, (from פרש _pharash_, to _separate_,) from their separating themselves from the pollution of the Jewish national worship; and hence, the word in the Anglo-saxon version is [Anglo-Saxon], _holy persons_ who _stand apart_, or by themselves: but, in process of time, like all _religious sects_ and _parties_, they _degenerated_: they lost the _spirit_ of their _institution_, they ceased to recur to first principles, and had only the _form_ of godliness, when Jesus Christ preached in Judea; for he bore witness, that they did make the _outside_ of the cup and platter clean - they observed the rules of their institution, but the...

PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES - The Jews were divided into three great sects - the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. In addition to these, some smaller sects are mentioned in the New Testament and by Josephus: the Herodians, probably political friends of Herod; the Galileans, a branch of the Pharisees; and the Therapeutae, a branch of the Essenes, but converts from the Greeks. The three principal sects are supposed to have originated about 150 years before Christ, as they are mentioned by Josephus at that time in his history. Of course nothing is said of them in the Old Testament, as that was finished about 400 years before the Christian era. I. The Pharisees were the most numerous and wealthy sect of the Jews. They derived their name from the Hebrew word Pharash, which signifies to set apart, or to separate, because they separated themselves from the rest of their countrymen, and pro...

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 3:1 THE HERALD. His public appearance and proclamation (Matthew 3:1, Matthew 3:2), as foretold by Scripture (Matthew 3:3). His Elijah-like dress (Matthew 3:4). He is listened to by multitudes (Matthew 3:5, Matthew 3:6). His faithful warning to typical Jews, and his pointing not to himself, but to the Coming One ...

BUT WHEN HE SAW MANY OF THE PHARISEES,.... This being the first place in which mention is made of the Pharisees and Sadducees, it may not be amiss to give some account of them once for all, and to begin with the Pharisees, and first with their name. Some derive this word from פרץ pharatz to "divide", to "make a breach", from whence Phares had his name Genesis 38:29 so Jerom u, who observes, that "the Pharisees, who separated themselves from the people as righteous persons, were called "divisi, the divided."'' And in w another place, "because the Pharisees were "divided" from the Jews on account of some superfluous observations, they also took their name from their disagreement.'' Origen x seems to refer to this etymology of the word, when he says, "the Pharisees, according to their name, were διηρημενοι τινες και

We are going to read three passages relating to John the Baptist's testimony concerning Christ. Matthew 3:1. _In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey._ Everything connected with John the Baptist was in harmony with his message. He was the preacher of repentance, so the place where he preached was most suitable; it was in the wilderness, where there was nothing to distract his hearers' attention, as there would have been in crowded cities. His dress was striking, and everything about hi

PHARISEES So called from a Hebrew, word meaning "separate." After the ministry of the post-exilic prophets ceased, godly men called "Chasidim" (saints) arose who sought to keep alive reverence for the law amongst the descendants of the Jews who returned from the Babylonian captivity. This movement degenerated into the Pharisaism of our Lord's day -- a letter-strictness which overlaid the law with traditional interpretations held to have been communicated by Jehovah to Moses as oral explanations of equal authority with the law itself. Compare (Matthew 15:2); (Mark 7:8); (Galatians 1:14). The Pharisees were strictly a sect. A member was "chaber" (i.e. "knit together,") ...

3. THE HERALD OF THE KING; THE ENTRANCE UPON HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY. __ 1. The Herald of the King. (Matthew 3:1 .) 2. His Message and His Baptism. (Matthew 3:7 .) 3. The King in Jordan's Waters. (Matthew 3:13 .) CHAPTER 3 The third chapter relates the ministry of the herald of the King, who announces that the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh, and the presence of the King Himself, who is to come after him; the baptism of the King, who comes from Galilee to the Jordan to John, and the events connected with it, are given in the second half of the chapter. “Now in those days comes John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heaven