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Matthew 3:9

in Matthew 3

And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

and think 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.

KJV

And think 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.

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This verse in Matthew 3

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 420.

He intimates God's great power, who, as he made all things out of nothing, can make men out of the hardest stone. These stones signify the Gentiles because of their hardness of heart. See Ezekiel, I will take away from you the heart of stone, and give you the heart of flesh. Stone is emblematic of hardness, flesh of softness. Or, the preaching of the Gospel is meant, as the Prophet Jeremiah also compares the Word of the Lord to an axe cleaving the rock. (Jer. 23:29.)

This site's exposition

O generation of vipers

on Matthew 3:7-10

Generation of vipers is John's own name for two parties usually opposed to each other, Pharisees and Sadducees, united here only by a common presumption on descent, we have Abraham to our father. John answers that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham, a claim the bench reads as already opening the door Jesus will walk through with Gentile faith later in the book, since sonship runs on fruit rather than blood. The axe already laid unto the root and the fire already ready name a judgment poised rather than merely threatened, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance demands a changed life, not water alone.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

And say not confidently - The word in the original, vulgarly rendered, Think not, seems here, and in many places, not to diminish, but rather add to the force of the word with which it is joined. We have Abraham to our father - It is almost incredible, how great the presumption of the Jews was on this their relation to Abraham.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

What their pretence was; " We have Abraham to our father; we are not sinners of the Gentiles; it is fit indeed that they should be called to repent; but we are Jews, a holy nation, a peculiar people, what is this to us?" Note, The word does us no good, when we will not take it as it is spoken to us, and belonging to us.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
And think not to say ... - They regarded it as sufficient righteousness that they were descended from so holy a man as Abraham. Compare Joh 8:33-37, Joh 8:53. John assured them that this was a matter of small consequence in the sight of God. Of the very stones of the Jordan he could raise up children to Abraham.

on Matthew 3:1-12

These verses describe the ministry of John the Baptist, the forerunner of our Lord Jesus Christ: it is a ministry that deserves close attention. Few preachers ever produced such effects as John the Baptist: “There went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region round about Jordan.”None ever received such praise from the great head of the church: Jesus called him “a burning and a shining light” ( John 5:35 ); the great Bishop of souls Himself declared, that “among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.”

How the passage was read

On Matthew 3:7-10

On Matthew 3:7-10

Who the Pharisees and Sadducees were

Their first appearance in the New Testament is the place to say plainly who they were. The Pharisees were a lay renewal movement, about six thousand strong in the historian Josephus's count (Antiquities of the Jews, book 17, written about AD 93), whose program was to extend the Temple's holiness into ordinary life: the ordinary table kept as carefully as a priest's, the whole Torah kept in detail by the whole people. They held that alongside the written Torah an oral Torah had come down from Sinai teacher to teacher; the Mishnah's ethics tractate opens with that chain: “Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders...” (Pirkei Avot 1:1). The Sadducees were the priestly aristocracy centered on the Temple: they accepted the written Torah but rejected the oral tradition and denied the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:8 says so directly). After the Temple fell in AD 70 the Sadducees vanished; the rabbinic Judaism that survives to this day descends from the Pharisaic side.

Two cautions keep the reader honest for every scene that follows. “Pharisee” is not a synonym for hypocrite: the movement's aim was devotion, its ranks included honest seekers (Nicodemus, Gamaliel, and Paul, who says “I am a Pharisee” in the present tense, Acts 23:6), and on the resurrection its doctrine stands with Christian confession against the Sadducees. And the Gospel collisions are arguments WITHIN first-century Judaism about how the Torah is rightly kept, not a contest between Jesus and Judaism.

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Sources: Pirkei Avot 1:1 (the chain of tradition) · Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1 (the resurrection affirmed as core doctrine)

The words behind it

25 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Ephesians 3:20Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,27 worksLuke 3:8Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.17 worksLuke 19:40“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”17 worksRomans 9:7–8Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”16 worksGalatians 3:27–29For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.13 worksJohn 8:33“We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered. “We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?”10 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Genesis 18:14Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”9 worksRomans 2:28A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical.8 worksRomans 4:1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, has discovered?7 worksActs 13:26Brothers, children of Abraham, and you Gentiles who fear God, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.7 worksGalatians 4:22–31For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.7 worksLuke 16:24So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’6 worksJohn 8:53Are You greater than our father Abraham? He died, as did the prophets. Who do You claim to be?”5 worksEzekiel 33:24“Son of man, those living in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.’5 worksMark 7:21For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,5 worksMatthew 8:11–12I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.5 worksLuke 5:22Knowing what they were thinking, Jesus replied, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?5 worksJohn 8:39–40“Abraham is our father,” they replied. “If you were children of Abraham,” said Jesus, “you would do the works of Abraham.5 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Luke 3:8

    Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up…

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 18:27–31

      But if a wicked man turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life.

    • Acts 26:20

      First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of…

    • Isaiah 1:16–18

      Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!

    • Matthew 21:43

      Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.

    • Galatians 5:22–24

      But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

  • Through

    Romans 4:1

    What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, has discovered?

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 51:2

      Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who gave you birth. When I called him, he was but one; then I blessed him and multiplied him.

    • Romans 4:16

      Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who…

  • Through

    John 8:33

    “We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered. “We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?”

    it leads to

    • John 8:39

      “Abraham is our father,” they replied. “If you were children of Abraham,” said Jesus, “you would do the works of Abraham.

Where this verse is studied

About Matthew

John the Baptist Preaching in the Wilderness — Gustave Doré (engraving), public domain
John the Baptist Preaching in the Wilderness — Gustave Doré (engraving), public domain
Matthew: the study guide →Read Matthew 3 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Matthew 3 →