Matthew 3:9
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.
And do not presume
The Greek word for "presume" is "δοκέω" (dokeō), which means to think or suppose. This phrase warns against a false sense of security or entitlement. In the context of John the Baptist's message, it serves as a caution against relying on heritage or lineage for spiritual standing. The call is to humility and self-examination, recognizing that spiritual pride can lead to complacency.

to say to yourselves
This phrase indicates an internal dialogue or self-assurance. It suggests that the people were comforting themselves with their heritage rather than seeking true repentance. The emphasis here is on the personal responsibility of each individual to examine their own heart and motives, rather than relying on external factors for righteousness.

‘We have Abraham as our father.’
Abraham is a central figure in Jewish identity, representing the covenant and promises of God. The Jews of John’s time took pride in their descent from Abraham, believing it guaranteed them favor with God. However, John challenges this notion, emphasizing that physical descent is not sufficient for spiritual standing. This highlights the biblical theme that true children of Abraham are those who share his faith, not just his bloodline (Galatians 3:7).

For I tell you
This phrase underscores the authority of the speaker, John the Baptist, as a prophet. It is a direct and emphatic statement, indicating the importance and truth of what follows. John speaks with divine authority, calling the people to listen and heed his warning.

that out of these stones
The mention of "stones" is symbolic and possibly a play on words, as the Hebrew word for "children" (banim) sounds similar to "stones" (abanim). This imagery suggests God's power to create life and fulfill His promises in unexpected ways. It serves as a reminder of God's sovereignty and ability to raise up a faithful people from the most unlikely sources.

God can raise up children for Abraham
This statement emphasizes God's creative power and the inclusivity of His covenant. It challenges the exclusivity of the Jewish claim to Abraham's legacy, opening the door for Gentiles to be grafted into the family of God through faith. It underscores the New Testament teaching that true kinship with Abraham is based on faith and obedience, not merely ancestry (Romans 4:16-17).

Persons / Places / Events
1. John the Baptist
The speaker of this verse, John the Baptist, is a prophetic figure who prepares the way for Jesus by calling people to repentance and baptizing them in the Jordan River.

2. Pharisees and Sadducees
Religious leaders of the time who often relied on their heritage and adherence to the law for righteousness. John addresses them directly in this passage.

3. Abraham
The patriarch of the Israelites, considered the father of faith. The Jewish people often claimed their descent from Abraham as a source of spiritual pride and assurance.

4. Stones
Used metaphorically by John to illustrate God's power to create a faithful people from the most unlikely sources, emphasizing that God is not limited by human lineage.

5. Jordan River
The location where John the Baptist conducted his ministry of baptism, symbolizing repentance and preparation for the coming Messiah.
Teaching Points
True Heritage in Faith
Spiritual heritage is not about physical descent but about faith and obedience to God. Just as God could raise up children for Abraham from stones, He can bring anyone into His family through faith.

Repentance Over Presumption
Presuming on one's heritage or religious background without true repentance and faith is dangerous. True repentance involves a change of heart and life, not reliance on ancestry.

God's Sovereignty and Power
God is not limited by human expectations or traditions. He can accomplish His purposes in unexpected ways, calling people from all backgrounds to be part of His family.

Humility and Dependence on God
Believers should approach God with humility, recognizing that their standing before Him is based on His grace and their faith, not their background or achievements.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does John the Baptist's message challenge the religious leaders' reliance on their ancestry? How can this challenge apply to us today?

2. In what ways does the metaphor of God raising children from stones illustrate His power and sovereignty? How does this encourage you in your faith journey?

3. How does the concept of true children of Abraham being those of faith (as seen in Galatians 3:7-9) change your understanding of spiritual heritage?

4. What are some modern-day equivalents of presuming on one's spiritual heritage, and how can we guard against this in our own lives?

5. How can we ensure that our faith is characterized by genuine repentance and not just external religious practices? What steps can we take to cultivate a heart of true repentance?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 12:1-3
God's promise to Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation, highlighting the importance of faith and obedience over mere lineage.

Romans 9:6-8
Paul discusses how not all descendants of Israel are true Israel, emphasizing that it is not physical descent but the promise and faith that define God's people.

Galatians 3:7-9
Paul explains that those who have faith are the true children of Abraham, reinforcing the idea that faith, not ancestry, is what matters in God's kingdom.
The Subtlety of Self-DeceptionsR. Tuck Matthew 3:9
Trees Marked for FallingH. Allon.Matthew 3:9
The ForerunnerMarcus Dods Matthew 3:1-12
The Appearance of John the BaptistP.C. Barker Matthew 3:1-15
Religious RevivalJ.A. Macdonald Matthew 3:5-12
The Axe At the RootW.F. Adeney Matthew 3:9, 10
People
Esaias, Isaiah, Jesus, John
Places
Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan River, Judea
Topics
Able, Descendants, Forefather, Imagine, Presume, Raise, Stones, Suppose, Within, Yourselves
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Matthew 3:9

     7142   people of God, NT

Matthew 3:1-12

     8168   way, the

Matthew 3:1-15

     5098   John the Baptist

Matthew 3:3-15

     5098   John the Baptist

Matthew 3:7-10

     7555   Sadducees
     9513   hell, as incentive to action

Matthew 3:7-11

     4925   delay, divine

Matthew 3:8-9

     5943   self-deception

Matthew 3:8-10

     8845   unfruitfulness

Matthew 3:9-10

     5078   Abraham, significance

Library
February 14. "He Shall Baptize You with Fire" (Matt. Iii. 11).
"He shall baptize you with fire" (Matt. iii. 11). Fire is strangely intense and intrinsic. It goes into the very substance of things. It somehow blends with every particle of the thing it touches. There are the severe trials that come to minds more sensitive, to the minds that have more points of contact with what hurts; so that the higher the nature the higher the joy, and the greater the avenues of pain that come. And then there are deeper trials that come as we pass into the hands of God, as we
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Baptism in Fire
'He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.'--MATT. iii. 11 There is no more pathetic figure in Scripture than that of the forerunner of our Lord. Lonely and ascetic, charged to light against all the social order of which he was a part, seeing many of his disciples leave him for another master; then changing the free wilderness for a prison cell, and tortured by morbid doubts; finally murdered as the victim of a profligate woman's hate and a profligate man's perverse sense of honour:
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Dove of God
'He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him.' MATT. iii. 16. This Gospel of Matthew is emphatically the gospel of the Kingdom. It sets forth Jesus as the long-promised Messiah, the Son of David. And this conception of Him and of His work, whilst it runs through the whole of the Gospel, is more obviously influential in shaping the selection of incidents and colouring the cast of the language, in the early portion. Hence the genealogy with which the Gospel begins dwells
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Herald of the King
'In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2. And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Baptism of Jesus
'Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14. But John forbad Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me? 15. And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered Him. 16. And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: 17.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Repentance,
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of Heaven is at band.--MATT. iii. 2. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.--MATT. iv. 17. "Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: but shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Qentiles, that they should repent and torn to God, and do works meet for repentance."--ACTS xxvi. 19,20. In the mouths of three
Catherine Booth—Godliness

John the Baptist's Person and Preaching.
(in the Wilderness of Judæa, and on the Banks of the Jordan, Occupying Several Months, Probably a.d. 25 or 26.) ^A Matt. III. 1-12; ^B Mark I. 1-8; ^C Luke III. 1-18. ^b 1 The beginning of the gospel [John begins his Gospel from eternity, where the Word is found coexistent with God. Matthew begins with Jesus, the humanly generated son of Abraham and David, born in the days of Herod the king. Luke begins with the birth of John the Baptist, the Messiah's herald; and Mark begins with the ministry
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus Baptized by John in the Jordan.
(Jordan East of Jericho, Spring of a.d. 27.) ^A Matt. III. 13-17; ^B Mark I. 9-11; ^C Luke III. 21-23. ^b 9 And { ^a 13 Then} ^b it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came { ^a cometh} ^b from Nazareth of Galilee, ^a to the Jordan [Tradition fixes upon a ford of Jordan east of Jericho as the place where Jesus was baptized. It is the same section of the river which opened for the passage of Israel under Joshua, and later for Elijah and Elisha. This ford is seventy or eighty miles from Nazareth]
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

In the Fifteenth Year of Tiberius Cæsar and under the Pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas - a Voice in the Wilderness
THERE is something grand, even awful, in the almost absolute silence which lies upon the thirty years between the Birth and the first Messianic Manifestation of Jesus. In a narrative like that of the Gospels, this must have been designed; and, if so, affords presumptive evidence of the authenticity of what follows, and is intended to teach, that what had preceded concerned only the inner History of Jesus, and the preparation of the Christ. At last that solemn silence was broken by an appearance,
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Baptism of Jesus: Its Higher Meaning.
The more we think of it, the better do we seem to understand how that Voice crying in the wilderness: Repent! for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,' awakened echoes throughout the land, and brought from city, village, and hamlet strangest hearers. For once, every distinction was levelled. Pharisee and Sadducee, outcast publican and semi-heathen soldier, met here as on common ground. Their bond of union was the common hope of Israel' - the only hope that remained: that of the Kingdom.' The long winter
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit.
One of the most deeply significant phrases used in connection with the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures is "baptized with the Holy Ghost." John the Baptist was the first to use this phrase. In speaking of himself and the coming One he said, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire" (Matt. iii. 11). The second "with" in this passage is in italics. It is
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

Conversion --Human Agency In
What part and responsibility pertain to the human will in this matter? Before we leave the subject of conversion, it is important that we consider and understand this question also. For on this point also grievous and dangerous views and practices prevail. Human nature tends to extremes. Here too, there is a tendency to go too far, either in the one direction or the other. There are those, on the one hand, who virtually and practically make this change of heart and of nature a human work. They
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

The Present, a Dispensation of Means.
We have seen that the carnal, sinful nature of the child unfits it for the kingdom of heaven; that, therefore, there must be a change in that nature, even the birth of a new life, and the life of a new creature, before there can be either part or lot in the kingdom of God. We have also expressed our firm conviction that it is the good and gracious will of God in Christ to bestow upon the poor sin-sick and unholy child the Grace needed to so change it as to make it a partaker of His great salvation.
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

Oration on the Holy Lights.
Oration on the Holy Lights. The Oration on the Holy Lights was preached on the Festival of the Epiphany 381, and was followed the next day by that on Baptism. In the Eastern Church this Festival is regarded as more particularly the commemoration of our Lord's Baptism, and is accordingly one of the great days for the solemn ministration of the Sacrament. It is generally called Theophania, and the Gospel in the Liturgy is S. Matthew iii. 13-17. The Sunday in the Octave is called meta ta phota (After
St. Cyril of Jerusalem—Lectures of S. Cyril of Jerusalem

Power --Its Source
In vain do the inhabitants of London go to their conduits for supply unless the man who has the master-key turns the water on; and in vain do we think to quench our thirst at ordinances, unless God communicates the living water of His Spirit.--Anon. It was the custom of the Roman emperors, at their triumphal entrance, to cast new coins among the multitudes; so doth Christ, in His triumphal ascension into heaven, throw the greatest gifts for the good of men that were ever given.--T. Goodwin. To
Dwight L. Moody—Secret Power

My Beloved is White and Ruddy, the Chiefest among Ten Thousand.
My Well-beloved, replies the Spouse, is white by His purity, innocence and simplicity. He is ruddy by His charity, and because He has chosen to be dyed and purpled in His own blood. He is white by His frankness, ruddy by the fire of His love. He is chiefest among ten thousand, that is to say, He is above all I have chosen and preferred Him to every other. His Father has chosen Him above all the children of men as His Beloved Son in whom He is well pleased (Matt. iii. 17). In short, if you would know,
Madame Guyon—Song of Songs of Solomon

"Because I have Lived So Many Years"
Monday, 20.--We embarked between three and four in the morning, in a very small, inconvenient sloop, and not a swift sailer; [38] so that we were seven hours in sailing what is called seven leagues. About eleven we landed at St. Helier, and went straight to Mr. Brackenbury's house. It stands very pleasantly, near the end of the town; it has a large, convenient garden, with a lovely range of fruitful hills, which rise at a small distance from it. I preached in the evening to an exceedingly serious
John Wesley—The Journal of John Wesley

The King's Herald.
"On Jordan's banks the Baptist's cry Announces that the Lord is nigh; Awake and hearken, for he brings Glad tidings of the King...." When the Saviour of the world was about to enter upon His public ministry, the Jewish nation was startled with the cry, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (S. Matt. iii. 2). Such was God's call to His people of old time, to prepare themselves to take part in the fulfilment of the promises, on which their faith and hopes were founded. The fulness of the times had come;
Edward Burbidge—The Kingdom of Heaven; What is it?

The Synoptic Gospels
ALL the gospels describe the sufferings and death of Christ with a minuteness which has no parallel in their narratives of other events of His life, and they all, to a certain extent, by references to the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy or otherwise, indicate their sense of its meaning and importance. This, however, reveals the mind of the evangelists rather than that of the Lord. It is in His life, rather than in the record of His death itself, that we must look for indications of His mind.
James Denney—The Death of Christ

Repentance and Restitution.
"God commandeth all men everywhere to repent."--Acts xvii. 30. Repentance is one of the fundamental doctrines of the Bible. Yet I believe it is one of those truths that many people little understand at the present day. There are more people to-day in the mist and darkness about Repentance, Regeneration, the Atonement, and such-like fundamental truths, than perhaps on any other doctrines. Yet from our earliest years we have heard about them. If I were to ask for a definition of Repentance, a great
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It

Christ's Priestly Office
Q-35: HOW DOES CHRIST EXECUTE THE OFFICE OF A PRIEST? A: In his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God, and in making continual intercession for us. 'Now once in the end of the world has he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.' Heb 9:96. What are the parts of Christ's priestly office? Christ's priestly office has two parts - his satisfaction and intercession. I. His Satisfaction; and this consists of two branches. [1] His active
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The First Ministry of the Baptist.
(LUKE III.) "Hark, what a sound, and too divine for hearing, Stirs on the earth and trembles in the air! Is it the thunder of the Lord's appearing? Is it the music of his people's prayer? "Surely He cometh, and a thousand voices Shout to the saints, and to the deaf and dumb; Surely He cometh, and the earth rejoices, Glad in his coming who hath sworn, I come." F. W. H. MYERS. The Preaching of Repentance--His Power as a Preacher--His Message--Warning of Impending Judgment--The Wages of Sin Thirty
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist

From the Birth to the Ascension of Jesus.
The Four Gospels. The Story of this Period. It is common to designate this period as the "Life of Christ," meaning the time he spent on earth. There is, however, no scripture life of Jesus. The gospels do not claim to present such a life. They do, however, give us a vast amount of material and though different in purpose and consequently in content, they do present the same general picture of Jesus. The matter of arranging the material in an orderly way presents much difficulty. If a topographical
Josiah Blake Tidwell—The Bible Period by Period

The Security of Contemplatives Lies in their not Ascending to High Things if Our Lord Does not Raise Them. The Sacred Humanity must be the Road
1. There is one thing I should like to say--I think it important: and if you, my father, approve, it will serve for a lesson that possibly may be necessary; for in some books on prayer the writers say that the soul, though it cannot in its own strength attain to this state,--because it is altogether a supernatural work wrought in it by our Lord,--may nevertheless succeed, by lifting up the spirit above all created things, and raising it upwards in humility, after some years spent in a purgative life,
Teresa of Avila—The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus

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