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Matthew 3:10

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Matthew 3:10

Verse 10 of 17

Scripture focus

And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Matthew 3:10 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Matthew 3:10

Theological / Devotional

The axe. A symbol of judgment.

Laid unto. The meaning seems to be that the ax is placed there ready for action. The implication is that it is soon to be used.

Every tree. Trees are often used in the OT as symbols of people (see Eze. 17:22-24; cf. Ps. 1:3), and John’s hearers fully understood whereof he spoke. Like John, Christ used a tree to represent the people of Israel (Luke 13:6-9; Matt. 21:19, 20).

Bringeth not forth. See on Luke 13:6-9. Under the symbol of a vineyard that produced nothing but “wild grapes,” Isaiah had pictured the tender care of God for His people and their utter rejection for failing to “bring forth grapes” (Isa. 5:1-7; cf. Matt. 21:33-41).

Good fruit. Only a good man can grow a crop of good habits, from which there may be harvested a good character (see Gal. 5:22, 23).

Hewn down. Compare Isaiah’s parable of the wild grapes (Isa. 5:1-7) and Christ’s parable of the Barren Fig Tree (Luke 13:6-9). Implicit in Jesus’ parable is the fact that God is long-suffering, but that if His offers of mercy are not appreciated, they are eventually withdrawn. The Jewish nation had practically outlived its day of mercy, and was about to be rejected. See Vol. IV, pp. 30-36.

Cast into the fire. In Jewish literature “fire” was a distinguishing feature of the final judgment.

By SdaBc