Matthew 3:9

Think not. Or, “do not begin to entertain this thought in your minds.” It was the fruit of faith in the life, not descent from Abraham, that mattered (John 8:39; Gal. 3:7, 29). The fruit of which John spoke would have to be produced in the life of each individual, and was not inherited from one generation to the next (Eze. 14:14, 16; 18:5–13). It is not descent from Abraham, but the works of Abraham — spiritual descent — that is essential.

Abraham. The Jews flattered themselves that descent from Abraham made them better than other men. According to the Talmud, a single Israelite is worth more before God than all the people who have ever been or who shall be. They considered this connection a substitute for the repentance and good works for which John and Jesus called. They wanted the rewards of well-doing without meeting the requirements; in fact, they substituted their works for the faith of Abraham.

Descent from Abraham constituted the perennial boast of the Jews (John 8:33, 39).

He was “the rock” whence they were “hewn” (Isa. 51:1,2). But “God is no respecter of persons,” and “in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him” (Acts 10:34, 35). Only those who emulate Abraham may enjoy the privilege of claiming him as their father (Gal. 3:9).

These stones. Pebbles and rocks lay in profusion along the banks of the Jordan.

Children. In the Aramaic, in which John the Baptist spoke, there is a play on words — “stones” being ’abertin, and “children,” represented either by benin, berin, or banim. Later Jesus used an expression of similar significance (Luke 19:40). Possibly, John means that it would be easier for God to raise up children to Abraham from the stones than to turn the stony hearts of the Pharisees and Sadducees into spiritual children of their professed father. Or he may simply mean that these leaders were not indispensable, and that God could replace them by turning the stones into human beings.