And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say to you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
think.
Mark 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Luke 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin 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.
Luke 5:22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
We.
Ezekiel 33:24 Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.
Luke 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
John 8:33,39,40,53 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? …
God.
Matthew 8:11,12 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven…
Luke 19:40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
Acts 15:14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
‘We have Abraham as our father.’
The Jewish people took great pride in their descent from Abraham, the patriarch with whom God made a covenant (Genesis 12:1-3). This lineage was often seen as a guarantee of God's favor and blessing. However, the New Testament emphasizes that true children of Abraham are those who share his faith, not just his bloodline (Romans 4:16; Galatians 3:7). This statement challenges the notion that physical descent alone is sufficient for righteousness.
For I tell you
This authoritative introduction underscores the importance and certainty of the message that follows. It reflects the prophetic tradition where the speaker conveys a direct message from God. In the context of John the Baptist's ministry, it emphasizes his role as a prophet preparing the way for the Messiah (Matthew 3:3).
that out of these stones
The reference to stones is symbolic and may have a dual meaning. Geographically, the wilderness of Judea, where John was preaching, is rocky and barren, making the imagery vivid and immediate. Theologically, stones represent lifelessness and the impossibility of human effort to produce spiritual life. This imagery is used elsewhere in Scripture to demonstrate God's power to bring life from death (Ezekiel 37:1-14).
God can raise up children for Abraham.
This statement emphasizes God's sovereignty and ability to fulfill His promises in unexpected ways. It echoes the theme that God is not limited by human constraints or expectations. The idea that God can create a people for Himself from unlikely sources is seen throughout the Bible, such as in the calling of the Gentiles (Romans 9:25-26). It also foreshadows the inclusion of all nations in the blessings of Abraham through faith in Christ (Galatians 3:8-9).
• John the Baptist is warning the religious leaders against a silent, self-confident inner dialogue that excuses sin and resists repentance (Deuteronomy 9:4; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 2:1).
• Pride imagines that heritage, ritual, or résumé can shield us from God’s call to change (Proverbs 16:18; Matthew 7:21-23).
• The command is immediate: stop the inward presumption and bear fruit worthy of repentance (Matthew 3:8).
• The claim rests on physical lineage—true enough historically (Genesis 26:24)—yet spiritually hollow if unaccompanied by faith (John 8:39-40).
• Scripture consistently teaches that being a child of Abraham is ultimately about believing God, not merely descending from him (Romans 9:7-8; Galatians 3:7).
• Religious credentials can become a dangerous substitute for a living relationship with the Lord (Philippians 3:3-7).
• John speaks with prophetic authority; the phrase underscores that this is God’s verdict, not a mere human opinion (Luke 7:26-27; Matthew 11:9-11).
• Accepting the messenger means submitting to the message (1 Kings 17:1; 2 Chronicles 25:15-16).
• Likely gesturing to the very rocks along the Jordan, John highlights God’s unlimited power (Isaiah 51:1).
• Stones picture hearts that are hard and lifeless (Ezekiel 36:26). If God can transform stone into flesh, He can certainly create a people for Himself from the most unlikely sources (Luke 19:40).
• Nothing in creation lies beyond His ability to use for His redemptive purposes (Jeremiah 32:17).
• God’s covenant promises will never fail; He is free to fulfill them by bringing Gentiles and outcasts into Abraham’s family through faith (Genesis 12:3; Romans 4:16-18; Ephesians 2:12-19).
• Spiritual sonship depends on God’s sovereign call and our response of faith, not on ancestry, nationality, or personal merit (1 Peter 2:10; John 1:12-13).
• The statement foreshadows Pentecost and the global spread of the gospel, where “those who were far off” are made fellow heirs (Acts 2:39; Galatians 3:14).
Matthew 3:9 shatters every false security rooted in heritage or religious status. John insists that genuine repentance, not pedigree, marks true descendants of Abraham. God is so powerful and faithful to His promises that He can—and will—create a believing family from the most unexpected places. Trust Him, turn from pride, and live as a child of Abraham by faith.
(9) We have Abraham to (better, as) our father.--The boast seems to have been common, as in John 8:33-39, and was connected with the belief that this alone, or taken together with the confession of the creed of Israel "the Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4), would be enough to ensure for every Jew an admission into Paradise. The "bosom" of Abraham was wide enough to receive all his children. "We have Abraham as our father" was to the Jew all and more than all that "civis Romanus sum" was to the Romans.Of these stones.--The words were obviously dramatised by gesture, pointing to the pebbles on the banks of the Jordan. In their spiritual application, they are remarkable as containing the germs of all the teaching of our Lord, and of St. Paul, and of St. John, as to the calling of the Gentiles, and the universality of God's kingdom.
Verse 9. - And. An additional warning against any false feeling of security based on natural privileges. As this feeling was common to all Jews, the reference to the larger audience (ver. 7, note) was probably begun here. Think not to say. Not do not think, consider, with a view to saying; but do not think it right to say, do not be of opinion you may say (Luke 3:8, "Begin not to say ). St. Luke deprecates the commencement of such an utterance in their heart; S t. Matthew denies its justice. Within yourselves; cf. Esther 4:13 (Hebrew). We have Abraham to our father. As it was recognized on all hands that the promise of blessing was made to Abraham and his seed, it is no wonder that many Jews presumed upon their descent from him, "sup, posing,", as Justin Martyr says ('Trypho,' § 140.), that the everlasting kingdom will assuredly be given to those who are of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, although they be sinners and unbelieving and disobedient towards God." In later times, when the doctrine of merit was more fully established, God could be represented as saying to Abraham, "If thy children were like dead bodies without sinews or bones, thy merit would avail for them" ('Ber. Rabb.,' on Genesis 10:5:11. § 44, middle). In John's words, on the contrary, we have the germ of the doctrine afterwards Brought out by St. Paul (e.g. Galatians 3:9, 29), that not natural descent, but spiritual relationship by faith, leads to inheriting the promises. The argument in John 8:39, etc., is closely akin to that presented here. In both passages the Jews lay stress on their origin from Abraham; in both the answer is that morally they are sprung from a very different source (supra, ver. 7, note). But in John 8. the Jews are thinking chiefly of their present state, of not being as sinful as Jesus makes them out to be, while here they are thinking more of the future, that they have no need to take trouble, because promises for the future belong to them. Hence, perhaps, the exact expression (contrast John 8:33), "We have Abraham as father," which brings out the protecting influence of Abraham as still available. For I say unto you (λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν). The solemnity of the phrase (Matthew 6:25, 29; Matthew 8:11; Matthew 11:9) lies in the self-consciousness which it implies. The absence of the ἐγώ shows that the speaker has no desire to bring out his own personality (contrast Matthew 5:22, etc.), but the message only. That God. Not "the LORD," because(1) the thought is of power rather than of covenant relationship;
(2) he is about to speak of others than members of the covenant nation. Is able of these stones. These; apodeictic (Matthew 4:3). Some have thought that by these stones John directly means certain Gentiles who were standing near; but it is much mere likely that he points to the literal stones at his feet, and with strong hyperbole says that he who once raised up offspring as the stars for multitude from persons as good as dead (Romans 4:19), and who had originally made man of the dust of the earth, can (δύναται), with both physical power and moral right, raise out of the very rawest material a new Israel (cf. Romans 4:17; 1 Corinthians 1:28, "the things that are not"). Raise up. The verb employed (ἐγείρω) is, as it seems, not used in the LXX. with reference to natural generation, but ἀνίστημι (cf. Genesis 38:8, ἐξανίστημι; Genesis 4:25; Genesis 19:32; cf. also Matthew 22:24). It is, however, very suitable here, for while ἀνίστημι regards future worth, ἐγείρω specially contrasts a later with an earlier state (e.g. sleep) - in this case the nature of children with the insensibility of stones. Children. The new Israel would possess, not merely Abraham's privileges, but his nature and character (τέκνα), in which you to whom I now speak are so deficient.
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