Amplified Bible
Matthew 3:8
8So produce fruit that is consistent with repentance [demonstrating new behavior that proves a change of heart, and a conscious decision to turn away from sin];
Matthew 3:8 in other versions
Context of Matthew 3:8
6and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins. 7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the [divine] wrath and judgment to come? So produce fruit that is consistent with repentance [demonstrating new behavior that proves a change of heart, and a conscious decision to turn away from sin]; 9and do not presume to say to yourselves [as a defense], ‘We have Abraham for our father [so our inheritance assures us of salvation]’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children (descendants) for Abraham. 10And already the axe [of God’s judgment] is swinging toward the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Read all of Matthew 3Matthew 3:8 word by word
ποιήσατε οὖν καρπὸν ἄξιον τῆς μετανοίας.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Matthew 3:8
- Matthew 21:28“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’
- Isaiah 1:16“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Get your evil deeds out of My sight. Stop doing evil,
- Luke 3:8Therefore produce fruit that is worthy of [and consistent with your] repentance [that is, live changed lives, turn from sin and seek God and His righteousness]. And do not even begin to say to yourselves [as a defense], ‘We have Abraham for our father [and so our heritage assures us of salvation]’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children (descendants) for Abraham [for God can replace the unrepentant, regardless of their heritage, with those who are obedient].
- Acts 26:20but I openly proclaimed first to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent [change their inner self—their old way of thinking] and turn to God, doing deeds and living lives which are consistent with repentance.
- Romans 2:4Or do you have no regard for the wealth of His kindness and tolerance and patience [in withholding His wrath]? Are you [actually] unaware or ignorant [of the fact] that God’s kindness leads you to repentance [that is, to change your inner self, your old way of thinking—seek His purpose for your life]?
- 2 Corinthians 7:10For [godly] sorrow that is in accord with the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but worldly sorrow [the hopeless sorrow of those who do not believe] produces death.
- 2 Peter 1:4For by these He has bestowed on us His precious and magnificent promises [of inexpressible value], so that by them you may escape from the immoral freedom that is in the world because of disreputable desire, and become sharers of the divine nature.
- Galatians 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
- Ephesians 5:9(for the fruit [the effect, the result] of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
- Philippians 1:11filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God [so that His glory may be both revealed and recognized].
- Jeremiah 7:3Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Change your ways and your behavior, and I will let you live in this place.
- Jeremiah 26:13Therefore, now change your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent and reverse His decision concerning the misfortune which He has pronounced against you.
- Jeremiah 36:3It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster which I plan to bring on them, so that each one will turn from his evil way, that I may forgive their wickedness and their sin.”
Commentaries on Matthew 3:8
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Bring forth therefore fruits - That is, the proper fruits of reformation; the proper evidence that you are sincere. Do not bring your cunning and dissimulation to this work; do not carry your hypocrisy into your professed repentance, but evince your sincerity by forsaking sin, and thus give evidence that this coming to Jordan to be baptized is not an act of dissimulation. No discourse could have been more appropriate or more cutting. Fruits - Conduct…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-12Verses 7-12 To make application to the souls of the hearers, is the life of preaching; so it was of John's preaching. The Pharisees laid their chief stress on outward observances, neglecting the weightier matters of the moral law, and the spiritual meaning of their legal ceremonies. Others of them were detestable hypocrites, making their pretences to holiness a cloak for iniquity. The Sadducees ran into the opposite extreme, denying the existence of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance: John calls for action and real ethical change. Only talking about it is not enough (see Luke 3:10–14; compare Matthew 5:19–20, 46; 7:21; 23:3).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Bring forth therefore fruits--the true reading clearly is "fruit"; meet for repentance--that is, such fruit as befits a true penitent. John now being gifted with a knowledge of the human heart, like a true minister of righteousness and lover of souls here directs them how to evidence and carry out their repentance, supposing it genuine; and in the following verses warns them of their danger in case it were not.Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 3:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Amplified Bible — © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631
Commentaries