What would make me leave my comfortable home and venture into the wilderness to hear a fiery prophet tell me to repent and prepare the way of the Lord? If I had a sense that the world was wrong, that the scales of justice were unbalanced, that my body and my soul were languishing from what I was witnessing and perhaps even benefitting from myself, then I might venture into the wild, curious to hear this prophet dressed in camel’s hair and foraging for food. I hope I’d be among the seekers in this passage from Matthew. But I could be like the Pharisee or Sadducee. When the world gets ugly, it is tempting to grab what you can, to align with the powerful and privileged and convince yourself that this is the way of righteousness. Maybe I’d note John’s influence and feel unnerved by how many he was baptizing — a sacrament traditionally reserved for the Temple and performed by priests within the approved religious system. Maybe I’d venture into the wilderness not out of curiosity or humility but seeking to discredit John as a weirdo and a fraud. In the NRSV translation of verse 7, the Pharisees and Sadducees come to John “for baptism.” But the NIV is more accurate in describing them “coming to where [John] was baptizing.” These religious leaders – who didn’t get along and were unlikely to work together – were united in their opposition to John. They did not venture into the wilderness receptive to his ministry, but to oppose a threat to their power and influence. You can find the rest of the commentary on our website. | 
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