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John Wesley's Notes:
Repentance is of two sorts; that which is termed legal,
and that which is styled evangelical repentance. The former (which is
the same that is spoken of here) is a thorough conviction of sin. The
latter is a change of heart (and consequently of life) from all sin to
all holiness.
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge:
* forth. Mt 21:28-30,32; Isa 1:16,17; Lu
3:8,10-14; Ac 26:20; Ro 2:4-7 2Co 7:10,11; 2Pe 1:4-8
* fruits. Ga 5:22,23; Eph 5:9; Php 1:11
* meet, etc. or, answerable to amendment of life. Jer 7:3-7; 26:13; 36:3
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Adam Clarke's Commentary:
(No comment on this verse)
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Family Bible Notes:
Fruits; show the reality of your repentance by forsaking your sins
and obeying the commands of God. In order that repentance may be shown
to be sincere, it must produce good works.
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1599 Geneva Bible Notes:
True repentance is an inward thing which has its seat in the mind and
heart.
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People's New Testament Commentary:
Bring forth, therefore, fruits meet for repentance. There is no
repentance whatever unless there is a change of life as the result. The
change of life is the proof of the change of heart.
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Robertson's Word Pictures:
Fruit worthy of repentance (Karpon axion tęs metanoias).
John demands proof from these men of the new life before he administers
baptism to them. "The fruit is not the change of heart, but the acts
which result from it" (McNeile). It was a bold deed for John thus to
challenge as unworthy the very ones who posed as lights and leaders of
the Jewish people. "Any one can do (poięsate, vide Ge 1:11) acts
externally good but only a good man can grow a crop of right acts and
habits" (Bruce).
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Albert Barnes' Commentary:
Bring forth therefore fruits, etc. That is, the proper fruits of
reformation, the proper evidence that you are sincere. Do not bring your
cunning and dissimulation to this work; carry not your hypocrisy into
your professed repentance; but evince your sincerity by forsaking sins,
and thus give evidence that this crowding to Jordan Is not some act of
dissimulation. No discourse could have been more appropriate or more
cutting.
Fruits. Conduct. See Mt 7:16-19.
Meet for repentance, Fit for repentance; appropriate to it--the proper
expression of repentance.
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Jamieson-Faussett Brown:
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.
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Spurgeon Commentary:
Act as a change of mind would lead you to do: above all, quit the pride
in which you enwrap yourselves, and leave the serpent motives which now
actuate you. Lord, save us from a fruitless repentance, which would be
only an aggravation of our previous sins.
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William Burkitt's Notes:
(No comment on this verse)
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Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary:
(No comment on this verse)
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The Fourfold Gospel:
Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance. John had demanded
repentance (Mt 3:2), he now demands the fruits of it. By "fruit" or
"fruits," as Luke has it (Lu 3:8), he means the manner of life which
shows a real repentance.
