Luke 3:8

8 Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives. And don't even think about saying to yourselves, Abraham is our father. I tell you that God is able to raise up Abraham's children from these stones.

Luke 3:8 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 3:8

Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance
Or "meet" for it, such as will show it to be true and genuine: "and begin not to say within yourselves": in one of Beza's copies, and in another of Stephens's, it was read, "think not", as in ( Matthew 3:9 ) . the sense is the same. The Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions, leave out the phrase, "within yourselves": what they are forbid to say follows,

we have Abraham to our father, for I say unto you, God is able of
these stones to raise up children unto Abraham;
which need not be thought strange, when the creation of Adam out of the earth, and the production of such a numerous offspring, as the Israelites were, from Abraham and Sarah, when past all hope of children, and are signified by the rock and pit in ( Isaiah 51:1 Isaiah 51:2 ) are considered; (See Gill on Matthew 3:9).

Luke 3:8 In-Context

6 All humanity will see God's salvation."

7 Then John said to the crowds who came to be baptized by him, "You children of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the angry judgment that is coming soon?

8 Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives. And don't even think about saying to yourselves, Abraham is our father. I tell you that God is able to raise up Abraham's children from these stones.

9 The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be chopped down and tossed into the fire."

10 The crowds asked him, "What then should we do?"