And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
All Commentaries on Matthew 3:10 Go To Matthew 3
Jerome
AD 420
He intimates God’s great power, who, as he made all things out of nothing, can make men out of the hardest stone.
“These stones” signify the Gentiles because of their hardness of heart. See Ezekiel, “I will take away from you the heart of stone, and give you the heart of flesh.” Stone is emblematic of hardness, flesh of softness.
Or, the preaching of the Gospel is meant, as the Prophet Jeremiah also compares the Word of the Lord to an axe cleaving the rock.
