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This was essentially John's message to the children of Abraham. Of course, even on being the children of Abraham the Jews could not rest. Status or birth gives no one entrance to the kingdom of the heavens. A righteously cultivated heart did.

Beyond status, he admonished his hearers who asked, "What shall we do?" To the average person, John exhorted to share one's tunic and food. To the tax collector he admonished avoiding collecting more money than was required. To the Roman soldier he commanded not to extort and to be content with his wages.

Doesn't it make sense, then, that if these are the practices that made the heart fertile for the Messiah that this is exactly the kind of heart/lifestyle the Messiah sought to produce, supernaturally, in his followers?

Do we seek this kind of fruit in our lives? Do we share our tunics (a Jew's most precious possession)? Do we share our food? Do we lie or deceive or manipulate? Do we extort or steal because we don't have enough? Are we content with what we have?

Of course, these works do not save. But is this not the kind of fruit the Holy Spirit produces inside of us as we follow Christ?