2 and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.
From that time began Jesus to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.
let thy kingdom come, let thy will be done as in heaven so upon the earth;
And in the days of these kings shall the God of the heavens set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the sovereignty thereof shall not be left to another people: it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but itself shall stand for ever.
and saying, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has drawn nigh; repent and believe in the glad tidings.
Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Whosoever then shall do away with one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whosoever shall practise and teach [them], *he* shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens. For I say unto you, that unless your righteousness surpass [that] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
Ninevites shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold, more than Jonas [is] here.
And they went forth and preached that they should repent;
And *he*, lifting up his eyes upon his disciples, said, Blessed [are] ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
No, I say to you, but if ye repent not, ye shall all perish in like manner.
I say unto you, that thus there shall be joy in heaven for one repenting sinner, [more] than for ninety and nine righteous who have no need of repentance.
and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations beginning at Jerusalem.
And Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptised, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for remission of sins, and ye will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
God therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, now enjoins men that they shall all everywhere repent,
testifying to both Jews and Greeks repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.
For grief according to God works repentance to salvation, never to be regretted; but the grief of the world works death.
in meekness setting right those who oppose, if God perhaps may sometime give them repentance to acknowledgment of [the] truth,
[The] Lord does not delay his promise, as some account of delay, but is longsuffering towards you, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works: but if not, I am coming to thee, and I will remove thy lamp out of its place, except thou shalt repent.
and if they shall take it to heart in the land whither they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done iniquity, we have dealt perversely;
For this cause the kingdom of the heavens has become like a king who would reckon with his bondmen.
Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord Jehovah. Return ye, and turn from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your snare. Cast away from you all your transgressions wherewith ye have transgressed, and make you a new heart and a new spirit: why then will ye die, house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord Jehovah; therefore turn ye and live.
Blessed [are] the poor in spirit, for *theirs* is the kingdom of the heavens.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Verily I say to you, that there is not arisen among [the] born of women a greater than John the baptist. But he who is a little one in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. But from the days of John the baptist until now, the kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence, and [the] violent seize on it.
Then began he to reproach the cities in which most of his works of power had taken place, because they had not repented.
And he answering said to them, Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it is not given;
Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of the heavens is like a grain of mustard [seed] which a man took and sowed in his field;
He spoke another parable to them: The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until it had been all leavened.
The kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hid in the field, which a man having found has hid, and for the joy of it goes and sells all whatever he has, and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls;
Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a seine which has been cast into the sea, and which has gathered together of every kind,
And he said to them, For this reason every scribe discipled to the kingdom of the heavens is like a man [that is] a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.
In that hour the disciples came to Jesus saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of the heavens? And Jesus having called a little child to [him], set it in their midst, and said, Verily I say to you, Unless ye are converted and become as little children, ye will not at all enter into the kingdom of the heavens. Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, *he* is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens;
For the kingdom of the heavens is like a householder who went out with the early morn to hire workmen for his vineyard.
And he answering said, I will not; but afterwards repenting himself he went. And coming to the second he said likewise; and he answering said, *I* [go], sir, and went not. Which of the two did the will of the father? They say [to him], The first. Jesus says to them, Verily I say unto you that the tax-gatherers and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the tax-gatherers and the harlots believed him; but *ye* when ye saw [it] repented not yourselves afterwards to believe him.
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men; for *ye* do not enter, nor do ye suffer those that are entering to go in.
Then shall the kingdom of the heavens be made like to ten virgins that having taken their torches, went forth to meet the bridegroom.
and sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
and heal the sick in it, and say to them, The kingdom of God is come nigh to you. But into whatsoever city ye may have entered and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, Even the dust of your city, which cleaves to us on the feet, do we shake off against you; but know this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh.
But he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one from the dead should go to them, they will repent.
So also *ye*, when ye see these things take place, know that the kingdom of God is near.
Jesus answered and said to him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except any one be born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus says to him, How can a man be born being old? can he enter a second time into the womb of his mother and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except any one be born of water and of Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Matthew 3
Commentary on Matthew 3 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 3
At the start of this chapter, concerning the baptism of John, begins the gospel (Mk. 1:1); what went before is but preface or introduction; this is "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.' And Peter observes the same date, Acts 1:22, beginning from the baptism of John, for then Christ began first to appear in him, and then to appear to him, and by him to the world. Here is,
Mat 3:1-6
We have here an account of the preaching and baptism of John, which were the dawning of the gospel-day. Observe,
The beginning of the gospel in a wilderness, speaks comfort to the deserts of the Gentile world. Now must the prophecies be fulfilled, I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, Isa. 41:18, 19. The wilderness shall be a fruitful field, Isa. 32:15. And the desert shall rejoice, Isa. 35:1, 2. The Septuagint reads, the deserts of Jordan, the very wilderness in which John preached. In the Romish church there are those who call themselves hermits, and pretend to follow John; but when they say of Christ, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth, ch. 24:26. There was a seducer that led his followers into the wilderness, Acts 21:38.
Mat 3:7-12
The doctrine John preached was that of repentance, in consideration of the kingdom of heaven being at hand; now here we have the use of that doctrine. Application is the life of preaching, so it was of John's preaching.
Observe,
Mat 3:13-17
Our Lord Jesus, from his childhood till now, when he was almost thirty years of age, had lain hid in Galilee, as it were, buried alive; but now, after a long and dark night, behold, the Sun of righteousness rises in glory. The fulness of time was come that Christ should enter upon his prophetical office; and he chooses to do it, not at Jerusalem (though it is probable that he went thither at the three yearly feasts, as others did), but there where John was baptizing; for to him resorted those who waited for the consolation of Israel, to whom alone he would be welcome. John the Baptist was six months older than our Saviour, and it is supposed that he began to preach and baptize about six months before Christ appeared; so long he was employed in preparing his way, in the region round about Jordan; and more was done towards it in these six months than had been done in several ages before. Christ's coming from Galilee to Jordan, to be baptized, teaches us not the shrink from pain and toil, that we may have an opportunity of drawing nigh to God in ordinance. We should be willing to go far, rather than come short of communion with God. Those who will find must seek.
Now in this story of Christ's baptism we may observe,
Now, when he was coming up out of the water, and all the company had their eye upon him,