2 "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!"
From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, "Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."
Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty of it be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Gospel."
Tell them, As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn you, turn you from your evil ways; for why will you die, house of Israel?
Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here.
John came baptizing{To baptize means to immerse in (or wash with) water (or fire). This baptizm is not just to cleanse the body, but as an outward sign of an inward spiritual cleansing and commitment.} in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins.
He lifted up his eyes to his disciples, and said, "Blessed are you who are poor, For yours is the Kingdom of God.
I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way."
I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.
and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent,
testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus.{TR adds "Christ"}
For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world works death.
in gentleness correcting those who oppose him: perhaps God may give them repentance leading to a full knowledge of the truth,
The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I am coming to you swiftly, and will move your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent.
yet if they shall repent themselves in the land where they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication to you in the land of those who carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have dealt wickedly;
Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who wanted to reconcile accounts with his servants.
Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, everyone according to his ways, says the Lord Yahweh. Return you, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, in which you have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will you die, house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies, says the Lord Yahweh: therefore turn yourselves, and live.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
But seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.
Most assuredly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptizer until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
Then he began to denounce the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they didn't repent.
He answered them, "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.
He set another parable before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven 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 Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures{Literally, satas. 3 satas = about 0.5 bushel or 22 litres} of meal, until it was all leavened."
"Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some fish of every kind,
He said to them, "Therefore, every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things."
In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the midst of them, and said, "Most assuredly I tell you, unless you turn, and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
"For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
He answered, 'I will not,' but afterward he changed his mind, and went. He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, 'I go, sir,' but he didn't go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said to him, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly I tell you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into the Kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn't believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. When you saw it, you didn't even repent afterward, that you might believe him.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
"Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom.
He sent them forth to preach the Kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
Heal the sick who are therein, and tell them, 'The Kingdom of God has come near to you.' But into whatever city you enter, and they don't receive you, go out into the streets of it and say, 'Even the dust from your city that clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the Kingdom of God has come near to you.'
"He said, 'No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'
Even so you also, when you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is near.
Jesus answered him, "Most assuredly, I tell you, unless one is born anew,{The word translated "anew" here and in John 3:7 (anothen) also means "again" and "from above".} he can't see the Kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can't 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,