Gospel of Matthew Chapter 3 Vs. 2

 John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Matthew 3:2 “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

kingdom of heaven... See notes on Mat. 4:17; 13:11.

Repent ye: for... Repentance is one of the main themes of the Bible, being found 110 times from Gen. 6:6 to Rev. 16:11.

Seven Original Words for "Repent"

1. Hebrew: nacham, to sigh, breathe strongly, to be sorry (Gen. 6:6; Exo. 13:17; Job 42:6; Jon. 3:10)

2. Hebrew: shuwb, to turn back (1Kgs. 8:47; Eze. 14:6)

3. Hebrew: nocham, regret (Hos. 13:14)

4. Hebrew: nichuwm, compassion (Hos. 11:8)

5. Greek: metanoeo, to change the mind for the better morally, to change the attitude toward sin (see, Luke 13:3)

6. Greek: metamellomai, to regret consequences of sin, not the cause (Mat. 27:3; 2Cor. 7:8)

7. Greek: metanoia, a real change of mind and attitude toward sin and its cause, not merely the consequences of it (Mat. 3:8, 3:11; 9:13; Luke 24:47)

kingdom of heaven... Literally, "kingdom from the heavens." It is headed by Jesus Christ for the purpose of re-establishing the kingdom of God over this rebellious part of God’s realm. Only found in Matthew because it is the gospel of Jehovah’s King. It is a dispensational term and refers to Messiah’s kingdom on earth. Offered by both John and Jesus (Mat. 3:2; 4:17; Mat. 10:7). Because it was rejected, it was postponed until Christ comes to set up the kingdom (Mat. 11:12, 11:20-24; 27:22-25; Luke 19:11-27; Acts 1:6-7; 3:19-26). It is now the realm of profession (Mat. 13:11-17, 13:30, 13:38-43, 13:47-50). The parables of the kingdom apply to this age. At the end Christ will come and set up a literal earthly kingdom forever (Mat. 25:31-46; Rev. 11:15; 19:11-20:10; Zec. 14:1-21; Isa. 9:6-7; Dan. 2:44-45; 7:13-27; Luke 1:32-33). During the first 1,000 years of His eternal reign He will put down all rebellion and rid the earth of all rebels. Then God will become "all in all" as before rebellion (Rev. 20:1-10; 21:1-22:5; 1Cor. 15:24-28; Eph. 1:10). Anything said of the kingdom of heaven can also be said of the kingdom of God, because the former is only the earthly dispensational aspect of the latter. There are many things said of the kingdom of God, however, which cannot be said of the kingdom of heaven (see, Mat. 19:24).

His message was a simple one. Repent. Today that message is needed as the first step toward becoming a Christian. You see, unless we are truly sorry and repentant for our sins, we probably will not turn from them and begin a brand new life with Jesus.

Repent means a change of mind resulting in a change of conduct. Repentance is not merely sorrow. It involves a complete change of attitude regarding God and sin and is often accompanied by a sense of sorrow and a corresponding change in conduct.

Such repentance does not arise within man himself, but is the result of God’s mercy in leading man to it (Acts 5:31; Rom. 2:4; 2Tim. 2:25). Thus repentance involves the very process of conversion whereby men are born again. John’s message of repentance was necessary in order to prepare people for the “kingdom of heaven” which was “at hand”.

The phrase kingdom of heaven is used only in the Gospel of Matthew and seems to be based on similar reference in the Book of Daniel. The phrase kingdom of God is used more frequently by Mark and Luke.

The change is perhaps due to Matthew’s Jewish emphasis. Since many Jews regarded it as blasphemous to refer to God by name, Matthew may have substituted the word heaven for that reason. Usually the two phrases are used interchangeably in the Gospels.

In a society that believes everything is relative and there are no absolutes, we seldom see true repentance.

John’s next statement fits our day just as well as the day in which John was preaching. Truly the kingdom of heaven is at hand. In one sense the kingdom is a present reality, but in its fullest sense it awaits a yet-future fulfillment. There have been preachers ever since John bringing this same message. God never changes, and neither does His message.