Matthew 3:1

“In those days came John the Baptist, etc.] The Evangelist having given an account of the genealogy and birth of Christ; of the coming of the wise men from the east to him; of his preservation from Herod’s bloody design against him, when all the infants at Bethlehem were slain; of the flight of Joseph with Mary and Jesus into Egypt, and of their return from thence, and settlement in Nazareth, where Christ continued till near the time of his baptism, and entrance on his public ministry; proceeds to give a brief relation of John, the harbinger and forerunner of Christ, and the administrator of baptism to him: and he describes him by his name John, in Hebrew ˆnjwy, “Jochanan”, which signifies…”

“PREACHING AND MINISTRY OF JOHN. ( = Mar 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-18). (Mat 3:1-12) In those days--of Christ's secluded life at Nazareth, where the last chapter left Him. came John the Baptist, preaching--about six months before his Master. in the wilderness of Judea--the desert valley of the Jordan, thinly peopled and bare in pasture, a little north of Jerusalem.”

“In those days - The days here referred to cannot be those mentioned in the preceding chapter, for John was but six months older than Christ. Perhaps Matthew intended to embrace in his narrative the whole time that Jesus lived at Nazareth; and the meaning is, “in those days while Jesus still dwelt at Nazareth,” John began to preach. It is not probable that John began to baptize or preach long before the Saviour entered on his ministry; and, consequently, from the time that is mentioned in the close of the second chapter to that mentioned in the beginning of the third, an interval of twenty-five years or more elapsed. John the Baptist - Or John the baptizer - so called from his principal…”

“In those days - that is, while Jesus dwelt there. In the wilderness of Judea - This was a wilderness properly so called, a wild, barren, desolate place as was that also where our Lord was tempted. But, generally speaking, a wilderness in the New Testament means only a common, or less cultivated place, in opposition to pasture and arable land. Mar 1:1; Luk 3:1. Matthew 3:2”

“3:1 John the Baptist announced Jesus’ coming (see Mark 1:1-11; Luke 3:1-22; John 1:6-8, 19-34) and prepared people to receive him (Matt 3:3). John attracted large crowds (3:5) and a group of disciples (9:14). This group continued for a short time as a movement, even as the Christian church emerged (see Acts 18:24-28). • John’s locale in the Judean wilderness had symbolic significance: The wilderness was associated with the giving of the law (see Exod 19:1) and with God’s final redemption of Israel at the end of history (see Isa 40:3).”

“those: Luk 3:1, Luk 3:2 John: Mat 11:11, Mat 14:2-14, Mat 16:14, Mat 17:12, Mat 17:13, Mat 21:25-27, Mat 21:32; Mar 1:4, Mar 1:15, Mar 6:16-29; Luk 1:13-17, Luk 1:76, 3:2-20; Joh 1:6-8, 15-36, Joh 3:27-36; Act 1:22, Act 13:24, Act 13:25; Act 19:3, Act 19:4 preaching: Isa 40:3-6; Mar 1:7; Luk 1:17 the wilderness: Mat 11:7; Jos 14:10, Jos 15:61, Jos 15:62; Luk 7:24 Matthew 3:2”