Matthew 3:2

“And saying, repent ye, etc.] The doctrine which John preached was the doctrine of repentance; which may be understood either of amendment of life and manners; for the state of the Jews was then very corrupt, all sorts of men were grown very wicked; and though there was a generation among them, who were righteous in their own eyes, and needed no repentance; yet John calls upon them all, without any distinction, to repent; and hereby tacitly strikes at the doctrine of justification by works, which they had embraced, to which the doctrine of repentance is directly opposite: or rather, this is meant, as the word here used signifies, of a change of mind, and principles. The Jews had imbibed many…”

“And saying, Repent ye--Though the word strictly denotes a change of mind, it has respect here (and wherever it is used in connection with salvation) primarily to that sense of sin which leads the sinner to flee from the wrath to come, to look for relief only from above, and eagerly to fall in with the provided remedy. for the kingdom of heaven is at hand--This sublime phrase, used in none of the other Gospels, occurs in this peculiarly Jewish Gospel nearly thirty times; and being suggested by Daniel's grand vision of the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of days, to receive His investiture in a world-wide kingdom (Dan 7:13-14), it was fitted at once both to meet the…”

“Repent ye - Repentance implies sorrow for past offences 2 Corinthians 7:10; a deep sense of the evil of sin as committed against God Psalms 51:4; and a full purpose to turn from transgression and to lead a holy life. A true penitent has sorrow for sin, not only because it is ruinous to his soul, but chiefly because it is an offence against God, and is that abominable thing which he hates, Jeremiah 44:4. It is produced by seeing the great danger and misery to which it exposes us; by seeing the justice and holiness of God Job 42:6; and by seeing that our sins have been committed against Christ, and were the cause of his death, Zechariah 12:10; Luke 22:61-62. There are two words in the New…”

“The kingdom of heaven, and the kingdom of God, are but two phrases for the same thing. They mean, not barely a future happy state, in heaven, but a state to be enjoyed on earth: the proper disposition for the glory of heaven, rather than the possession of it. Is at hand - As if he had said, God is about to erect that kingdom, spoken of by Daniel Dan 2:44; Dan 7:13-14; the kingdom of the God of heaven. It properly signifies here, the Gospel dispensation, in which subjects were to be gathered to God by his Son, and a society to be formed, which was to subsist first on earth, and afterward with God in glory. In some places of Scripture, the phrase more particularly denotes the state of it on…”

“3:2 The prophetic call to return to God in repentance (cp. Isa 1:16-20) involves total reorientation from pride and sin to humble obedience to God (see Jer 3:11-22). John’s message included specific practical application (Luke 3:11-14).”

“Repent: Mat 4:17, Mat 11:20, Mat 12:41, Mat 21:29-32; Kg1 8:47; Job 42:6; Eze 18:30-32; Eze 33:11; Mar 1:4, Mar 1:15, Mar 6:12; Luk 13:3, Luk 13:5, Luk 15:7, Luk 15:10, Luk 16:30, Luk 24:47; Act 2:38, Act 3:19, Act 11:18, Act 17:30, Act 20:21, Act 26:20; Co2 7:10; Ti2 2:25; Heb 6:1; Pe2 3:9; Rev 2:5, Rev 2:21 for: Mat 5:3, Mat 5:10, Mat 5:19, Mat 5:20, Mat 6:10, Mat 6:33, Mat 10:7, Mat 11:11, Mat 11:12, Mat 13:11, Mat 13:24, Mat 13:31, Mat 13:33, Mat 13:44, Mat 13:45, Mat 13:47; Mat 13:52, Mat 18:1-4, Mat 18:23, Mat 20:1, Mat 22:2, Mat 23:13, Mat 25:1, Mat 25:14; Dan 2:44; Luk 6:20, Luk 9:2; Luk 10:9-11; Joh 3:3-5; Col 1:13 Matthew 3:3”