In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea 2[and] saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” 3 It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:
“A voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’”
4 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him 6and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.
7When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. 9And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
In Matthew’s Gospel, John the Baptist appears at the edge of the desert as the final prophetic voice before Jesus begins his public mission. His message is urgent because God is about to act in a new and decisive way for the salvation of his people.
John’s first words set the tone for everything that follows: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” This is not a vague call to be better people. It is a command to turn back to God now because God’s reign is drawing near in a concrete way. John speaks as someone who stands at the threshold of a new moment in salvation history. He is telling Israel that the time of preparation is ending and the time of fulfillment is beginning.
Matthew immediately links John to Isaiah’s prophecy about a voice crying out in the desert, calling the people to prepare the way of the Lord and make straight his paths. The image is simple. When a king was coming, roads were cleared and made ready. John applies that picture to the heart and to the life of the people. Israel is not being asked to stage a symbolic welcome. They are being called to a real return to God.
John’s clothing and food underline the seriousness of his mission. He lives like a prophet who belongs to God alone. His life is stripped down and focused. The desert setting matches the message. The people must leave the routine of ordinary life and come out to the real desert of Judea. That setting also carries meaning: it recalls Israel’s time of testing and renewal and signals that God is calling his people to begin again. The fact that Jerusalem, Judea, and the region around the Jordan go out to him signals that something deep is stirring. In Jesus’ time, people did not travel into the wilderness unless they sensed that God was calling them.
John baptizes them in the Jordan as they acknowledge their sins. This baptism is a sign of repentance and a readiness to change. It is not merely a ritual washing. It is a public confession that the old ways have failed and that a new life is needed. John’s baptism, however, is not the same as the Christian baptism we know today. It prepares people for the one who is coming. Christian baptism will unite believers to Jesus and bring the gift of the holy Spirit. The action fits the message. If the kingdom is near, the people need to be ready to receive it.
The tone changes sharply when the Pharisees and Sadducees arrive. John’s words to them are direct and severe. He calls them a “brood of vipers” and warns them about the coming wrath. This is not a rejection of their place in Israel. John is confronting a confidence that rests on religious status rather than a changed heart. He is confronting a mindset that treats religious status as protection from moral accountability.
His central demand is clear: “Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.” Repentance is not only sorrow over sin. It is a visible change that can be seen in one’s life and conduct. John is saying that repentance cannot rest on who you are, what you claim, or how you appear. It must show itself in a changed life. Real repentance reshapes choices.
He then addresses a particular temptation: “Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’” John is not denying the importance of God’s covenant with Abraham. He is warning against turning that covenant into a false security. Being part of the chosen people is a gift. It is not a license to live without conversion. The line about God raising up children to Abraham from stones makes the point forcefully. God’s faithfulness is not dependent on human pride. The covenant has always called God’s people to living faithfulness, not a confidence based merely on ancestry.
John’s images intensify the urgency. The ax at the root of the trees signals that judgment is not distant. This is a moment of decision. The language of trees and fruit echoes the biblical pattern that life aligned with God bears visible results, while resistance to God leads to loss. John is preparing the people not only to welcome a Savior but also to face the truth about their hearts.
John then turns from warning to testimony. His baptism with water is “for repentance,” but the one coming after him is “mightier.” John emphasizes his unworthiness even to carry that one’s sandals. In this humility, Matthew highlights John’s true role. He is not the center. He is the herald.
The promise that the coming one will baptize ‘with the holy Spirit and fire’ makes the contrast clear: John’s water baptism prepares the people for repentance, but only Jesus’ baptism brings the deeper transformation. John’s rite calls people to turn back to God. The baptism of the coming one will bring God’s own life and power into the believer. The imagery of Spirit and fire suggests purification and renewal. God is not only calling for change. God is providing the grace that makes a new life possible.
The final image of the winnowing fan reinforces both judgment and mercy. The threshing floor is where separation happens. Wheat is gathered and chaff is burned. John’s point is not to gratify fear but to make the stakes clear. The kingdom of heaven is not sentimental. It is God’s holy reign arriving among a people who must either receive it with repentance or resist it with hardened hearts. As in the days of Moses, the people must choose life or death (Deut. 30:15-20). John is saying that the coming of God’s reign forces a real decision.
In this passage, Matthew introduces a decisive theme for the rest of the Gospel. God’s promises to Israel are reaching their fulfillment. The right response is not to rely on identity alone, but to turn to God with sincerity and a changed life. John is the bridge between God’s promises and their fulfillment. He calls the people to repent and renew their lives in preparation for the Lord who is about to be revealed.
May the Lord give us the grace to hear the call to repentance with honesty, to let faith become visible in our choices, and to welcome his reign with hearts made ready. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- Bernard Orchard et al., A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (1953).
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018).
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990).
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