And (omitted by the Revised Version) saying. The parallel passages give the substance of John's preaching—the baptism of repentance. St. Matthew takes, as it seems, a sentence that actually fell from his lips, and presents it as the kernel of his message ("preaching … saying").
This is the more interesting as nowhere else are we told any words uttered by him in this the first stage of his ministry before crowds flocked to hear him. Repent ye … at hand; said word for word by our Lord (Matthew 4:17, note).
Repent ye ( μετανοεῖτε) The word expresses the central thought of true repentance, in speaking, as it does, of a change of mind. Contrast μεταμέλεσθαι (Matthew 27:3; 2 Corinthians 7:8-10). As such it goes deeper than the Old Testament summons "Turn ye" ( ובוש), or the rabbinic הבושת, for it points out in what part of man the alteration must be.
It is noticeable that the LXX. never, as it seems, translate בוש by μετανοῖν, but often מחן (of man only in Jeremiah 8:6; Jeremiah 31:19; and possibly Joel 2:14; cf. 1 Samuel 15:29), which refers to repentance as a matter of feeling.
As Messiah was coming, it was only natural that John should urge repentance. Similarly, we find late Jewish writers expounding Genesis 1:2, "'And the Spirit of God was moving [on the face of the waters].'
This is the Spirit of King Messiah, like that which is said in Isaiah 11:2, 'And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.' By what kind of merit does it draw near and come? It says, 'upon the face of the waters.'
By the merit of repentance, which is compared to water, as it is written (Lain. Isaiah 2:19), 'Pour out thy heart like water'" ('Bresh. R.,' § 2). But, unfortunately, they assign far too legal a meaning to the word, and their phrase, "do repentance" ( הבושת השע), becomes almost identical with the "do penance" (poenitentiam agite, Vulgate) of the Roman Catholics.
For the kingdom of heaven.