Matthew 3:2

“Repent you, for the Kingly Rule of Heaven is at hand.”

His message is simple, and yet profound. He is calling on them to ‘repent,', to turn to God and to turn from sin, because all that the prophets had hoped for is now to come to fulfilment. The Kingly Rule of Heaven, that time when God will break through into the world in order to exercise His rule, is ‘at hand'.

‘Repent you.' By these words Matthew is rooting John's (and Jesus' - Matthew 4:17) message firmly in the line of the Old Testament prophets (Jeremiah 8:6; Jeremiah 20:16; Ezekiel 14:6; Ezekiel 18:30). He is proclaiming that in the words that he is speaking what the prophets prophesied concerning the coming of the final Kingly Rule of God was in process of fulfilment (e.g. Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 11:1; Ezekiel 37:22).

The prophets make clear what is meant by ‘repentance'. It is the opposite of ‘holding fast to deceit and refusing to return to God' (Jeremiah 8:5). It is the opposite of ‘failing to speak what is true and right' (Jeremiah 8:6). It is ‘repenting from wickedness' by saying ‘what have I done?' (Jeremiah 8:6). It is a turning away from holding on to the things that caused God in the past to bring judgment on cities (Jeremiah 20:16). It is turning away from all idolatry and abominations (Ezekiel 14:6). It is a turning away from all transgressions against God's Law (Ezekiel 18:30). It is thus a turning to God and a turning away from all that is seen to be sinful and wrong.

The idea of ‘turning to God' is emphasised in Hosea 6:1, where the call is to ‘return to the Lord' in order to be healed and restored (compare Hosea 14:1). It was necessary for them to turn from sin and to return to God, because God alone could deal with their sins. But there is also the idea of ‘turning from all that is sinful and wrong', which is emphasised in Isaiah 1:16, in which it is made clear that a turning from their evil ways and doings will issue in forgiveness and total cleansing from sin (Isaiah 1:18). Both are brought together in Hosea 12:6, ‘Turn to your God, keep mercy and righteous judgment, and wait on your God continually'. And we might parallel that with Micah's words, ‘What does the Lord require of you but to do what is right, to love compassion and to walk humbly with your God?' (Micah 6:8).

‘The Kingly Rule of Heaven.' The whole of the Old Testament had looked for the establishment of God's Rule over His people. That was why God had called Abraham so that He might provide the means by which such a Kingly Rule might be established (Genesis 12:2; Genesis 17:6; Genesis 35:11). That was the motive of the giving of the covenant in the form of a ‘suzerainty treaty', through which YHWH would be established as overlord over His people because of what in His mercy He had done for them (Exodus 20:1). That was the purpose of the raising up of David to be prince over God's people (2 Samuel 7:12). That was the hope of all the prophets as they looked forward into the future when God would restore His true people. All longed for the establishment of the Kingly Rule of God. And that was to be the purpose of the coming of the Messiah, the final establishment of the Kingly Rule of God, when Messiah would rule over God's true restored people in the everlasting Kingdom (Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 11:1; Ezekiel 37:24; Daniel 7:13).

Matthew uses the term ‘Kingly Rule of Heaven' over against the use of ‘Kingly Rule of God' by the other evangelists, and  in many cases in exactly the same context  demonstrating that it is a parallel phrase and mainly a matter of translation, the Aramaic words of Jesus being the same in both cases. This brings out Matthew's Jewishness. Jews tried to avoid excessive use of the word ‘God. Thus they replaced it with words such as ‘Heaven', ‘the Blessed', and so on. They were referring to God, but without actually using His name. Jesus, therefore, probably mainly said ‘the Kingly Rule of Heaven' with Mark and Luke translating as ‘God' (which was what Jesus meant) for their Gentile readers.

Certainly we may also see that ‘Heaven' makes clear the heavenly nature of the Kingdom, but then so does the term ‘God'. (Our danger is that we can begin to see God almost as a personal name rather than as conveying the idea of His ‘heavenliness'). And in fact Matthew does use the expression ‘Kingly Rule of God' five times (Matthew 6:33; Matthew 12:28; Matthew 19:24; Matthew 21:31; Matthew 21:43). He represents it as something that they are to seek in their daily lives rather than food and clothing (Matthew 6:33), as something that has come among them at that present time in the Holy Spirit's activity of casting out evil spirits (Matthew 12:28), as something which it is hard for a rich man to enter because his riches hold him back (Matthew 19:24), as something which the tax-gatherers and sinners are entering in priority to the Scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 21:31), and as something which is being taken away from the nation of Israel in order to be given to a new nation which will produce its fruits. (Matthew 21:43). This last is simply a way of saying that not all who see themselves as Israel will enjoy the Kingly Rule of God, but only those who respond to God's Kingly Rule and begin to live accordingly (and as we shall later see we could add, including both Jew and Gentile). They will become God's new nation (1 Peter 2:9). It will be noted that in each of these examples there is a sense of immediacy, a sense of urgency, and an emphasis on present personal experience, with some included who are unexpected, and others excluded who should have been entering. Perhaps we may put it that when Matthew uses the term Kingly Rule of God (rather than Heaven) there is an emphasis on the need for men and women to ‘know God' personally, in the way that many of the Psalmists are seen as knowing Him. Perhaps Matthew thought that the translation ‘Heaven' would have taken away the personal emphasis in these particular references. In other words he forewent the need to indicate respect for God's name, because he wanted to emphasise something deeper. It was not a different concept, but a different way of expressing it. It may well be that Jesus also used two separate phrases, and that it is the other evangelists who have translated ‘God' in both cases for the sake of their Gentile readers.

On the other hand Matthew uses the term ‘Kingly Rule of Heaven' over thirty times. And that includes its use in very similar contexts to those just mentioned (e.g. Matthew 11:11). The terms are thus not mutually exclusive. But it also expands to include the idea of world outreach, and to look ahead to the future, glorious, everlasting Kingdom, concepts which in the other Gospels are actually applied to the Kingly Rule of God. The idea is that Heaven is breaking in among men, and bringing them under God's effective rule, first on earth, and then by establishing a final everlasting, eternal Kingdom. But we must not make two kingdoms. Those who become His enter under the eternal Kingly Rule of God now, by being changed so as to have the openness towards God of ‘little children' (Matthew 18:3). The eternal future is then a continuation of this as resurrected and fully transformed people, with a greater sense of immediacy to God. Now we see dimly as though in a mirror (1 Corinthians 13:12), but then face to face. But it is the same Kingly Rule. Those who become His are even now translated out from under the tyranny of darkness into the Kingly Rule of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). And in that Kingly Rule we enjoy ‘righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit' (Romans 14:17).

‘At hand.' That is, it is about to break in on them, and shortly to be enjoyed by many of them, for it is there among them within reach, especially in the coming of the King. But that it was more than just ‘very near in time' in the time of John, Jesus makes clear, for He tells the Chief Priests and the Elders of the people, ‘Truly I say to you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes go into the Kingly Rule of God before you, for John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him, and even when you saw it you did not afterwards repent and believe him' (Matthew 21:31). In the last part it is made clear that He is speaking about the time of John the Baptist, when the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him and believed in the way of righteousness, while the Chief Priests and Elders did not, for He stresses that the latter did not even believe in John after the tax collectors and prostitutes had believed. That stresses also that the tax-collectors and prostitutes are seen as having believed in the way of righteousness in the time of John and as having thus entered under the Kingly Rule of God. So He connects this with the tax-collectors and the prostitutes going into the Kingly Rule of God before them, while they themselves will not even enter afterwards. It is difficult therefore to see how a fair assessment of this can fail to see in it an indication that they entered the Kingly Rule of God in the time of John.

This being so the Kingly Rule of God must then have been ‘at hand' by being there and available to all who would respond, and not just as something in the future. And yet John himself is not seen as being in the Kingly Rule of Heaven as he was in his prophetic status, for ‘he who is last in the Kingly Rule of Heaven is greater than he' (Matthew 11:11). What we are intended to see by this is the distinction between the old age and the new. It did not mean that John was totally excluded from the Kingly Rule of Heaven when he came to it as a repentant sinner submitting to the King, only that in his official status as a prophet he was outside it and ‘came before it', simply because as such he was pointing towards it. But no doubt as a humble sinner along with the tax-collectors and prostitutes he was able to enter it when he submitted to Jesus. For what this does emphasise is that the Kingly Rule of Heaven must be seen as having been available and present at some stage in the time of John, possibly potentially, and becoming a reality once the King had been confirmed at His baptism. Although in fact God's rule over those who were truly His people goes right back to the beginning of things (compare 1 Samuel 8:7). For a fuller treatment of the Kingly Rule of Heaven see our introductory articles.

It is often noted that Matthew omits the idea of forgiveness that is found in Mark 1:4. That may be because he wanted to retain the mentioning of forgiveness for Jesus' ministry (Matthew 6:12; Matthew 6:14; Matthew 9:2; Matthew 9:6; Matthew 18:21) as the One Who will save His people from their sins, but the absence is more apparent than real. The whole point of repentance, and openly admitting their sin, and signifying their desire for the coming work of the Holy Spirit, assumes that forgiveness will be given. That is the whole reason for it (compare Isaiah 1:15). They have turned back to God, and turned away from their old sins. They have committed themselves to a totally new way of living. They are looking for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. And that can only be because they believe that God will forgive them as a result of their repentance. And that is indeed what He had promised in Isaiah 1:16. And we may add that forgiveness was one of the blessings especially associated with the last days (Isaiah 43:25; Isaiah 44:22; Isaiah 55:7; Jeremiah 50:20; Ezekiel 36:24). It will indeed be as a result of this that their lives will be fruitful. Repentance and forgiveness come first. The fruitfulness then follows.