1In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” 3For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
make the way of the Lord ready!
Make his paths straight!”
4Now John himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then people from Jerusalem, all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him. 6They were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance! 9Don’t think to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.
11“I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.”
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14But John would have hindered him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?”
15But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him.
16Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. 17Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
10:5-6 Jesus limited their ministry to the Israelites. His mention of Samaritans emphasized that the nation of Israel was particularly in view. His reference to the nation as “lost sheep” reveals God’s view of the people as they waited for their Messiah to come.
Jesus gave two commissions to His disciples during His earthly ministry. One was to the House of Israel, found in Matthew 10:5-15, and the other to the Gentile world in Matthew 28:16-20. The former commission, to the House of Israel, actually forbade going into Gentile communities, such as the Samaritans (Matt 10:5). The message He gave them to preach was that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand (Matt 10:6). He also gave them the ability to heal the sick and cast out demons. The reason for these two commissions relates to Jesus first presenting Himself to the Jewish people as the Messiah, in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, and in accordance with the preaching of John the Baptist (Matt 3:2), but the latter, which was not revealed in the Old Testament (Eph 3:5), would wait until after the rejection by the Jewish people and the death and resurrection of the Messiah, when the Gentile world was included in the proclamation of the risen Messiah.