Early Church Fathers Scripture Index : Texts
Matthew 3:2
There are 20 footnotes for this reference.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 3, page 658, footnote 2 (Image)
Tertullian (I, II, III)
Ethical. (HTML)
On Repentance. (HTML)
True Repentance a Thing Divine, Originated by God, and Subject to His Laws. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 8428 (In-Text, Margin)
... of the prophets to prophesy. By and by, promising freely the grace which in the last times He was intending to pour as a flood of light on the universal world through His Spirit, He bade the baptism of repentance lead the way, with the view of first preparing, by means of the sign and seal of repentance, them whom He was calling, through grace, to (inherit) the promise surely made to Abraham. John holds not his peace, saying, “Enter upon repentance, for now shall salvation approach the nations”[Matthew 3:1-2] —the Lord, that is, bringing salvation according to God’s promise. To Him John, as His harbinger, directed the repentance (which he preached), whose province was the purging of men’s minds, that whatever defilement inveterate error had imparted, ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 420, footnote 5 (Image)
Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, 2 Clement, Early Liturgies
Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (HTML)
Book II. Of Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons (HTML)
Sec. VI.—The Disputes of the Faithful to Be Settled by the Decisions of the Bishop, and the Faithful to Be Reconciled (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2825 (In-Text, Margin)
... the inhabitants of Sodom by hospitable Lot; those after the flood by Melchizedek, and the patriarchs, and Job the beloved of God; the Egyptians by Moses; the Israelites by him, and Joshua, and Caleb, and Phineas, and the rest; those after the law by angels and prophets, and the same by His own incarnation of the Virgin; those a little before His bodily appearance by John His forerunner, and the same by the same person after Christ’s birth, saying, “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;”[Matthew 3:2] those after His passion by us, the twelve apostles, and Paul the chosen vessel. We therefore, who have been vouchsafed the favour of being the witnesses of His appearance, together with James the brother of our Lord, and the other seventy-two ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, page 48, footnote 23 (Image)
Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Apocalypses, Visio Pauli, Testament of Abraham, Acts of X/P, Zosimus, Aristides, Clement, Origen
The Diatessaron of Tatian. (HTML)
The Diatessaron. (HTML)
Section III. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 282 (In-Text, Margin)
... four rulers, Herod, in Galilee; and Philip his brother, one of the four rulers, in Ituræa and in the district of Trachonitis; and [38] Lysanias, one of the four rulers, in Abilene; in the chief-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the command of God went forth to John the son of Zacharias in the [39] desert. And he came into all the region which is about Jordan, proclaiming the [40] baptism of repentance unto the forgiveness of sins. And he was preaching in the [41] wilderness of Judæa, and saying,[Matthew 3:2] Repent ye; the kingdom of heaven is come near. [42] This is he that was spoken of in Isaiah the prophet,
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, page 422, footnote 5 (Image)
Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Apocalypses, Visio Pauli, Testament of Abraham, Acts of X/P, Zosimus, Aristides, Clement, Origen
Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. (HTML)
Origen's Commentary on Matthew. (HTML)
Book X. (HTML)
The Disciples as Scribes. (HTML)
... knowledge through the letter of the Scriptures he ascends to things spiritual, which are called the kingdom of the heavens. And according as each thought is attained, and grasped abstractly and proved by example and absolute demonstration, can one understand the kingdom of heaven, so that he who abounds in knowledge free from error is in the kingdom of the multitude of what are here represented as “heavens.” So, too, you will allegorise the word, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand,”[Matthew 3:2] as meaning that the scribes—that is, those who rest satisfied in the bare letter—may repent of this method of interpretation and be instructed in the spiritual teaching which is called the kingdom of the heavens through Jesus Christ the living Word. ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, page 458, footnote 9 (Image)
Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Apocalypses, Visio Pauli, Testament of Abraham, Acts of X/P, Zosimus, Aristides, Clement, Origen
Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. (HTML)
Origen's Commentary on Matthew. (HTML)
Book XII. (HTML)
In What Sense the “Keys” Are Given to Peter, and Every Peter. Limitations of This Power. (HTML)
... giving to those who are not mastered by the gates of Hades as many keys as there are virtues, which open gates equal in number, which correspond to each virtue according to the revelation of the mysteries. And perhaps, also, each virtue is a kingdom of heaven, and all together are a kingdom of the heavens; so that according to this he is already in the kingdom of the heavens who lives according to the virtues, so that according to this the saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,”[Matthew 3:2] is to be referred, not to the time, but to deeds and dispositions; for Christ, who is all virtue, has come, and speaks, and on account of this the kingdom of God is within His disciples, and not here or there. But consider how great power the rock ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 1, page 194, footnote 8 (Image)
Augustine: Prolegomena: St. Augustine's Life and Work, Confessions, Letters
The Confessions (HTML)
Of the goodness of God explained in the creation of things, and of the Trinity as found in the first words of Genesis. The story concerning the origin of the world (Gen. I.) is allegorically explained, and he applies it to those things which God works for sanctified and blessed man. Finally, he makes an end of this work, having implored eternal rest from God. (HTML)
Allegorical Explanation of Genesis, Chap. I., Concerning the Origin of the Church and Its Worship. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1213 (In-Text, Margin)
... also in His Christ did God make heaven and earth, namely, the spiritual and carnal people of His Church. Yea, and our earth, before it received the “form of doctrine,” was invisible and formless, and we were covered with the darkness of ignorance. For Thou correctest man for iniquity, and “Thy judgments are a great deep.” But because Thy Spirit was “borne over the waters,” Thy mercy forsook not our misery, and Thou saidst, “Let there be light,” “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[Matthew 3:2] Repent ye, let there be light. And because our soul was troubled within us, we remembered Thee, O Lord, from the land of Jordan, and that mountain equal unto Thyself, but little for our sakes; and upon our being displeased with our darkness, we ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 2, page 391, footnote 4 (Image)
Augustine: The City of God, Christian Doctrine
City of God (HTML)
A parallel history of the earthly and heavenly cities from the time of Abraham to the end of the world. (HTML)
Of the Indiscriminate Increase of the Church, Wherein Many Reprobate are in This World Mixed with the Elect. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1238 (In-Text, Margin)
... enclosed without distinction in the net, until it is brought ashore, when the wicked must be separated from the good, that in the good, as in His temple, God may be all in all. We acknowledge, indeed, that His word is now fulfilled who spake in the psalm, and said, “I have announced and spoken; they are multiplied above number.” This takes place now, since He has spoken, first by the mouth of his forerunner John, and afterward by His own mouth, saying, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[Matthew 3:2] He chose disciples, whom He also called apostles, of lowly birth, unhonored, and illiterate, so that whatever great thing they might be or do, He might be and do it in them. He had one among them whose wickedness He could use well in order to ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 116, footnote 3 (Image)
Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels
The Harmony of the Gospels. (HTML)
Book II (HTML)
Concerning the Words Ascribed to John by All the Four Evangelists Respectively. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 784 (In-Text, Margin)
25. Moreover, Matthew makes up his account of John in the following manner:—Now in those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is He that is spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.[Matthew 3:1-3] Mark also and Luke agree in presenting this testimony of Isaiah as one referring to John. Luke, indeed, has likewise recorded some other words from the same prophet, which follow those already cited, when he gives his narrative of John the Baptist. The evangelist John, again, mentions that John the Baptist ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 324, footnote 16 (Image)
Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels
Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament. (HTML)
On the words of the Gospel, Matt. xii. 32, ‘Whosoever shall speak a word against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come.’ Or, ‘on the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.’ (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2396 (In-Text, Margin)
... whence he was born, to have life; that he may receive the support of life from thence, whence he received the beginning of his birth. We must believe then that the first blessing of God’s goodness in the Holy Ghost is the remission of sins. Whence the preaching of John the Baptist, who was sent as the forerunner of the Lord, also begins with it. For thus it is written, “In those days came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[Matthew 3:1-2] Hence too the beginning of our Lord’s preaching, as we read, “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Now John, amongst the other things which he spake to those who came to be baptized by him, ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 325, footnote 7 (Image)
Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels
Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament. (HTML)
On the words of the Gospel, Matt. xii. 32, ‘Whosoever shall speak a word against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come.’ Or, ‘on the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.’ (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2410 (In-Text, Margin)
... after his hardness and impenitent heart treasureth up unto himself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds.” This impenitence then, for so by some one general name may we call both this blasphemy and the word against the Holy Ghost which hath no forgiveness for ever; this impenitence, I say, against which both the herald and the Judge cried out, saying, “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;”[Matthew 3:2] against which the Lord first opened the mouth of the Gospel preaching, and against which He foretold that the same Gospel was to be preached in all the world, when He said to His disciples after His resurrection from the dead, “it behoved Christ to ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 442, footnote 2 (Image)
Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels
Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament. (HTML)
On the words of the Gospel, Luke xii. 56, 58, ‘Ye know how to interpret the face of the Earth and the Heaven,’ etc.; and of the words, ‘for as thou art going with thine adversary before the magistrate, on the way give diligence to be quit of him,’ etc. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3432 (In-Text, Margin)
... heard the Gospel, and in it the Lord reproving those who knew how to discern the face of the sky, and know not how to discover the time of faith, the kingdom of heaven which is at hand. Now this He said to the Jews; but His words reach even unto us. Now the Lord Jesus Christ Himself began the preaching of His Gospel in this way; “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In like manner too John the Baptist and His forerunner began thus; “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[Matthew 3:2] And now the Lord rebuketh those who would not repent, when “the kingdom of heaven was at hand.” “The kingdom of heaven,” as He saith Himself, “will not come with observation.” And again He saith, “The kingdom of heaven is within you.” Let every one ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 444, footnote 4 (Image)
Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels
Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament. (HTML)
On the words of the Gospel, Luke xiii. 6, where we are told of the fig-tree, which bare no fruit for three years; and of the woman which was in an infirmity eighteen years; and on the words of the ninth Psalm, v. 19, ‘Arise, O Lord; let not man prevail: let the nations be judged in thy sight.’ (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3445 (In-Text, Margin)
... come to judge the quick and dead. Meanwhile they are spared. But what is the “digging”? What is the “digging about it,” but the teaching lowliness and repentance? For a ditch is low ground. The basket of dung understand in its good effects. It is filthy, but it produces fruit. The gardener’s filth is the sinner’s sorrows. They who repent, repent in filthy robes; if, that is, they understand aright, and repent in truth. To this tree then is it said, “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[Matthew 3:2]
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 245, footnote 8 (Image)
Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms
Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)
Psalm LX (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2300 (In-Text, Margin)
4. “Thou hast moved the earth, and hast troubled it” (ver. 2). How hath the earth been troubled? In the conscience of sinners. Whither go we? Whither flee we, when this sword hath been brandished, “Repent, for near hath drawn the kingdom of Heaven”?[Matthew 3:2] “Heal the crushings thereof, for moved it hath been.” Unworthy it is to be healed, if moved it hath not been: but thou speakest, preachest, threatenest us with God, of coming judgment holdest not thy peace, of the commandment of God thou warnest, from these things thou abstainest not; and he that heareth, if he feareth not, if he is not moved, is not worthy to be healed. ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 284, footnote 5 (Image)
Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms
Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)
Psalm LXVII (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2671 (In-Text, Margin)
... confess to Thee.” Earth it was, of thorns it was full; there came the hand of One rooting them up, there came a calling by His majesty and mercy, the earth began to confess; now the earth giveth her fruit. Would she give her fruit unless first she were rained on? Would she give her fruit, unless first the mercy of God had come from above? Let them read to me, thou sayest, how the earth being rained upon gave her fruit. Hear of the Lord raining upon her: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[Matthew 3:2] He raineth, and that same rain is thunder; it terrifieth: fear thou Him thundering, and receive Him raining. Behold, after that voice of a thundering and raining God, after that voice let us see something out of the Gospel itself. Behold that harlot ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 495, footnote 5 (Image)
Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms
Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)
Psalm CII (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4581 (In-Text, Margin)
2. Let him add poverty then to poverty: let Him transfigure unto Himself our humble body: let Him be our Head, we His limbs, let there be two in one flesh. …For He hath deigned to hold even us as His limbs. The penitent also are among His limbs. For they are not shut out, nor separated from His Church: nor would He make the Church His spouse, unless by words like these: “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[Matthew 3:2] Let us then hear what the head and the body prayeth, the bridegroom and bride, Christ and the Church, both one Person; but the Word and the flesh are not both one thing; the Father and the Word are both one thing; Christ and the Church are both one Person, one perfect man in the form of ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 633, footnote 10 (Image)
Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms
Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)
Psalm CXXXVIII (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 5710 (In-Text, Margin)
... His holy Name over Abraham. Of Abraham was born Isaac; over that house God was magnified; then Jacob; God was magnified, who said, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then came his twelve sons. The name of the Lord was magnified over Israel. Then came the Virgin Mary. Then Christ our Lord, “dying for our sins, rising again for our justification,” filling the faithful with His Holy Spirit, sending forth men to proclaim throughout the Gentiles, “Repent ye,” etc.[Matthew 3:2] Behold, “He hath magnified His holy Name above all things.”
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 3, page 556, footnote 7 (Image)
Theodoret, Jerome and Gennadius, Rufinus and Jerome
Life and Works of Rufinus with Jerome's Apology Against Rufinus. (HTML)
A Commentary on the Apostles' Creed. (HTML)
Section 34 (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3390 (In-Text, Margin)
34. Now let us shew briefly, if you will, that these things were foretold by the Prophets. You will yourself, since you are so minded, gather together more from the ample range of the Scriptures. The Prophet Malachi says, “Behold the Lord Almighty shall come, and who shall abide the day of His coming, or who shall abide the sight of Him? For He doth come as the fire of a furnace and as fuller’s soap: and He shall sit, refining and purifying as it were gold and silver.”[Matthew 3:1-3] But that thou mayest know more certainly Who this Lord is of Whom these things are said, hear what the Prophet Daniel also foretells: “I saw,” saith he, “in the vision of the night, and, behold, One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven, and He ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 124, footnote 12 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Heliodorus. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1816 (In-Text, Margin)
... still the lower regions cannot be compared with the kingdom of heaven. Before Christ’s coming Abraham is in the lower regions: after Christ’s coming the robber is in paradise. And therefore at His rising again “many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and were seen in the heavenly Jerusalem.” Then was fulfilled the saying: “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” John the Baptist cries in the desert: “repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[Matthew 3:2] For “from the days of John the Baptist the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force.” The flaming sword that keeps the way of paradise and the cherubim that are stationed at its doors are alike quenched and unloosed by ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 228, footnote 6 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)
To Rusticus. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3182 (In-Text, Margin)
... sinners to repentance.” The lost piece of silver is sought for until it is found in the mire. So also the ninety and nine sheep are left in the wilderness, while the shepherd carries home on his shoulders the one sheep which has gone astray. Wherefore also “there is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner that repenteth.” What a blessed thought it is that heavenly beings rejoice in our salvation! For it is of us that the words are said: “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[Matthew 3:2] Death and life are contrary the one to the other; there is no middle term. Yet penitence can knit death to life. The prodigal son, we are told, wasted all his substance, and in the far country away from his father “would fain have filled his belly ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 464, footnote 3 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
Treatises. (HTML)
Against the Pelagians. (HTML)
Book I (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 5239 (In-Text, Margin)
31. Your next point is that “the kingdom of heaven is promised even in the Old Testament,” and you adduce evidence from the Apocrypha, although it is clear that the kingdom of heaven was first preached under the Gospel by John the Baptist, and our Lord and Saviour, and the Apostles. Read the Gospels. John the Baptist cries in the desert,[Matthew 3:2] “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”; and concerning the Saviour it is written, “From that time He began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And again, “Jesus went round about the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the kingdom of God.” And He commanded His ...