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This present scripture is the initial direct reference to baptism within the complete Bible. By utilising the phrase “In those days”, the Aposple Matthew is locating his account into it’s chronological background. He is also recounting to his audience about years that had recently passed, and was most likely writing to his readers a long spell subsequent to the dealings that he records. So that we can discover which days Matthew is informing his contemporaries about, we will want to consider the preceding chapters.

In the beginning of his gospel, the author Matthew calls it “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1v1). At this point Matthew tells us his purpose - to reveal Jesus as a real human being who lived at a precise stage, was born to specific mother and father, and had the ministry and status of “Christ”, the anointed Messiah or Saviour. The remainder of the first chapter tells us about the family tree of Jesus, and furthermore a brief description of how Mary got pregnant: “she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 1v18)

It is within chapter two that we start to see the detailed events that Matthew uses in order to put his gospel into it's historical period. The historical events shown include:
· Jesus was born in Bethlehem (King David’s historical home) “in the days of Herod the king” (Matthew 2v1)
· Wise men came out of the east headed for Jerusalem, wondering “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2v1-2)
· The wise men travelled for the reason that, in their words, “we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” (Matthew 2v2)
· Herod enquired of the wise men at what instant the heavenly body did appear (Matthew 2v7) and established that it was approximately two years earlier (Matthew 2v16). It is possible nonetheless that he overestimated in an effort to be sure that Jesus was murdered, thinking that the heavenly body had in fact appeared at His conception around nine months earlier.
· Herod the king dispatched an edict with the intention of all of the children below the age of 2 in Bethlehem as well as all of it's adjoining country should be slaughtered. This was his effort to make certain that merely one child, Jesus, was also slaughtered. (Matthew 2v16)
· After the visit of the wise men, Joseph escorted Mary and the newborn child to Egypt in a hurry, seeing that he had been warned in relation to Herod's strategy via an angel. (Matthew 2v13-14)
· While the family had been in Egypt, King Herod died so Joseph was told to go back to Israel together with “the young child”. (Matthew 2v19-20)
· When Herod was dead, his son Archelaus ruled Judaea as the new king. (Matthew 2v22)

Unmistakably, Matthew locates the events in the days of the Lord Jesus Christ inside the framework of who was ruling Judaea, and several of their actions. This would most probably locate the birth of the baby Jesus within a few days or weeks from the order that Herod had given in order to have him along with any other children in and in the vicinity of Bethlehem murdered. It is likely that some of Matthew’s audience had lost a newborn, brother or sister in this moment in time and may perhaps associate the description of Matthew quickly to dealings in their own household. It was into these times in their recent past that John the Baptist had arrived, preaching in addition to baptising.

John the Baptist was not ministering inside the temple or synagogues, but in the wilderness. Possibly he was unwelcome inside the temple for some reason - the most likely grounds was the message that he delivered. To get added confirmation of this, see additionally v7 3.

Let us consider the message that he preached, as discovered within the few scriptures that follow the present one:

· Repentance was commanded to each and every one (v2)
· The “kingdom of heaven” was at hand - almost to be revealed (v2)
· John the Baptist appreciated his specific office as preparing the way meant for the ministry of the Jesus, sowing the ground, getting the whole thing prepared, and making His route a small amount easier. (v3)

Obviously, right from the foundation of the scriptural account about baptism, repentance from sinful habits was caught up in the teaching of baptism. This message of repentance and baptism was preparing every individual which received the preaching for the upcoming ministry of the Lord Jesus.