In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea (and) saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: "A voice of one crying out in the desert, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'" John wore clothing made of camel's hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins…
I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire… (Mt 3:1-12)
John the Baptist appeared in the desert and he was preaching. Desert was the place of God experience for the Jewish people. It was also the place where the people grew up into a nation of liberated people. It is in the desert their freedom began. (They had the freedom to worship golden calf though they were punished for that; they also had the freedom to grumble against Moses, while in Egypt, as slaves, they never raised their voice openly) So the location itself, where John the Baptist appeared, presents something Godly. The beginning of the kingdom of God is similar to the Exodus of the Old Testament. The journey of the kingdom of God, since it is beginning in the desert, shows that it is the new Exodus. The river Jordan was the entry point for the Old Exodus, so also now, it the entry point for the New Exodus.
The message is a message of hope, of forgiveness, of healing. Similar message was uttered by prophet Isaiah (chapter 40) for the people who were in exile. The God is coming back to take them back home. His coming is to rescue them from slavery, now from the slavery of sin. The God is coming to comfort them. This coming is the coming of the kingdom: God’s kingdom. People should get ready to welcome this arrival of the kingdom. No claim of ancestry (Abraham is our father etc) would help them in this moment. God is the God of creation. He could create man from the stones as he had done in the past: creating man from the dust. God is not just the God of Israel rather he is the God of creation and hence God of all and God for all.
