Matthew 4:17
In some copies “repent” (Matthew 4:17) is not present. If the Savior says the same things as John, one God sent them both. Perhaps John, as one preparing a people made ready for God, first says “repent,” while Jesus, receiving what was already prepared and no longer needing repentance, does not say “repent.”
He is not heralding against the law and the prophets. John having finished the old, he begins to herald the new, himself becoming its beginning. That is why “he began” is not written of John — for John was an end. One heralds in the desert, the other among the people.
The kingdom of the heavens is not in a place but in a disposition, for it is within us (Luke 17:21). See also: John heralds a kingdom of heavens that is near, while Christ is the king who will hand it over to God and Father.
Greek
Ἔν τισι τὸ μετανοεῖτε οὐ κεῖται. εἰ δὲ τὰ αὐτὰ ὁ σωτὴρ Ἰω άννῃ λέγει, εἷς ὁ πέμψας ἀμφοτέρους θεός. καὶ τάχα Ἰωάννης μὲν ὡς "ἑτοιμάζων" θεῷ "κατεσκευασμένον" πρῶτος λέγει μετανοεῖτε, Ἰη σοῦς δὲ ἡτοιμασμένα παραλαβὼν μηκέτι δεόμενα μετανοίας οὐ λέγει μετανοεῖτε. οὐκ ἀντικηρύσσων δὲ νόμῳ καὶ προφήταις, πληρώσαντι δὲ Ἰωάννῃ τὴν παλαιὰν κηρύσσειν ἤρξατο τὴν νέαν, αὐτὸς ἀρχὴ γενό μενος αὐτῆς. διὸ ἐπὶ Ἰωάννου οὐ γέγραπται τὸ ἤρξατο· πέρας γὰρ ἦν. καὶ ὅτι ὁ μὲν ἐν ἐρήμῳ κηρύσσει, ὁ δὲ ἐν λαῷ. ἡ δὲ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν οὐκ ἐν τόπῳ ἐστίν, ἐν δὲ διαθέσει· "ἐντὸς" γὰρ "ἡμῶν ἐστιν". ὅρα δὲ εἰ Ἰωάννης μὲν κηρύσσει ἐγγίζουσαν βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν, βασι λεὺς Χριστὸς ἣν παραδώσει "τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρί".