John preached the same gospel Jesus preached—the gospel of the kingdom. The kingdom is the sphere of God’s rule. To enter this kingdom you must prepare yourself by means of repentance and baptism. If you believed the message, you obeyed it. For this reason, the most common words used by John were, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand” (Matthew 3: 2; 4: 17).  

John’s whole message could be summarized as “repent, and demonstrate your repentance by obedience to baptism.” 

People were to repent of reliance upon religious traditions (dead works). 

Until this time. God was to be found in connection with the Law, the Priesthood, and the Temple. But now God himself was initiating change. He was doing away with the entire system of Judaism because the entire Law would be fulfilled in the Messiah himself. If people were to be open enough to receive Him, they would have to let go of their closed ideas about God. They had to turn their backs on the old in order to receive the new. John baptized in the River Jordan. This meant that the people had to go outside the sacred city of Jerusalem and be immersed in the muddy old river. John’s authority to minister was not from the religious leaders but from God himself. For this reason, the leaders opposed him.  

… he that sent me to baptize with water … (John 1: 33).  

The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying. If we shall say. From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet (Matthew 21: 25, 26).  

 People were to demonstrate their repentance of heart by submitting to baptism. 

John would not permit the people to go through outward forms. His baptism was different than all the Jewish traditions and rites—it was a real experience of meeting God. People confessed their sins as they entered the water. They exercised faith in the coming Messiah. Their sins were remitted. But more than this, the axe was laid to the root of sin.  

Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves. We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you. That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire (Luke 3: 8, 9).  

This baptism was in itself a public confession of sin and repentance. 

Submission to John’s baptism was not just a popular religious fad. It cost something. By stepping into that muddy river, you were announcing to everyone that Judaism with its dead forms had not profited you. You were a sinner and needed God to do something on the inside to make you different. You were required not only to verbally confess specific sins to John upon being baptized, but the baptism itself declared that you recognized your whole root to be no good. You wanted God to lay His axe against the cause of sin in you.  

John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins (Mark 1: 4, 5).