John is quite an impressive man, both in appearance and in speech. His clothing is made of camel’s hair, and he wears a leather belt around his waist. He eats locusts​—a type of grasshopper—​and wild honey. What is his message? “Repent, for the Kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.”​—Matthew 3:2.

John’s message excites those who have come out to hear him. Many realize their need to repent, that is, to change their attitude and ways, rejecting their past course of life as undesirable. Those who come to him are from “Jerusalem and all Judea and all the country around the Jordan.” (Matthew 3:5) Many of those who come out to John do repent. He baptizes them, immersing them in the waters of the Jordan. Why?

Thus, John’s message “Repent, for the Kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” is indeed appropriate. (Matthew 3:2) It serves as a public notice that the ministry of Jehovah’s coming King, Jesus Christ, is about to begin.