Up to the time of Yochanan the Immerser there were the Torah and the
Prophets giving their prophetic and predictive witness to the coming of the Kingdom of God. The verse does not
mean that the authority of the Torah
and the Prophets came to an end when Yochanan appeared (an error even the
notable Hebrew Christian thinker David Baron made). But since then, in addition to their witness (v. 31, Yn 5:46, Ro 3:21),
the Good News of the Kingdom of God,
which is now “near,” has been proclaimed
directly, first by Yochanan (Mt 3:1–2) and now by Yeshua (Mt 4:17, Mk 1:15),
with the result that everyone is pushing
to get in. (David H.
Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary: A Companion Volume to the Jewish New
Testament [Clarksville, Tenn.: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1996], Logos
Bible Software edition)
