The word for time
(kairos) denotes a special time, a qualified moment. Here it refers to the time of God’s coming, announced by John. In itself, the utterance is quite neutral: The time has come.
But this message has the historical background of John’s preaching: the one who is mightier than I comes after me and the Lord will appear! Thus, this message is coloured by the preceding period and says in effect: the Lord has now come to his people.1
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”