All the gospel writers tell of John the Baptist preparing the way. The wilderness of Judea is a region between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The Qumran people (associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls) lived here as well.
John preached a message of repentance in preparation for the kingdom of God. Repentance is a sea change in the direction of our life, acknowledging the sins of the past, and committing ourselves to God's way. Every step of entering more fully into the kingdom of God involves a step of repentance. Matthew is the only one who uses the phrase "kingdom of heaven" rather than "kingdom of God". He does this because Jews were extremely reluctant to use the name of God, out of respect for its holiness.
The kingdom represents the active reign of God. The rule of God is coming into the earth.
Matthew, along with Mark and Luke, quotes from Isaiah 40:3. God calls into the wilderness of our lives, telling us to make straight paths for Him by repenting. No matter where we are God can find us, but in order to receive Him we need to repent.
John wore similar garments to Elijah, and this provides a link to Malachi 4:5, which tells of God sending Elijah ahead of His coming. It was quite normal for desert people to eat insects, and locusts were a clean food under the Law.
Despite being in the wilderness, many people came out to him, confessing their sins and being baptised. In fact if you look at the Bible you will see that God often does significant things in the wilderness.
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