The Lord Jesus once said, “There hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.” When the Lord speaks, it is always with the voice of divine authority and omniscience. We have, then, in this, an important statement about a great man, made by someone infinitely greater.
Let’s pick up where we left off last Sunday and add something that we omitted this morning. Let’s poke some questions at Jesus’ statement and see what we can learn about John – and ourselves.
First, did Christ Jesus call John the Baptist the Greatest Man in History?
An angel of the Lord had announced to the priest, Zacharias, that he was to become a father in his old age. That angel said that the baby, later named “John,” was to be “great in the sight of the Lord” – Luke 1:15. Some men are great in their own eyes, and some in the eyes of their parents of their peers. But John was to be “great in the sight OF THE LORD.”
And this man was to be “filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.” Of whom else, in all sacred or secular literature, is such a statement made? This endowment from birth, retained through life, made John’s words and works unequaled in history. He was destined to turn many of his countrymen to accept the Lord as their God. And he would “give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins.” Even without the Lord’s personal testimony about John, we might have reached that assumption anyway.
This first New Testament man of distinction was to have “the spirit and power of ELIJAH.” And Elijah was an Old Testament prophet of great renown. Like him John was “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just” – Luke 1:17. John the Baptist was “sent from God” to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord” – Luke 1:17. This was a huge responsibility. Among the multitudes whom John prepared for the Lord were the twelve disciples and at least some of the other “five hundred brethren” who saw the resurrected Lord Jesus. That the total number was immense is indicated by the vast crowds who came to him, believed his message about Christ, and then were baptized by him. If Christian workers today had the same spirit and power as John the Baptist – If they served the Lord with the same dedication and zeal – They could prepare similar great numbers for the Lord.
Among the many services John rendered to his Lord were these: It was his commission to make his “paths straight” and the “rough ways” smooth. All those who followed John sincerely were led straight to the Lord Jesus Christ. The forerunner pushed aside the rough ways of the legalistic Pharisees and the unbelieving Sadducees. And to the more humble souls, he heralded the good news that the kingdom and salvation were at hand. John had the unique honor of being the first to point out Christ as the Lamb of God and Son of God He described the Saviour in words inspired by the Holy Spirit – God’s greatest sacrifice. And lasting honor belongs to John for the privilege of having baptized his Lord. This distinction is the more deserved because John felt unworthy to officiate at this divine service. John was even present when, for the first time in recorded history, the Triune God revealed themselves together at the same time and place.
The honesty and humility of John, despite his high honors, demands to be recognized. He repeatedly said “I am not worthy to bear or untie the Lord’s shoes.” “He must increase, but I must decrease” – John 3:30.
John was not “a reed shaken with the wind” – He was more like a mighty redwood. He was not “a man clothed in soft raiment,” instead, he wore camel’s hair clothing. Jesus said of him, “A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.”
And this Baptist was faithful unto death. Perhaps he could have been one of King Herod’s courtiers, “for Herod feared John.” But John chose righteousness over position or fame. And because he preached Christian ethics fearlessly, without compromise, he became a victim of wicked Herodias.
John the Baptist resembled Christ, apparently more than any other man in history. People mistook John for the Messiah, and Christ was mistakenly taken for John. When Jesus became widely known after John’s death, Herod thought that Christ was John – resurrected. This was superlative praise, coming from a man biased in the opposite direction. Those who knew both John and Jesus mistook the one for the other. And those who thought that John had risen from the dead, when no one had for centuries – this indicated how great they thought that he was. The stature of the Baptist stands out all the more when it is recalled that “John did no miracle.” Christ did many astounding miracles; yet John, without any miracles was equal to his Lord in the minds of many.
I have read that the total number of verses in the Bible concerning John exceeds the total number of verses in each of the thirty-three shorter books of the Bible. While that is nothing in itself, it is an indication that the Holy Spirit honored John. Emphasizing His words Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you. Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he”.
This leads to another important question – Who is “least” in the kingdom of heaven?
This is a question which cannot be answered satisfactorily for everyone. Based on earlier assumptions and conclusions, different people interpret Matthew 11:11 differently. I won’t demand that you agree with me completely, but I do urge you to consider all the consequences if you choose to differ.
For example, what is the kingdom of heaven? Depending on your meaning of “least” doesn’t this statement exclude John from the kingdom? I hope that you don’t believe that the kingdom of heaven is the same as the Lord’s church. That doesn’t really affect my opinion about John, but it is wrong, and it creates misinterpretations in dozens of other scriptures. If you equate the kingdom with heaven itself, then you are forced to say that John was not a saint of God. And what if it refers to the Millennial Kingdom? That has some interesting consequences. But I don’t believe that the Kingdom of Heaven is confined to the Kingdom of the Millennium. The kingdom of Heaven is the rule of Heaven, or the rule of Heaven’s God, over His creation. But still doesn’t that exclude John from the Kingdom, whatever it might be?
The real difficulty in this verse is the definition of the word “least” – and it really is difficult, I admit it. “Least” is the Greek word, “mikros” and it is used thirty times in the Bible. In order of frequency, It is translated “little,” “least,” “small” and “less.” Strong’s Concordance says that it means “little” or “small” in any of six different ways – “size: hence of stature, of length. of space; of time: short, brief, a little while, how little! of quantity: i.e. number, amount; of rank or influence.” And “small or little of age: by birth, younger.” It can refer to time, or age, or date of appearance. In Mark 15:40 we read of “James the less” (“mikrou”) and it simply means “James, the younger.“ Sixteen times in the New Testament this word “mikros” is used in reference to time. If we allow “least” to mean “later” in Matthew 11:11 everything fits beautifully. For Christ did come on the scene later than his cousin John. He was born six months later than His forerunner, and his ministry began even later. If that is the meaning, why didn’t Christ make that clear? I don’t know. But this is my understanding of the word, and it removes any problems of interpretation that I might have.
We can safely rule out three classes of people which Jesus did not mean by the word “least.” All pathetic backsliders – though regenerated – are assuredly not greater than John the Baptist. To say that they are “positionally greater” than John is distorted dispensationalism. This “least” person is not some future subject in the millennium – someone about which we know very little. The kingdom to which Jesus refers here is not the Millennial Kingdom. John was in this kingdom of Heaven (Luke 16:16) and he preached this kingdom and its King. He was always obedient to his King, and he was a loyal subject of this kingdom. We’re not talking about the Millennial kingdom – a future kingdom. Nor could this “least” person be one of John’s equals and contemporaries. Christ gave no praise to anyone else like He did to John. Not even His own mother was praised like this. Nor could the great apostle Peter, important as he was, compare with John. And unlike Paul, the Baptist never was a persecutor, or a blasphemer.
Again, what does this word “least” mean? John referred to Christ as “he that cometh after me” – Matthews 3:11. He said, “one mightier than I cometh (or is coming)” – Luke 3:16. “He that cometh after me” – John 1:15. “He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me” – John 1:27. That is a statement essentially the same as the Lord Jesus’ statement right here. And then there is “after me cometh a man which is preferred before me” – John 1:30. All the facts fit nicely into Matthew 11:11 when we allow “least” to mean “later.” What this boils down to is that only Christ is greater than John. Is there any professing Christian who will say that Christ is not the greatest person to have ever lived? “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a great than John the Baptist” nevertheless the Lord Jesus Christ is infinitely greater than he.
Another question –
Did Jesus call John, the First Baptist?
As I pointed out last week, twenty-first century Baptists do not claim identity with John, but what a shame. Jesus strongly implied that John was the first baptizer in Matthew 21:24-27. “The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?” If John had copied previous baptisms, as some scholars say, then the foes of Christ could easily have escaped their dilemma with the words – “of men” – “John’s baptism came from other men.” But “they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.” They all knew that John’s baptism was a new thing, never before seen. But if they admitted that it came from heaven, Christ would say, “Why then did ye not believe him?” Jesus then told those people that His own authority was from the same source as John’s baptism – from heaven.
So John was the first baptizer; he was the first Baptist. John 1:33 – “He (God) sent me to baptize.” Since John was the first baptizer, and since his name was “Baptist,” he must have been first Baptist. No one was called “Baptist” before John. That word, or name, is found fifteen times New Testament, but never in the Old Testament. First, it is in Matthew 3:1 where the Holy Spirit used it in introducing us to John. And then Christ used the name “Baptist” five times: Friends of the Baptist used it four times: And his enemies used the name five times in talking about John.
Others washed, but no one baptized like John. The Jewish sect called the Essenes had immersions of a sort. The Pharisees had practiced ceremonial bathings, washings and dippings in their religious rites. But these differed radically from the baptism of John. They did not point to Christ; They were not symbolic of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. They did not signify the recipient’s death to the world of sin and new life in Christ. They did not signify conversion, and they were not once-for-all vows of loyalty to Christ.
John’s baptism may not have conveyed as much meaning to his converts as later New Testament baptisms did when the work of Christ was better known and explained. Similarly, a convert at ten years of age will probably understand less of baptism than a convert of twenty or thirty years of age. Yet the one baptism is as valid as the other, if done properly in the authority of the Lord’s church. In each case the convert needs to continue learning more of the Gospel all his life.
That John the Baptist was the first Christian preacher is seen in that he prepared the way for Christ. He made straight His paths; he pointed to Christ; he baptized Christ: He continued to magnify Christ. He used the same text as Christ and other New Testament preachers did; And He taught and baptized the first Christians. If John was not in the New Testament dispensation, as some say, then Jesus wasn’t either.
I know that I answered this question and the next last week, but I reiterate –
Did John begin the New Testament dispensation?
Yes. Mark’s Gospel begins with the words “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Then the next ten verses speak of the ministry of John the Baptist, including his baptism of Lord Jesus. This places John at the very beginning, and within the New Testament era. But many people say that Christianity couldn’t have begun until the cross, the resurrection, or at Pentecost. Oh?
When did the independence of the United States begin? Was it at the signing of the Declaration, July 4, 1776? Or was it at the surrender of Cornwallis, October 19, 1781? Or was it at the signing of the peace treaty with England on September 3, 1783? I supposed that different experts would offer different answers. Does it matter when the New Testament era began? Yes it does.
Did you know that the Roman Catholic Council of Trent addressed the ministry and baptism of John? “If any one affirms that the baptism of John had the same force as the baptism of Christ, let him be anathema.” But John the Baptist takes an early place in Matthew, right after the story of Christ’s nativity. After Luke’s brief prologue of four verses, the story of John begins. And the fourth Gospel introduces the Baptist in its sixth verse. This prominence and primacy is not accidental. If the ministry of John is not Christian property, then neither is the nativity of Christ.
The Baptist preached the same gospel as did later New Testament preachers. His converts were just as surely saved as later believers. Those few men in Acts 19:1-7 were not John’s “converts.” A careful study of John’s preaching proves the genuineness of John’s gospel. The word for John’s “preaching” in Luke 3:18, is “evangelizeo,” meaning “evangelism,” – the word used ten times for preaching the gospel in Acts and eleven times in the Epistles. When Peter first preached to the Gentiles, he indicated that the gospel began “after” (Greek, “meta,” – usually translated as “with”) the baptism which John preached. – Acts 10:37. The word “after” here refers not to time, but to manner or content.
Paul’s first recorded sermon included a mention of John the Baptist. “When John had first preached before his (Christ’s) coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel” – Acts 13:24. Another pivotal passage is Luke 16:16, – “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached and every man presseth into it.” John did not preach the Old Testament law and its ordinances. He did preach the kingdom of God and Christ its King. Therefore, the new dispensation had to begin with the preaching of John, the first New Testament preacher of the gospel of Christ. This is important; it clarifies John’s position and Christ’s endorsement of him.
John’s ministry overlapped Christ’s and His apostles, and we can be very sure they were similar. That doesn’t mean that John’s message was all that there was to be revealed. First Christ, and then his apostles gave more, and more, and more truth. But that doesn’t mean that John was not a part of the New Testament.
Did John the Baptist initiate any New Testament teaching?
Since John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit, his teaching must have been divinely inspired. And this is how the Lord validated John’s ministry. The same Holy Spirit Who filled Christ “without measure” also filled John – even from his mother’s womb. And because John was the first New Testament preacher, he should therefore be given some credit as the one who initiated many New Testament items of doctrine. Clearly, he took some Old Testament things, like repentance and the coming of the Messiah and brought them into a New Testament context.
And among the value in studying John afresh is to catch his beautiful humility. He always magnified Christ, never himself. If all believers now witnessed for Christ, pointed people to Christ, denied themselves in behalf of Christ, and stood boldly with Christ as John did, then more people would be added to Christ’s churches. May John the Baptist stimulate, encourage, incite and goad us on to effective witnessing for the Lord Jesus!