To refresh your memory, John has sent two of his disciples with the question for Christ: “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” – “Are you the Messiah.” Without directly answering the question, Christ replied that He was the Messiah – and He still is. When his ambassadors departed, Jesus then began His extraordinary praise of John the Baptist.
John was a PROPHET of God, and MUCH MORE than that.
The Greek word translated “more” in verse 9 is also translated “greater,” “more abundant,” “overmuch,” and “much more.” In fact, in Luke’s account of this praise of John the same word is translated “much more.” “But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.” In verse 13 Jesus appears to explain Himself – “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” What does the simple word “until” mean? Both in English and Greek, it means “up to,” “up to the time of,” or “up to that point.” “For all the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John.” As I’ve been saying for two weeks now, John was a New Testament servant of God, not Old Testament. That doesn’t mean that he wasn’t a prophet – he was. But he was much more than a Old Testament prophet.
How was John like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Malachi? At the beginning of his ministry he was saying, like any of them, “The Messiah is coming.” As I’ve pointed out several times from the Old Testament scriptures, he was “preparing the way of Christ.” Like Jeremiah and many of the so-called “minor prophets” he was preaching repentance in preparation for the blessings of God.
But how was he much more than any of those prophets? We don’t have to speculate, because the Lord Jesus clearly tells us. “For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.” And then what happened? One day the Lord Jesus came to John asking for baptism, and the God-ordained Baptist obliged. Then the sky overhead somehow opened, and the Spirit of God descended like as a dove resting upon the Son of God. And John heard the voice of God the Father “from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” John was much more than an Old Testament prophet that day – he was the one who baptized my Lord Jesus Christ. And then later, while with some of his choicest disciples, he saw Jesus walking along and said, “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” Several prophets from yesteryear, like Isaiah, had said “the Lamb of God is coming.” But John stepped beyond them in privilege and authority to say, “There He is.” He became a witness – a martyr – of Christ, in a way unlike any other man before or since. John was in a unique position, laying between, and across, the testaments.
A second loose end to tie up is in the words “LEAST” and “GREATER” in verse 11.
“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.” I explained my interpretation of the word “least” last week. I know that my arguments are not without flaws, but they are logical, and they fit with the rest of my understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven and with the ministry of John the Baptist. From among all humanity –of them that are born of women – there has not ever been a greater than John. I believe that the time frame can be extended to say, there may never will be anyone born of a women greater than John. But what about Jesus, wasn’t He born of a woman? Isn’t that an important part of Baptist theology? Yes, it most certainly is, but as far as the Kingdom of Heaven is concerned, Jesus’ human birth doesn’t come into play. He has always been the King of that Kingdom, even prior to his incarnation and birth through Mary. I still maintain that “least” refers to the timing of His arrival in the chronology which we call “time.” Christ Jesus is “the least” or “younger” between John and Jesus. But He is infinitely greater than the greatest man who ever lived.
And what does the word “greater” mean? This is kind of fun, but I’m not going to stress it too severely. This Greek word is translated “greater” 34 times, “greatest” 9 times, “more” once and “elder” once. Strong says that it means “greater,” “larger,” “stronger” and “elder.” Whichever one you might want to use, they are appropriate – even the definition “elder.” Does it bother me that said that Jesus was the “least in time” – the younger of the two men – but this word suggests that Jesus is the elder? No, it doesn’t, because I can keep it in the context of Messianic promise of Micah 5:2 – “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” In one sense Christ is the eternal Son and yet in another sense His incarnation occurred after the birth of John. And as Malachi prophesied – “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.” Malachi was prophesying both the coming of Christ and the earlier coming of John the Baptist. That is what Jesus Himself said of their relationship.
Well then what about the words “VIOLENCE” and “FORCE” in verse 12?
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” There is a lot of expositorial debate about this verse. Baptist Herschel Hobbs has a very helpful commentary on the Book of Matthew. He says that the “suffering of violence” could be taken as attacking or being attacked. Logically and theologically, either one could make sense. Satan is doing his best to destroy or overthrow the Kingdom of Heaven. On the other hand, with the arrival of John and even more so the arrival of Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven has been on the attack. He also says that some men were trying to force the kingdom into their own definitions and ideas. Some wanted the Millennium and they wanted it right now. Others, like many Pharisees, wanted a rule of God which allowed them to keep their pet sins. A.T. Robertson suggests that the Kingdom of Heaven was advancing like a mighty unstoppable wind. John Gill thought that the Lord was saying that the Kingdom of God was being driven by the power of the Holy Spirit into the hearts and minds of people – like the disciples. The miracles and the authoritative preaching of Christ was toppling idolatrous institutions and the high places which many people had built up in their hearts. He said, look at the way that the publicans, harlots and other sinners were forcing their way into the blessings of the Kingdom of God. All of these are interesting and possible explanations of the verse.
Another explanation was made by another Baptist – John Broadus in his great commentary on Matthew. He says, “The image employed appears to be not precisely that of storming a city but that of invading and seizing a kingdom. Before the time of John many were expecting the establishment of the Messianic kingdom, but in general were quietly waiting, without any earnest efforts to prepare for it, and share its blessings. John’s ministry awakened an eager expectation of its immediate appearance, and men were aroused to press into it, like invaders pressing into a country and taking possession. Our Lord described this state of things by the same striking image on a later occasion. (Luke 16:16) It is appropriate and eminently desirable that both individuals and communities should become greatly aroused on the subject of religion, and be deeply in earnest about it, so as to resemble, in their pursuit of salvation, the resolution and irresistible force with which an invading army’ presses into a country.”
It appears to me that any of these explanations of this “violence” and “force” might make sense, but I lean towards that of Broadus.
“ELIAS” and “JOHN” give us another pair of things to consider.
In the Gospel of John chapter 1 we have the Apostle’s introduction of the Baptist. In verse 19 we read, “And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias (Elijah)? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias (Isaiah).” When asked the question, “Are you Elijah,” John denied that he was not. They were asking if he was the resurrected Elijah, and John answered honestly.
However, in Matthew 11:14 Jesus said, “And if ye will receive it, this is Elias (Elijah) which was for to come.” I hope that you don’t have any problem in seeing the difference in what was said. I quoted Malachi 3:1 already – “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.” One chapter later we Malachi adds, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” There are many who believe that Enoch and Elijah will be the two witnesses during the Tribulation, serving the Lord just prior to the second advent of Christ – but their identification is difficult to conclusively prove. What is possible to prove is that John came in the spirit and power of Elijah prior to the first advent of Christ. John may have justly denied that he was Elijah, but Christ said that his ministry was like that of the Elijah who was prophesied to come before the Saviour.
Finally, what does the last statement about “WISDOM” and “JUSTIFICATION” mean?
The wisdom is that of God. Sinful man has always had a problem with the wisdom of God – in fact they are incompatible. Sinners find Jehovah’s wisdom, decrees and providence incomprehensible. Now here come the two greatest men to have ever lived – the son of Zacharias and the Son of God. And in many aspects they lived their earthly lives in very different ways. John was out in the wilderness, while Jesus was usually in the cities. John was dressed differently than Christ dressed. John probably never ate a fancy meal in a rich man’s house, but Christ Jesus did on several occasions. Some people said that John was demon-possessed for the way that he behaved, and later they said the same thing of Christ because of His miracles. They could never have said that John was a winebibber and a glutton, but did say that of Christ. They were two very different kinds of people. But they were both anointed by God for their different responsibilities.
As prophesied, John turned many to righteousness, including Jesus’ first disciples. In that way the unique ministry of John was authenticated or “justified.” And of course the ministry of the Lord Jesus was even more “successful” and “justified.” than that of John.
“Wisdom is justified of her children.” The proof of the pudding is in the tasting. The wisdom of God is proven by the eternal results and benefits which are seen in the salvation of the lost.
I can’t remember if I concluded one of my earlier messages this way or not, but if I have forgive me. Here we have the Lord’s great praise of John. And of course the New Testament is filled with the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. But getting back to John… It doesn’t matter what he believed, if you don’t believe. It doesn’t matter what he did to serve the Lord, if you don’t serve the Lord. And the wisdom of God doesn’t mean anything, if you will not submit yourself to the Lord and His wisdom. Wisdom is justified of, or in, her children. More important than understanding any of these questions this evening is this – Are you one of God’s children?