“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.” Matthew 11:11 ESV1
Read Matthew 11:11-19 & Luke 7:28-35, 16:15-17
Why did Jesus declare, “’Truly, I say to you, … there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he’” (Matthew 11:11)? Similarly, what did Jesus mean when He said, “’Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father’” (John 14:12)? And why did Jesus comfort His disciples by saying, “’I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you’” (John 16:7)? It is because something magnificent happened when Jesus completed His mission on Earth and went back to His Father in Heaven. It is something even better than hanging out with Jesus on Earth. In fact, it is something that is grander than humans could have imagined.
To explain what was so amazing, I will refer to the teachings of A. J. Gordon from his book, The Ministry of the Spirit:
“How is it true that such a great advantage was to accrue to the church by the departure of the Saviour and the consequent advent of the Spirit to take His place? … If the Spirit is simply the measure of the Son, His sole work being to communicate the work of the Son, what gain could there be in the departure of the One in order to the coming of the Other? Would it not simply be the exchange of Christ for Christ? … His visible presence for His invisible? …
It was not the earthly Christ whom the Holy Ghost was to communicate to the church, but the heavenly Christ–the Christ re-invested with His eternal power, re-clothed with the glory which He had with the Father before the world was, and re-endowed with the infinite treasure of grace which He had purchased by His death on the cross. It is as though—to use a very inadequate illustration—a beloved father were to say to his family: ‘My children, I have provided well for your needs; but your condition is one of poverty compared with what it may become. By the death of a kinsman in my native country I have become heir to an immense estate. If you will only submit cheerfully to my leaving you and crossing the sea, and entering into my inheritance, I will send you back a thousand times more than you could have by my remaining with you.’ … By [Jesus’] death the inheritance [became] available, and when He had ascended into heaven He sent down the Holy Spirit to distribute the estate among those who were joint heirs with Him … On the cross ‘the riches of His grace’ were secured to us in the forgiveness of sins; on the throne ‘the riches of His glory’ was secured in our being strengthened with all might by His Spirit in the inner man; in the indwelling of Christ in our hearts by faith, and in our infilling with all the fullness of God. The divine wealth only becomes completely available on the death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord; so that the Holy Spirit, the divine Conveyancer, had not the full inheritance to convey till Jesus was glorified …
It is enough that we follow the plain teaching of the Scripture, that though ‘being in the form of God, He counted it not a thing to be grasp on an equality with God; but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant’ (Philippians 2:6-7 R.V.). What now does His going to the Father signify by a filling with that of which He has been emptied, or a resumption of His co-equality with God? The greater blessing which He could confer upon His church by His departure seems to lie in the fact of the greater power and glory into which He would enter by His enthronement at God’s right hand … Christ at God’s right hand will have more to give than while on earth; therefore the church will have more to receive through the [Holy Spirit] than through the visible Christ … The earthly Christ is equal only to Himself thus conditioned; and if the Holy Spirit shall communicate His power to His disciples, they will do the same works that He does. But the heavenly Christ is co-equal with the Father, therefore when He shall ascend to the Father, and the Spirit shall take of His and communicate to His church, it will do greater works than these. The stream of life, in other words, will have greater power because of the higher source from which it proceeds … When Jesus hath ascended ‘on high’ then can the Holy Ghost communicate ‘the power from on high.’”2
Those who are least in the Kingdom of Heaven are greater than John the Baptist, not because we believers who have come after John are somehow better than he; we just have access through the Holy Spirit’s connection with the Ascended Christ in all His glory. Before Jesus’ finished work on the Cross, His resurrection and ascension, only a few people were ever filled with the Holy Spirit, and they had limited power. Now that Jesus has gone back to His Father and has sent the Holy Spirit, all Believers can be filled with the Spirit and have access to the higher power which He supplies that is now available. That is why it was to the advantage of all of His followers—those from the time that He stood upon this Earth until He comes back again—that Jesus went back to Heaven.
But the matter of the least in the Kingdom of Heaven being greater than John the Baptist isn’t the only confusing comment made by Jesus recorded in this passage which needs further explanation. Jesus went on to say, “’From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force’” (Matthew 11:12).
John’s message was, “’Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 3:2). Jesus had the same message: “’Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 4:17). A message of repentance doesn’t sit well with those who are prideful or those who enjoy sinning. The prideful see no need for repentance. And those who love their sin will not repent.
By focusing on the Greek word Jesus used here, John McArthur gives us further insight into what Jesus meant when He connected the Kingdom of Heaven with violence. Mr. McArthur explains,
“The form of biazo (from which suffers violence comes) can be read as either a Greek passive or middle voice. As passive, it would carry the idea of being oppressed or treated violently, which would indicate that violence is brought to the kingdom of heaven by those outside of it. The Pharisees and scribes … attacked John verbally, and Herod attacked him physically. The kingdom was being violently denied and rejected …
In the middle voice, the verb carries the active idea of applying force or of entering forcibly—in which case the translation would be, ‘the kingdom of heaven is vigorously pressing itself forward, and people are forcefully entering it.’ With its focus on John the Baptist, the kingdom moved relentlessly through the godless, sin-darkened human system that opposed it…
Jesus had already taught that the few who enter the kingdom do so by first finding and then entering the narrow gate and walking the narrow way (Matthew 7:13-14). He also said that citizenship in His kingdom requires denying self, taking up one’s cross, and following Him (Matthew 6:24).”3
When one looks at the whole of Scripture, either or both of these interpretations could be what Jesus intended. There is violence against the Kingdom, and it takes vigorous pressing (or earnestness) to enter and continue in the Kingdom. The Greek word Jesus used here, biazo, is only found here in Matthew 11:12 and Luke 16:16. I believe Jesus used such a strong word to awaken His audience to the importance of the time in history in which they stood. Once John entered the scene, the Kingdom of Heaven began moving along at an incredible pace. Only those with humble hearts, open eyes, and seriousness in their souls would recognize its coming, grab hold of the Kingdom, and keep up with its pace.
Jesus reiterated that point when He continued with, “’For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear’” (Matthew 11:13-15). All to which the Sacred Writings pointed was being fulfilled before their very eyes. John was the prophet of whom Malachi wrote when he recorded God’s words, “’Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction’” (Malachi 5:5-6). John the Baptist was the one who went before the Messiah and made ready for the Lord a people prepared (see Luke 1:17 and John 1:6-8, 3:28). Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, yet so many did not recognize Him (see John 1:10-11).
Jesus said many in His audience missed the work of God in the revelation of the Kingdom of God because they were too immature to recognize it. Jesus chastised them with, “’To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.” But they weren’t just immature; they were picky, prideful, and unable to be satisfied. Jesus continued, “’John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon.” The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look at Him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners”’” (Matthew 11:18-19a)!
Thankfully, not everyone who heard Jesus’ confusing words that day were spiritually juvenile, extremely fussy, or had an excessive opinion of themselves. Some of them had ears to hear (see Matthew 11:15). Jesus concluded this passage with, “’Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds’” (Matthew 11:19b). Though many of those listening that day thought they were discerning and could judge properly, those who were actually wise proved it by repenting and entering the Kingdom of God.
On the timeline of human history, the Cross is the center of attention. In this passage, Jesus pointed to the fact that all of history up until that time focused on His coming (see Matthew 11:13-14). Here, He also revealed something amazing would happen upon His leaving (see Matthew 11:11). We find ourselves on the opposite side of the Cross than those listening to Jesus that day.
So, we have a greater power available to us, now that Jesus is reinstated in all His glory in Heaven, than those who were on the other side of the Cross. Post-cross, there have been numerous followers of Jesus stretching over the centuries. And even now there are Believers all across the globe. Since this is undeniably true, why have we not heard of many significant accomplishments in the past done in the name of Jesus? And why are we now seeing so few examples of Christians accessing the Helper Jesus sent us and doing greater works than those He did while He was on Earth?
I believe the reason for this lacking is that many of us who claim to be part of the Body of Christ are actually parts of the Body of Christ; we are independent, unconnected, and not functioning with other Believers in unity. Unconnected appendages can’t work; they dry up and die. Sadly, many of us who call ourselves Christians are no less immature, picky, prideful, unrepentant, sin-loving, and unsatisfiable than those to whom Jesus initially spoke. We are actually working against the prayer of Jesus for our unity for which He pleaded on the night before He sacrificed Himself for our deliverance (see John 17:11, 20-23).
This requires clarification. Uniformity is not unity. And tolerance is not necessarily unifying. We should not all be the same. And we cannot throw out truth to make everyone happy. Condemning those across the street or on the other side of the world, while patting ourselves on the back, won’t help. Focusing on our past mistakes and our inadequacies will get us nowhere. Worrying about the enormity of the problem will make no difference at all. The only thing that matters is making sure each of us individually is right with God.
A.W. Tozer observed and wrote in his book, The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine,
“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So, one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”4
Let’s each take the time to make sure we are tuned to God. When we are, unity among us will automatically occur. It is then that we will find ourselves in a position greater than ourselves with the ability, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to do greater things!
As you pray for your own unity with God and for the unity of your Brothers and Sisters, ponder the words of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesian Christians. Make them part of your prayer.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, … even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight … making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth …
In Him, we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that [those] … who were the first to hope in Christ … might be to the praise of His glory … In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were … sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, … who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, … to the praise of His glory …
[May] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, … give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:3-14, 17-23).
1 Scripture quotations marked with ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All Scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted. To aid in understanding, I have capitalized references to God.
2 A. J. Gordon, The Ministry of the Spirit, (Boston, AJG, 1894).
3 John McArthur, The McArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 8-15, (Chicago, Moody Press, 1987), 256.
4 A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine, sited on http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/203894