Luke 7:28, commentary and pictures

Among those born of women no greater prophet has arisen than John the Baptist, promised beforehand, filled with the Holy Spirit from birth, and sent as reformer and messenger to prepare the way for Christ. His greatness lay not in wealth, rank, birth or intellect but in moral worth, in self-denying service, purity and love that sought no honor for himself and pointed all to Jesus. He stands as the connecting link between the law and the prophets and the Christian dispensation, a lesser light pointing to the greater light, coming in the spirit and power of Elijah to herald the Messiah's first coming. Yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he in privilege, light, honor and joy, not in prophetic mission, work or worth. Even the least disciple who followed Jesus was more highly privileged, hearing Christ teach and witnessing His works in person, while John, shut in prison and then beheaded, did not live to see that ministry and did not fully understand the kingdom Christ came to establish.

John's Greatness and Mission

Among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist, and he was more than a prophet. He was promised beforehand, filled with the Holy Spirit from birth, and ordained as a reformer and messenger from God to prepare people to receive Christ and to prepare the way before Him. Sufficient evidence was given to the hearers to know him as that messenger.

His greatness was not wealth, rank, noble birth, or intellectual ability, but moral worth. He served God with love and purity, and in self-denial he sought no honor for himself. Instead he pointed people to Jesus and rejoiced in Christ's ministry.

That greatness was seen in powerful preaching in the wilderness, bearing his message unflinchingly and making no compromise with sin. He rebuked the sins of priests and rulers, pointed out their sinful disregard of the Father's authority in refusing the work appointed them, and called them to the works of the kingdom of heaven. He challenged confidence in tradition, recalled people to their sins, called them to repentance, and turned many from unrighteousness.

This fitness for his work was shaped by Spirit-led education in the wilderness, apart from the corrupting influences of the city and apart from the teachings of scribes, rabbis, and the established schools. There nature revealed God's character, God Himself was his teacher, and away from flattering temptations of crowded cities he learned to look from nature to its Creator. In this separation he could receive God's instruction and give the people pure truth as Christ's forerunner, and his example shows that formal schooling is not necessary for service to God, since one wholly converted and taught by God can be equipped for the Master's work.

His mission was to herald the Messiah, prepare the way, and serve as the connecting link between the two dispensations. He was a lesser light pointing to the greater light of Christ, standing between the law and the prophets and the Christian dispensation and showing their relation to it. He came in the spirit and power of Elijah to announce Jesus' first coming.

Least Greater in Privilege

To be least in the kingdom of God and yet greater than John is to be greater in privilege, light, honor, pleasure and joy in life, not to have a greater prophetic mission or work, nor greater importance, guilt or worth than his. Even the least and humblest disciple who followed Jesus was more highly privileged because that disciple personally witnessed His miracles and heard His teaching, His comforting words and His words of reproof given according to people's needs. That clearer light about Christ and His mission came as they accompanied Him and heard Him teach in the temple, in the streets, among the crowds, by the sea, and at a host's table, as He taught, healed, comforted and reproved.

John heralded the Messiah and saw and presented Jesus, yet being imprisoned and then beheaded he did not live to see Christ's ministry unfold. He did not witness His works in person and did not hear Jesus Himself teach. He did not fully understand the immortal life offered through the Saviour, the character of Christ's kingdom, and truths about Christ and His mission that Christ's teachings later illuminated, for the sacrifices had only dimly represented Christ and His mission.

He was a faithful herald who expected Christ's kingdom to bring earthly rule, a temporal kingdom in Jerusalem, and the overthrow of oppressors. Because Jesus did not claim kingly authority or release John from prison, John became perplexed and impatient about the nature of that kingdom and questioned whether Jesus was the coming one.

Setting, Response, and Pattern

The saying belongs to the account of John as first in heralding Christ's kingdom and first also in suffering, taken from the free air of the wilderness and the vast throngs that hung upon his words and shut in by the walls of a dungeon cell. He lay as a prisoner in the fortress of Herod Antipas in the territory east of Jordan where much of his ministry had been spent. Herod himself had listened to John's preaching and heard him gladly as a just and holy man, yet cast him into prison at the instigation of Herodias because John had faithfully denounced Herod's iniquitous alliance with Herodias his brother's wife. John was executed as a criminal for fearlessly reproving crime, not for guilt, and his spotless, blameless life of practical piety, virtue, and justice condemned sinful lives. Herod had punished him for reproving his wrongdoing.

John's preaching brought sinners, including publicans and harlots, to repentance so that they accepted the invitation and entered the kingdom, while the Pharisees and lawyers rejected God's counsel and refused to repent. John had given Herod knowledge that Herod then rejected, and Jesus gave Herod no further light. The verse directs people away from treating John as the Messiah and toward the coming One. Sufficient evidence was given to the hearers to know John as God's messenger.

John also represents those who, in Elijah's spirit and power, announce the day of wrath and Jesus' second coming. His example shows that formal schooling is not necessary for service to God, since a person wholly converted and taught by God can be equipped for the Master's work. He had received his education outside the established schools and religious order. He knew he would die when Jesus established Himself as a teacher, and he did not live to see and enjoy Christ's ministry but was cruelly beheaded.