Smoodock's Blog

At the time of this posting I am involved in a discussion with a young man named Arthur who adheres to the teaching that John the Baptist failed in his ministry to prepare a people for Jesus, the Messiah. This post is part two of my reply begun HERE. The claim is that because John failed, the Jews were not prepared for the coming of the Messiah. Therefore, Jesus was rejected and had to endure the cross. This is his stand, as I understand it. His remarks to me will be found in bold italic, so they won’t be confused with my replies. Concerning my original reply that Jesus defended John’s ministry in Luke 7:24-28 [see HERE], Arthur asked:

Are you aware, that you cut the sentence of Jesus, just as the speaker in the video said?

Jesus as you know, went on to say ‘least in the kingdom….’ Jesus also stated that if he called someone ‘least in the kingdom..’ it meant….

Matthew 5:19
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus said this of John. You said I had not proven my case with scripture, perhaps not proven, but as my witness are the words of Jesus….

I am well aware that I didn’t quote the entire passage of Scripture used by the speaker in the video.[1] What I did was include Jesus’ whole argument about John’s ministry, something the speaker on the video seems to avoid. I will now respond to it completely, since you have objected to my manner of reply.

The Scripture in question is Luke 7:28. This is the Scripture the speaker on the video used and, in my opinion, has taken out of context. Notice the context of Jesus’ statement:

And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. (Luke 7:24-28 KJV)

Jesus questioned his audience (paraphrasing), “What did you go into the wilderness to see when you went out to find John (v.24)? Did you seek someone whose message depended upon the prevailing winds of opinion?” Why would anyone do that? If John’s message was no different than what people heard in the synagogues or the Temple, why would they leave the cities to listen to John? Therefore, John must have had a unique message, according to Jesus (v.24).

John’s apparel (v.25)—how he appeared when he spoke to others—was not a point of interest (cp. Acts 12:21-22). Rather the people were aware John was a prophet (Luke 7:26) and Jesus adds: “Yes… and much more than a prophet!” Why more than a prophet? It was John’s unique task of preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah (v.27). Jesus’ personal conclusion of John is that among all the prophets there were none greater than John (v.28)! What a statement! Was David greater than John? Was Elijah, Isaiah or Jeremiah greater? No! No one was greater than John in Jesus’ opinion. Were these prophets successful? Were they obedient to the call of the Lord? No one claims they were failures, and according to Jesus, none of these obedient and successful prophets did a better job in serving the Lord than John.

This, however, is not the conclusion drawn by the speaker in the video, mentioned earlier. He does not agree with Jesus’ evaluation of John. He tried to make his point by saying Jesus claimed “he who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than (John)” But really, consider what Jesus says in Luke 7:28. He draws a distinction between John and anyone in the Kingdom of God. In other words John was not in the Kingdom of God! This is not to say John won’t be in the Kingdom; in the resurrection all will be in the Kingdom of God. Nevertheless, Jesus claimed later in Luke 16:16 that the Law and the Prophets were until John—i.e. John is included with that earlier age—but since John, the Kingdom of God is preached.

So, is Jesus really saying in Luke 7:28 that John who is among the greatest of all the prophets; who was sent to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah; whose birth was announced beforehand; and whose name was given him by God was no better (even less in importance) than those in Matthew 5:19 who broke the lesser commandments of God and taught others to do likewise? Is this what Jesus is saying about John, or are these verses united out of context? The context of Matthew 5:19 is the following verse (v.20). Jesus called his disciples to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees who taught others to break the commandments of God in order to obey the traditions of men.

What does Jesus mean in Luke 7:28 when he claims those who are “least in the Kingdom of God are greater that (John)?” As I mentioned above, the Law and the Prophets were until the time of John (Luke 16:16). In other words, Jesus was speaking of a new creation, one we must be “born again” to enter. The old creation has Adam as its source of life, while the new creation has Jesus (the second and last Adam) as its life’s source (1Corinthians 15:45-49; cp. 2Corinthians 5:17). In Luke 7:28 Jesus was distinguishing the new creation as something different and more important than the old creation, of which John and all before him were a part. In the resurrection all will most certainly be a part of the new creation, but at the time of Jesus’ public ministry, this was not so. All those of the new creation found in Christ and begun at Pentecost are greater than any whose source of life comes from Adam, because only the new creation, with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, partaking of divine nature (2Peter 1:4) are enabled to live forever. In Adam we have only a temporary existence, but in Jesus we have eternal life. This is what Jesus was pointing to in Luke 7:28.