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The Book of Luke, Jesus’ support of John the Baptist, Part I – Lesson 90
Luke 7:24-28, 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? 25But 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. 26But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. 27This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 28For 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.
The questions of Jesus Christ to the people are a preamble to a statement about John the Baptist that clearly shows what Jesus thinks of John.
The appearance of John was the fulfillment of the predictions made by Malachi centuries before this time.
The fact of John’s greatness does not lie in him being greater in holiness and spiritual understanding than Moses or Elijah or Elisha or any of the other prophets for Jesus ties his greatness to the fact that John’s entrance as forerunner to Christ was prophesied.
His greatness was in the privilege he was given by God in being the Lord’s forerunner.
We are allowed to see in John the fulfillment of thousands of years of prophecy.
Other prophets had spoken of the Messiah but John was the only prophet who had actually seen him, who had touched him, who had learned of him and had even baptized him in the Jordan.
Now Jesus speaks of John as of one whose great work is completed for it will not be many days before John’s life will be ended.
Jesus Christ wants John to be remembered for what he was entrusted to do by God and his faithful doing of it.
But he also wants the least in the kingdom of God to realize what he also has by being privileged to partake in even greater things of the kingdom of God.
The last verse that we read is statement of comparison.
Luke 7:28, 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.
Firstly Jesus compares John the Baptist to the prophets of the Old Testament using the term “born of women” and secondly he compares John the Baptist to the one that is the least in the kingdom of God.
The word prophet comes from a Hebrew word which means to bubble forth as from a fountain, hence a prophet is a utterer of words.
A true biblical prophet was a spokesman for God; for he spoke in God’s name and by his authority.
He was the mouth by which God spoke to men and therefore what the true prophet says is not of man but of God.
The whole Word of God may in a general sense be thought of as prophetic.
Because the word of God was written by men who received the revelation from God whether or not that which was given was the telling of future events.
The foretelling of future events was not a necessity of the prophet but only an incidental part of a prophet’s office.
The mission of the prophets whom God raised up was “to correct moral and religious abuses.
It was to proclaim the great moral and spiritual truths which reveal God’s character and his ways.
Any one being a spokesman for God to man may in a general sense be called a prophet.
Enoch, Abraham, and the patriarchs, as bearers of God’s message and also Moses are included among the prophets.
The seventy elders of Israel “when the spirit rested upon them, prophesied;”
Asaph aw-sawf' and Jeduthun yed-oo-thoon “prophesied with a harp” (1 Chr. 25:3).
Miriam and Deborah were prophetesses (Ex. 15:20; Judg. 4:4).
But while the prophetic gift was in fact from the beginning, the order of prophets began with Samuel.
Schools of the prophets in Ramah, Bethel, Gilgal, Gibeah and Jericho, were begun for the training of prophets.
This order of prophets continued to the close of the Old Testament.
The “sons” or “disciples” of the prophets were young men who lived together at these different “schools”.
These young men were taught not only the rudiments of secular knowledge, but they were brought up to exercise the office of prophet.
They were brought up, “to preach godliness and the worship from the heart of Jehovah-God.
They were there to be alongside and act together with the priests and the kings in guiding the state along the straight and narrow way.
Of the Old Testament prophets there are sixteen, whose prophecies form part of the Old Testament.
These are divided into four groups:
(1.) The prophets of the northern kingdom (Israel), viz., Hosea, Amos, Joel, Jonah.
(2.) The prophets of Judah, viz., Isaiah, Jeremiah, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah.
(3.) The prophets of Captivity, viz., Ezekiel and Daniel.
(4.) The prophets of the Restoration, viz., Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
So this is the background which relates to this statement concerning John the Baptist as a Prophet.
Of all the Prophets of the Old Testament born of women Jesus Christ makes it very plain that there is no prophet greater than John the Baptist.
And He also makes it plain that the least of those in the kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist.
Now those of us who are in the kingdom of God must be careful in patting ourselves on the back as being greater than John the Baptist.
This is not the time to bask in this statement but it is time to study for Jesus Christ does not say things like this lightly.
We must carefully study this statement to see what Jesus was talking about for this passage does not reveal itself plainly on first reading.
In looking at Jesus’ comparison of the prophets to John and His comparison of John to the least in the kingdom of God we must realize that the Prophets of Old were given an increasing amount of light as the ages proceeded.
The ancient prophets were given some light, the next prophets were given additional light, and so on until John the Baptist came on the scene.
John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb of his mother.
This was unique among the prophets.
John was given much light and that light was concerning the Messiah of God, Jesus the Christ, the Great Prophet foretold in the book of Deuteronomy.
That light resulted in John preparing the way for the Messiah and witnessing the Father’s blessing upon Jesus Christ as God the Father said at the shores of Galilee,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matt 3:17
But John was not permitted to live to see the aftermath of Christ’s coming.
The prophets of old were not here to bear witness to the Messiah as was John but John was not here to witness the fullness of the Gospel of the grace of God which was not known until after Christ had been crucified, and had risen from the dead.
John was gone when the Holy Spirit was poured out and the good news of the Gospel was preached.
There is a Jewish saying that may bring some light on this pronouncement of Jesus: "Even the servant maid that passed through the Red Sea, saw what neither Ezekiel, nor any other of the prophets had seen."
I believe what Jesus was talking about when he said that the least in the kingdom of God was greater than John was not the holiness nor the devotedness to God that the least in this kingdom was but I believe he was talking about the difference in ministry between John and the least in the kingdom of God.
The prophets pointed out a Christ that was coming;
John showed that that Christ was then among them;
The preachers of the Gospel prove that this Christ has suffered, and entered into his glory, and that repentance and remission of sins are proclaimed through his blood.
The blood of Christ was not in the language of John but it certainly is dominant in the message of the least in the kingdom of God.
John certainly was given light but the light he had was little compared to the light of the least in the kingdom of God.
John did not have the completed scriptures, John did not have the written Gospels nor did he have the revelation of the mystery that was given to Paul the Apostle.
John did not know of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as does the least in the kingdom.
He was able to preach Him come in the flesh, but not able to preach him as having suffered and died having obtained eternal redemption.
He could not speak of his blood being shed, of his righteousness being revealed, and of his sacrifice and satisfaction as completed.
John did not see, as the least in the kingdom of God sees, how that the grace of our Lord resulted in the salvation of many more than John saw.
The comparison then I believe between John and the least in the kingdom of God is not so much between their persons, as their several different degrees of light and doctrine.
It all depends upon God and not the character of John or the prophets or the character of the least in the kingdom of God.
Luke 7:29- 34, And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. 30But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. 31And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? 32They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. 33For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. 34The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! 35But wisdom is justified of all her children.
Before we get into this passage let us consider the setting we find here.
Jesus had just received and answered the question from John, Art thou He that should come? Or look we for another?
It is obvious from his address to the crowd that He knew of a turning against John and so he addressed the people accordingly.
For he asked specific questions of them which made them focus back on their reasons for following John and in so doing gave his full backing of John as the greatest of all prophets.
Jesus was clearly righteously angry in his address to the people about John and I believe he continues that righteous indignation in this passage as he brings to their mind a story about children.
In this story Jesus likens the men of this generation to children sitting in the market place and calling one to another.
It is clear that by means of this story Jesus is accusing these critics of being childish. |