Matthew 11:11-15

[Peters]

11 Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.
13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John.
14 And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.
15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

What is it that makes John the greatest?
What is it that makes the least in the kingdom of heaven greater than John?
How do you understand v.13?

I appreciate your thoughts, guys and girls.

 

[Scott Bushey]

Originally posted by Peters

11 Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.
13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John.
14 And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.
15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

What is it that makes John the greatest?
What is it that makes the least in the kingdom of heaven greater than John?
How do you understand v.13?

I appreciate your thoughts, guys and girls.

What is it that makes John the greatest? God
What is it that makes the least in the kingdom of heaven greater than John? It is a reference to the glorified saint
How do you understand v.13? John was the last prophet

[Edited on 2-5-2006 by Scott Bushey]

 

[Contra_Mundum]

The reference to John greatness, I believe, refers to Jesus' estimate of him--both as a man and as his office. I honestly think God chose of the noblest of all mere men, of the past or the present, to occupy the place of Messianic forerunner. Certainly there was no one who was more noble. And Jesus thought that John ought to be so estimated and recognized by all men forever. In his office, who could match him for his duty? I think even Moses or Elijah would have sacrificed their places in history to exchange places with John.

That he was "less than" the least in the Kingdom of heaven, refers to the fact that he remained an Old Testament figure. John would never take the place of "second" to Jesus. "He must increase; I must decrease." He died before seeing the Kingdom come in strength and power. He died before the Resurrection, and Pentecost. The least in this kingdom is a beneficiary of greater blessings and honor than the most dignified of all Old Testament saints.

Verse 13: John is the final OT figure.

 

[Peters]

The reference to John greatness, I believe, refers to Jesus' estimate of him--both as a man and as his office. I honestly think God chose of the noblest of all mere men, of the past or the present, to occupy the place of Messianic forerunner. Certainly there was no one who was more noble. And Jesus thought that John ought to be so estimated and recognized by all men forever. In his office, who could match him for his duty? I think even Moses or Elijah would have sacrificed their places in history to exchange places with John.

I agree that it is his office that makes him great. Do you think it is also his (and I´m getting a bit of this from Carson) positioning in redemptive history that makes him great? That is, until John, every prophet could only speak of the Christ who was to come in shadowy terms, but John is the first to say, "œThere, over there, that´s the One. He is the Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." So to the degree that you can accurately identify Christ is the degree to which you are great. We are therefore greater than John because of our positioning in redemptive history, which aids our clarity of understanding of who the Christ is. On the road of redemptive history, we can understand, know and therefore identify Christ in a way that no-one before us ever could, therefore, we are greater.

Is this what you are saying here?

That he was "less than" the least in the Kingdom of heaven, refers to the fact that he remained an Old Testament figure. John would never take the place of "second" to Jesus. "He must increase; I must decrease." He died before seeing the Kingdom come in strength and power. He died before the Resurrection, and Pentecost. The least in this kingdom is a beneficiary of greater blessings and honor than the most dignified of all Old Testament saints.

Verse 13: John is the final OT figure.

What interests me is the prophetic function of the Law. Do you think it´s only through the ceremonial aspect that the Law is prophetic?