DOES MATTHEW 11:11 MEAN JOHN THE BAPTIST IS GREATER THAN MOSES AND THE PROPHETS YET THE "LEAST" IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS GREATER THAN HIM?

-
The Lord Jesus declared in Matthew 11:11, "Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he". 

Does this mean John the Baptist is greater than Moses and the Prophets or is there a deeper meaning here? Who is this "least" in the kingdom of heaven that is greater than John the Baptist? 

Let's take a second look at the first part of the verse:

Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.

The statement simply means no Prophet has risen above John the Baptist. He was to be ranked equal to any Prophet (or human being) in terms of work and energy. He is not less distinguished than the other Prophets. Please note that by His statement in this verse our Lord probably intended to tacitly meet the objection that Moses or Abraham was to be listened to rather than John.

Now let us also take a second look at the latter part of the verse:

Notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven.

Very many commentators and translators have thought, strangely enough, that our Lord in using the word "least" referred to Himself. That He was younger in age and in the eyes of men He was esteemed less than the Baptist, and yet was really greater. But this is surely not the meaning of the words for the following reasons:

It would be but a poor truism to have declared that the King was greater than the herald; and
There is no example of our Lord’s so speaking of Himself elsewhere. 

The word “least” in that verse is from Greek mikros which means small (in size, quantity, number or (figuratively) dignity) -- least, less, little ones. It is the same Greek word translated little ones in the following versions of the bible as well as other verses in King James Version (KJV):

(Matthew 11:11 ASV) Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

(Matthew 11:11 Aramaic Bible in Plain English) “Amen, I say to you, that among them born of women there has not arisen a greater than Yohannan The Baptizer, but a little one in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he."

(Matthew 10:42 KJV) And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. 

(Matthew 18:6 KJV) But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

(Matthew 18:10 KJV) Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. 

(Matthew 18:14 KJV) Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Who are these little ones? We see from the bible that Jesus often used this term while referring to His disciples. Also see Luke 10:21 and John 13:33. He calls his disciples little children, “little ones”, "babes" because most of them were under 18 years old. Please read our previous post on this subject.

The latter part of this verse can be paraphrased as:

Notwithstanding, these little ones are greater than him in the kingdom of heaven. 

It means that His disciples, rejoicing in His presence, in communion with Him, in His revelation of the Father, though less than John in fame, work, the rigour of ascetic holiness, were yet above him [in the kingdom of heaven] in the knowledge of the truth, and therefore in blessedness and joy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

JACOB DID NOT WAIT FOR 7 OR 14 YEARS BEFORE LEAH/ RACHEL WERE GIVEN TO HIM. HE TOOK BOTH WIVES IMMEDIATELY.

-
Many Christians thought that Jacob worked seven years for Laban, realized that Laban deceived him to marry Leah, and then worked seven more years before finally getting married to Rachel. However the bible shows that he took both Leah and Rachel immediately before he began serving Laban. For clarity, I advise you to read this Jacob's story in other translations of the Bible aside King James Version (KJV). Meanwhile lets look at look at some of the facts from the Bible: (Genesis 29:21 KJV) And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. Please note that the 7 years of service required of Jacob were the total dowry and not the customary waiting period before a wife was given to the groom. In other words, Jacob took Leah after the customary waiting period which was a couple of days just like we read in vs 21. Notice that he said, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled" implying a certain number of d...
Read more

DOES OUR FIRST FRUITS MEAN ANY MONEY RECEIVED SUCH AS INHERITANCE?

-
Image
Firstfruits is a case where the literal meaning of a Biblical word has been changed to a modern concept. This substituting of one word for another is called the fallacy of equivocation. If you research the term, firstfruits really has nothing to do with money. Firstfruits were literally the first of the produce of plants or trees or livestock (including wool and yes, winel) that came from the Promised Land. God asked the Jewish people to give the firstfruits of the land to Him, because He had given them the land to begin with. These firstfruits were then distributed to the Levites/Priests who did not have a share in the land and depended on these supplies. (Neh 12:44) So, biblically, firstfruits do not appear to have been money; they were produce tied to God's gift of the land of Israel and they had a specific charitable purpose. Ask yourself: would your church be pleased if you LITERALLY followed this command and brought some wool, wine, grain, vegetables, or figs to the ...
Read more

SHOULD YOU GIVE YOUR WHOLE FIRST MONTH’S SALARY TO YOUR CHURCH AS ‘FIRST-FRUIT’?

-
Image
(Prob 3:9-10)  Give honour to the Lord with your wealth, and with the first-fruits of all your increase: So your store-houses will be full of grain, and your vessels overflowing with new wine.   Should I give my whole first month’s salary to my church as ‘first-fruit’? Usually when I am asked this question, my answer is straightforward. “It is your money and you can do anything you like with it.” I mean that simply! Now, if the question is “did the Lord command that Christians should surrender their whole January salary (income) to their church as first-fruits?” Then I give another unequivocal answer:  No, He never did . There is no such thing in the whole Bible, not even under the Law of Moses. Yes, many churches ask their members to do it, but it is a decision of the elders of the church and is not the commandment of God or the Lord Jesus to Christians. God doesn’t have any special blessings attached to it, and so I hope the elders can pray a special blessin...
Read more

IS THE RAPTURE BIBLICAL PART 2: WHY WOULD THE SAINTS RISE TO MEET CHRIST IN THE AIR, WHEN HE IS ON HIS WAY TO THE EARTH?

-
Image
This is a continuation of my previous post " Is The Rapture Biblical " Why would the saints rise to meet Christ in the air, when He is on His way to the earth to defeat evil and to establish the Kingdom of God here? Why not simply wait for Him to arrive? Those who teach the rapture make much of this issue, claiming that it buttresses their theory. In fact, the truth of the matter actually further discredits their erroneous teaching. We need to look at the meaning of the Greek term translated “to meet” that Christ inspired Paul to use in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Dr. Leon Morris writes in the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: “The expression translated to meet is kind of a technical term ‘for the official welcome of a newly arrived dignitary’…and is very suitable in this context.” Notice that it pertains to a newly arrived dignitary, not to one who is merely passing through. In no way does it convey that Christ only enters the atmosphere and then reverses cou...
Read more

WHY DID JESUS SAY HE CAME ONLY FOR ISRAEL?

-
Image
Some people contend that Jesus' ministry was only for the Children of Israel and not for all mankind. To support their claim, these people are quick to cite the following verses from the New Testament:  (Matthew 15:24) He (Jesus) answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."  (Matthew 10:5-6) These twelve (disciples) Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel."  It is important to realize first of all that Jesus was born of the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham many centuries earlier. Because of obedience and submission to God's will, God's promise to Abraham was two-fold. First, God promised to bless his lineage, namely Isaac, Jacob (Israel), and the Children (descendants) of Israel. Secondly, God promised that from this lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would...
Read more

UNDERSTANDING THE GIFT OF PROPHECY: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FORETELLING, FORTH-TELLING AND FORTUNE TELLING

-
Image
There is so much misunderstanding in the Church today regarding the gift of prophecy. Many people believe that prophecy only refers to telling something before it happens. However, even in the Old Testament, the messages of the prophets contained as much, if not more, about the present than they did about the future. In Hebrew, the word translated prophecy is based on the word stem nābā, which simply means “to speak by divine inspiration, either in prediction or simple discourse.”  “ Prophecies ” is transliterated (i.e. brought straight over from Greek to English) from the noun  prophēteia . It is made up of  pro , meaning “before, in time or position” and a form of the verb  phēmi , meaning “to tell.” The verb form of this word can refer  EITHER : Foretelling  (predicting or telling something before it happens). It seeks to predict the future. It predicts or reveals personalities, occurrences, circumstances that will hap...
Read more

WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY GHOST IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?

-
Image
We read in Matthew 28:19 " Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost " Notice the use of singular "name" in this verse, and yet it is referring to 3 persons. The disciples or Apostles who all knew Jesus personally recognized the name of the father. Jesus is the name of the father.  John 5:43 says ,  " I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive ."  So they baptized "In the name of the father" which is Jesus.  And everybody there knew that Jesus was the name of the son .  Matthew 1:21 says,  " And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins."   Lastly, what is the name of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit?  John 14:26 says,  " But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, h...
Read more

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN WHEN IT SAYS; "TOUCH NOT MY ANOINTED ONES"?

-
Image
Does this mean pastors are infallible? Does it mean believers should not test what a pastor or other leader says or writes? Psalms 105:14-15 "He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." When do we first hear of God's intervention in protecting one of his anointed? Genesis 12:17 "And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife." Again in Genesis 20:3 Sarah was divinely protected by God from defilement, this time she was protected from Abimelech. "But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife." Now look at Genesis 20:6-7 as God speaks to Abimelech. God identifies Abraham as a "prophet". "And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart;...
Read more

WHY GOD HARDENED PHARAOH'S HEART

-
Image
In the book of Exodus chapter 4 verse 21, God said He would harden Pharaoh's heart so that he would not let the people of Israel leave Egypt. Let's read the passage: (Exodus 4:21 KJV) And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart , that he shall not let the people go. The questions many have asked are: Why did God harden Pharaoh's heart?  Is it not unjust for God to harden Pharaoh’s heart and still punish him and Egypt for what he decided when his heart was hardened?  Would God hold Pharaoh accountable for his sins seeing that He is the one that hardened his heart? The answer to these questions can be found in God's own words in Exodus chapters 3 & 7: (Exodus 3:8 KJV) And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a la...
Read more

IS REINCARNATION BIBLICAL? SHOULD CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN REINCARNATION?

-
Image
What is reincarnation? Is reincarnation a Christian belief? Does the Bible teach reincarnation? Are there evidences in the Bible to support reincarnation? Several people (including many Christians) believe in reincarnation. However, the Bible does not teach reincarnation, rather it teaches resurrection from the dead. What is the difference? In reincarnation (or transmigration), the body dies and returns (i.e comes back to life again) in a different body to live on earth again. Depending on your deeds in the previous life or lives, the new body is entirely different from that of the previous life. For instance, a man could get reincarnated as a woman or an animal or a stone. On the other hand, in resurrection of the dead, the body that dies is the exact body that is raised. For the resurrection that will occur in the last day, the body is made new in the sense that it is perfected and no longer subject to frailty and death, but it is still the same body. In reincarnation, the previous m...
Read more