Jesus encourages and commends John the Bapist
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should
we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”
7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’
11 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
The words “After Jesus had finished . . .” mark the next major division of Matthew’s gospel according to our outline. In the previous chapter we heard the instructions Jesus gave to the Twelve as he sent them out to proclaim the coming of his kingdom. He did not then idly wait for them to report
back to him. He busied himself traveling from town to town in Galilee preaching the same message he had told the Twelve to proclaim. Now as then, everybody needs to know about his own sins and about God’s gracious forgiveness for Jesus’ sake, and those who know these basic truths of the
Christian faith are responsible for sharing God’s way of salvation with the rest of the world.
In prison John the Baptist heard about Jesus’ activities, and he was somewhat puzzled or confused. So he sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Was it possible that John really was unsure about Jesus at this time? If not, why would he send two of his disciples to ask Jesus this question?
Bible commentators disagree on the answer to this question. Some are of the opinion that John did this for the sake of his own disciples. The situation was this: John the Baptist had fearlessly rebuked King Herod for taking his brother Philip’s wife (14:3). This enraged Herod. So he arrested
John and cast him into prison. Jesus performed many mighty works, but he did nothing to free John from prison. So John’s disciples might have been discouraged. They might have wondered whether John really was God’s special messenger. If they had doubts about John, they would also be unsure about Jesus, whom John had pointed to as the promised Messiah. Many believe that under these difficult circumstances John wanted his disciples to go to Jesus for reassurance—even though John himself had no doubts about Jesus.
It seems preferable, however, to regard John as troubled and unsure at this point. John was aware of the mighty works of mercy that Jesus was performing, but where were his acts of judgment? Even before he baptized Jesus, John described Jesus’ work in terms of an ax at the root of trees about to be cut down and as wielding a winnowing fork to separate the chaff from the wheat and to burn the chaff in unquenchable fire (3:10,12). But those acts of judgment had not taken place. And John, the special forerunner of the Messiah, was sitting in Herod’s prison. John was a courageous man of God, but he had his human weaknesses. The prophet Elijah, to whom the Scriptures compare John, had his weak moments too. At one time he was convinced that his faithful ministry had been a failure, and he wanted to die. Do you suppose that there has ever been a man of God who has never had his doubts about himself and about at least some of his Lord’s promises? Would that not be expecting the impossible of anyone with a
sinful human nature?
To say, then, that John had his doubts about Jesus as the Messiah is not to judge him as having rejected Jesus. Doubts may threaten faith, but they do not automatically rule it out or destroy it. It is significant to note what John did about his doubts. He took them to Jesus! When doubts of any kind
assail our Christian faith, we too need to go to Jesus for reassurance. When we consider everything he endured for our sakes, everything he did to demonstrate his divine powers—his voluntary death and his victorious resurrection on the third day—we are reassured that we can rely on all his
promises and trust him to take us safely to himself in heaven in his own good time.
Note how Jesus reassured John. He did not just say, “Yes, I am the promised Messiah.” He pointed instead to his mighty works. Giving sight to the blind, enabling the lame to walk, curing lepers, making the deaf hear, and even raising the dead—these were not only mighty works that demonstrated
Jesus’ divine power. They were also the very works that Isaiah the prophet had foretold of the Messiah (see Isaiah 35:5,6). The same prophet had promised that the poor in spirit would be evangelized (61:1). Jesus had opened his most famous sermon by declaring, “Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).
Jesus described the same people when he said, “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” John the Baptist in prison may have been in danger of falling away. Jesus reminded him of the blessings in store for anyone who would remain faithful unto death—the crown of
everlasting life! With that goal before him, John would be able to persevere.
Before John’s disciples were out of earshot, Jesus addressed the assembled crowd with words that would also reassure those disciples. He reminded the people of John’s ministry and how they had responded to it. Usually prophets would have to go where the people were if they were to get
a hearing. In John’s case, the people flocked out to him, even though he was out in the wilderness along the Jordan River. If he had been an unstable character, like the reeds along the riverbank that would sway back and forth in every breeze, not many would have bothered to go and hear him. If he had worn luxurious clothing, instead of camel’s hair and leather, he would have been regarded as just another lackey of King Herod, and he would have received nothing from the people but their contempt. No, the people had recognized him as a prophet, a messenger of God—even if they did not always like what he had to say to them.
Jesus declared that the people had been correct in their assessment of John, for John was a very special prophet indeed. He was a prophet who had himself been prophesied about by both Isaiah and Malachi. He was the prophet who bridged the chasm between the Old Testament and the
New. Unlike all the Old Testament prophets, who could speak only of a Messiah who would appear sometime in the distant future, John had prepared the way for the Savior. He was Jesus’ forerunner, and he pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. As Jesus was
on the threshold of his public ministry, John had the honor of baptizing him. For reasons such as these, Jesus commended John as the greatest of God’s prophets.
But what did Jesus mean when he went on to say, “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he”? Here again orthodox Bible commentators disagree on the interpretation. Some point out that John did not live to see Jesus complete his ministry, sacrifice himself on the cross for the sins of the world, and rise again victorious on the third day. In that respect, each of us, even the lowliest Christian, has advantages over John. Those observations are obviously true.
Martin Luther, among others, believed that Jesus here was referring to himself. In his state of humiliation, when the Son of God “was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering” (Isaiah 53:3), when he was cruelly mocked and mistreated and unjustly put to death by
crucifixion—under such circumstances he appeared to be “least in the kingdom of heaven.” When he humbly washed his disciples’ feet, he even demonstrated that lowliness is the way to greatness in the kingdom of God. So Jesus would eventually prove himself to be greater than John or any other heroic men of God.
You may not decide as you read this whether to accept Martin Luther’s interpretation or the opinion of other Bible scholars. That is not a serious problem. Keep both interpretations in mind as you hear and study the Scriptures. In the process, you will grow in your Christian faith—even if you do not reach a definite conclusion about this particular point.