Luke 7:28 “For I say
to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the
Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
Why was John the
Baptist the greatest prophet though he did not perform any sign?
John 10:41 Then many
came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John
spoke about this Man were true.”
Miracles are the
works of God and not of man. Note that the Devil too can perform miracles (Mat
4:1-10). So do not judge by signs and wonders alone, for many may be lies or
demonic. In the last days, our Lord warned us to stay away from so-called
miracle workers, who are false christs and false prophets.
Mat 3:13-14 Then Jesus
came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried
to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to
me?”
Though John was a
highly respected prophet of God, he humbled himself by recognizing Jesus as
greater than he, and that he should be baptized by Jesus.
Mat 3:15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit
it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then
he allowed Him.
In real humility, John obeyed Jesus’
suggestion in the presence of all those present.
John 3:26,30-31 And they came to John and said to him,
“Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have
testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”.... He must
increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is
of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is
above all.
Instead of getting jealous, John humbled
himself by admitting that he is only a prophet, an earthly servant of God but
magnified and glorified Jesus as the Almighty from above. In obedience, he
accepted that his ministry was over and soon to be replaced by the ministry of
Jesus.
Phil 2:3-4 Let
nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind
let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only
for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Brethren,
are we able to humble ourselves by esteeming others better than ourselves just
like John the Baptist, the greatest prophet?
The Lord is grieved
that the body of Christ is divided because of the pride in the doctrines of
denominations and groups. There will only be unity if all are prepared to
please Him and do away with their doctrines and humble themselves to His word
(the Bible) as the sole authority.