Matthew 11:7 - Meaning and Application

Here we have the high praise our Lord Jesus gave to John the Baptist. He did this not only to restore John’s honor, but also to renew the people’s respect for his work. Some of Christ’s disciples may have taken John’s question as a reason to think less of him, as if he were weak, unsure, and inconsistent. To prevent that, Christ gives John this strong commendation.

It is our duty to care about the good name of our fellow believers. We should not only remove harmful suspicion, but also stop it before it starts. When we see any weakness in someone, we should still look for ways to speak well of those who deserve it, and give them the honor they are due. John had humbled himself to honor Christ (John 3:20, John 3:30, Matthew 3:11), making himself nothing so that Christ might be all. Now Christ honors him in return. Those who humble themselves will be lifted up, and those who honor Christ, he will honor. John had finished his witness, and now Christ speaks well of him. Christ keeps honor for his servants after they have done their work (John 12:26).

Notice first that Christ spoke this praise of John not while John’s disciples were still there, but after they had gone away, just after they left (Luke 7:24). He would not even seem to flatter John, or allow these kind words to be carried back to him in a way that might feed pride. We should be ready to give people the praise they deserve, but we must avoid anything that looks like flattery or might make them proud. Even those who are otherwise sober-minded may have trouble bearing praise about themselves. Pride is a deep corruption, and we must not feed it in others or in ourselves.

Notice also that Christ’s words were meant not only to honor John, but to help the people. He wanted to bring back to mind John’s ministry, which had once drawn great attention but was now, as often happens, strangely forgotten. They had rejoiced in his light for a while, and only for a while (John 5:35). So Christ says in effect, “Think about it. What did you go out into the wilderness to see?”

John preached in the wilderness, and people came to him in large crowds, even though the place was remote and inconvenient. If teachers are pushed into corners, it is better to go after them than to go without them. If his preaching was worth so much trouble to hear, then it was surely worth some effort to remember it. The more trouble we take to hear God’s word, the more careful we should be to profit from it.

They had gone out to see John, too, and many were likely more interested in his unusual appearance than in his message. They wanted to feed their eyes more than their souls. They came more out of curiosity than conscience. Many who attend sermons come mainly to see and be seen, or to have something to talk about, rather than to learn the way of salvation. Christ presses them with the question, “What did you go out to see?” Those who hear the word will have to answer for their motives and for what they gained from it. When the sermon is over, the concern is not over, it begins in earnest. Soon it will be asked, “Why were you there? Was it habit, company, or a true desire to honor God and receive good? What did you bring away? What knowledge, grace, or comfort?” When we go to hear or read the word, we should be sure our aim is right.

As for John himself, Christ shows what kind of man he was. He was not a reed shaken by the wind. He was not unstable in belief, and he was not uneven in conduct. He was marked by steadfastness and consistency. Weak people are shaken like reeds, but John was strong in spirit (Ephesians 4:14). Whether the wind of popular praise blew warmly toward him, or the storm of Herod’s anger rose against him, he stayed the same.

His witness to Christ was not the witness of a reed, shifting one way today and another tomorrow. It was not a weather vane testimony. He had confessed Christ and did not deny it, but held to it firmly (John 1:20), and later stood by it still (John 3:28). So the question sent by his disciples should not be taken as if John had doubted what he once said. The people had flocked to him because he was not like a reed. There is nothing wasted in the end by a firm decision to keep doing our duty, without seeking man’s approval or fearing man’s anger.

John was also a self-denying man, one who had little love for this world. Christ asks, “Was he a man dressed in soft clothes?” If he had been, people would not have gone into the wilderness to see him, but to the king’s court. Instead, they saw a man wearing camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. His clothing showed that he was dead to worldly show and bodily comfort. It matched both the wilderness where he lived and the message he preached there, which was repentance. One who lived so plainly, far from court comfort, would not likely be shaken by prison hardship into doubting whether Jesus was the Messiah.

Those who have lived in self-denial are less likely to be driven from their faith by persecution. Soft clothing belongs in kings’ houses. People should keep their outward life in line with their calling and condition. Preachers should not try to look like courtiers, and those who live in ordinary homes should not chase after the luxury worn by the rich. Wisdom teaches us to keep our life in one piece. John’s rough appearance did not keep people away from him. His former zeal in hearing God’s word should stir us up now, so that it will not be said we have done and suffered so much for nothing, and run and labored in vain.

His greatest praise was his office and ministry. That was a greater honor than any personal gifts or qualities he had. So this part of his praise is expanded at length.

1. He was a prophet, yes, more than a prophet (Matthew 11:9). John had said he was not that prophet, meaning he was not the great Prophet, the Messiah himself. Now Christ, who is a fully fit Judge, says that John was more than a prophet. John freely said he was less than Christ, and Christ said he was greater than all other prophets. We should notice this, the forerunner of Christ was not a king, but a prophet. That kept anyone from thinking the Messiah’s kingdom was built on earthly power. Yet his immediate forerunner was an unusually great prophet, greater than any Old Testament prophet. They all served well, but John excelled them all. They saw Christ’s day from far away, and its coming was still a long time off. John saw the dawn, saw the sun rise, and told the people about the Messiah as someone standing right among them. They spoke of Christ, but John pointed to him. They said, “A virgin shall conceive,” but John said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

2. He was the one the prophets had already predicted as Christ’s forerunner (Matthew 11:10). “This is the one of whom it is written.” Other prophets had spoken of him, and that also showed his greatness. Malachi foretold John, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face.” In this way, some of Christ’s honor was given to John, because the Old Testament prophets spoke and wrote about him. All believers have this honor too, that their names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. It was a great privilege for John to be Christ’s messenger before him. He was sent on a great mission, and his honor came from the one who sent him: “my messenger, sent by God.” His work was to prepare the way for Christ, to get people ready to receive the Savior by showing them their sin, their misery, and their need for salvation. John had said this about himself (John 1:23), and now Christ said it about him too. Christ did this not only to honor John’s ministry, but also to make people respect that ministry, since it prepared the way for the Messiah. Much of the beauty of God’s works lies in how they fit together and point to one another. What lifted John above the Old Testament prophets was that he went directly before Christ. The closer anyone is to Christ, the more truly honorable that person is.

3. “Among those born of women, there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). Christ knew how to judge people according to their real worth, and he places John above everyone who came before him, above all who were born in the usual human way. Of all whom God raised up for service in his church, John was the most outstanding, even above Moses himself. He began to preach the gospel truth that sins are forgiven to those who truly repent. He also had clearer revelations from heaven than any of them, because he saw heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descend. He had great success in his ministry too, since almost the whole nation came out to him. No one rose for so great a purpose, or came on so noble a mission, as John did, and no one had a better claim to be welcomed. Many people born of women were famous in the world, but Christ puts John before them all. Greatness is not measured by outward show or human brilliance. The greatest people are the greatest saints, and the greatest blessings are those, like John, who are great in the sight of the Lord (Luke 1:15).

Yet this high praise has an unexpected limit: “the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” In one sense, this points to the kingdom of glory. John was a great and good man, but he was still in a state of weakness and imperfection, so he came short of glorified saints, the spirits of righteous people made perfect. There are levels of glory in heaven, some greater than others. Every vessel there is full, but not every vessel is equally large. The least saint in heaven is greater, knows more, loves more, does more in praising God, and receives more from him than the greatest person in this world. The saints on earth are excellent (Psalm 16:3), but those in heaven are much more excellent. The best people in this world are lower than the angels (Psalm 8:5), but the least in heaven are equal with the angels. That should make us long for that blessed state, where the weak will be like David (Zechariah 12:8).

But “the kingdom of heaven” here is better understood as the kingdom of grace, the gospel age in the full power and purity it would later have. In that sense, the least person in it is greater than John. Some take this to mean Christ himself, who was younger than John and, in some people’s eyes, less than John, since John always spoke humbly of himself. He said, in effect, “I am a worm and not a man,” yet Christ was greater than John. That fits John the Baptist’s own words, “He who comes after me is preferred before me” (John 1:15). But it is more likely speaking of the apostles and New Testament ministers, the gospel prophets. The comparison is not about their personal holiness, but about their office. John preached Christ as coming; they preached Christ not only as come, but crucified and glorified. John came at the dawn of the gospel day, and in that he was greater than the earlier prophets. But he was taken away before the full noon of that day, before the veil was torn, before Christ’s death and resurrection, and before the Spirit was poured out. So even the least apostle or evangelist, with greater light and a greater message, is greater than John. John did no miracles; the apostles performed many.

This preference rests on the fact that the New Testament age is greater than the Old Testament age. New Testament ministers therefore excel, because their ministry does. John was the greatest man of his order. He reached the highest point his time allowed. But the least of the highest order is greater than the greatest of the lowest. A dwarf on a mountain can see farther than a giant in a valley. All true greatness in people comes from Christ and is named by the grace he gives them. The best people are only what he is pleased to make them. How thankful we should be that our lives are in the days of the kingdom of heaven, with such light and love around us. And the greater the privileges, the greater the account we will give if we receive God’s grace in vain.

4. John the Baptist’s great honor was that God approved his ministry and made it wonderfully fruitful. God used him to break the ice, so to speak, and prepare people for the kingdom of heaven.

From the time John the Baptist first appeared until now, which was just over two years, a great deal of good had been done. The work moved quickly once it came near Christ, the center of it all. “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence,” that is, it is pressed in on with force, like an army storming a city or a crowd rushing into a house. “The violent take it by force” means many people were eagerly and urgently seeking it.

We see the meaning more clearly in the parallel passage, where Jesus says, “The kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it” (Luke 16:16). Many people were deeply affected by John’s ministry and became his disciples. They were an unlikely crowd, people who might seem to have no claim to God’s kingdom at all. Publicans and sinners believed John, while the scribes and Pharisees rejected him, so they entered the kingdom before those who seemed more likely to belong there (Matthew 21:31, 21:32).

That is no shameful thing. It is no breach of good manners to go to heaven before our social betters. In fact, it is a great honor to the gospel that, from its beginning, it has brought many unlikely people to holiness. The gospel reaches people we would not expect to change. It shows its power by turning hearts that seemed farthest from God.

This “violence” also points to the earnestness of those who followed John’s ministry. They came with strength, eagerness, and real desire. It teaches us what fervor and zeal are needed in all who want to make heaven their goal. Those who would enter the kingdom of heaven must strive to enter. They must deny self, change the bent of the mind, and put force against corrupt desires.

There are hard sufferings to endure, and strong opposition from both outside and within. We must run, wrestle, fight, and even be in agony, and that is still not too much for so great a prize. Those who want a part in the great salvation are drawn toward it with a strong desire. They will have it on any terms and will not let go until they receive a blessing (Genesis 32:26). Those who want to make their calling and election sure must give diligence.

The kingdom of heaven was never meant to reward lazy minds or careless hearts. It is the rest of those who labor. What a blessed sight it would be if we saw a greater number, not angrily forcing others out of the kingdom, but holy and eager, pressing themselves into it.

John’s ministry was also the beginning of the gospel, as it is counted in Mark 1:1 and Acts 1:22. This is shown in two ways. First, in John, the Old Testament way of dealing with God began to fade (Matthew 11:13). It still stood in full force for a time, but then it began to decline. The law of Moses was not taken away until Christ’s death, but the clearer light of the kingdom of heaven was already appearing and making the old shadows less central.

The light of the gospel, like the light of nature, came before the full day and prepared the way for it. That is why the prophecies of the Old Testament came to an end before its commands did. They reached their goal, not their destruction. The law and the prophets spoke about Christ, though in a dark way. The law is said to have prophesied, as well as the prophets, about the one who was to come. Christ began with Moses (Luke 24:27). He was shown not only in spoken prophecy, but also in the signs, ceremonies, and patterns of the Mosaic law.

We should thank God that we have both the New Testament teaching to explain the Old Testament prophecies, and the Old Testament prophecies to confirm and illuminate the New Testament teaching (Hebrews 1:1). They stand like the two cherubim facing one another. Moses and the prophets are long dead, and the apostles and evangelists are also dead (Zechariah 1:5), but the word of the Lord lives forever (1 Peter 1:25). Scripture still speaks plainly, even though its writers rest in the dust.

Second, John marked the beginning of the New Testament day. Jesus says, “This is Elijah, who was to come” (Matthew 11:14). John was the link between the two Testaments, joining them together. The last prophecy of the Old Testament said, “I will send you Elijah” (Malachi 4:5, 4:6). That promise continued to prophesy until John, and then, when it became a matter of history, it no longer looked forward.

Christ speaks here of a great truth: John the Baptist is the Elijah of the New Testament, though not Elijah in his own person, as many Jews expected (John 1:21). John himself denied that. He came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17), like him in character and ministry. He called people to repentance with seriousness and fear, and he especially fulfilled the promise of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children.

Jesus also says this in a way that shows some people would have trouble accepting it, because their minds were fixed on a worldly Messiah and worldly preparations for him. “If you are willing to receive it,” he says. The truth was true whether they accepted it or not. But he rebuked their prejudice, because they were slow to accept the greatest truths when those truths did not fit their own ideas.

Or, if they would receive John’s ministry as the promised Elijah’s ministry, then John would be Elijah to them. He would turn them and prepare them for the Lord. Gospel truths work according to how they are received, as a scent of life or death. Christ is a Savior, and John is Elijah, to those who receive the truth about them.

Lastly, our Lord Jesus ends this teaching with a serious call for attention (Matthew 11:15): “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.” This shows that his words were deep and not easy to understand, so they needed careful thought. It also shows that they mattered greatly, so they deserved close attention.

In effect, he is saying, “Take note of this. If John is the Elijah promised by the prophet, then a great turning point is here. The Messiah’s kingdom is near, and the world will soon see a joyful change.” These are things that call for serious thought, so everyone should listen carefully to what he says.

The things of God concern everyone. Anyone who can hear anything should be willing to hear this. It also shows that God asks nothing more from us than the proper use of the gifts he has already given us. He asks those with ears to hear, and those with reason to use reason.

So people are often ignorant, not because they lack ability, but because they lack the will. They do not hear because, like a deaf snake, they shut their ears.