Introduction

In order to appreciate Jesus’ public ministry, we need to understand and appreciate the person who prepared Israel for His ministry—John the Baptist.

John’s one-year preaching ministry was like a shooting star—brief but brilliant. He made thousands of people aware of their need for spiritual life that only Jesus could give them. Then his following melted away, and he was imprisoned and ultimately beheaded for rebuking King Herod for cohabiting with his sister-in-law.

While John was imprisoned, Jesus paid public tribute to him.
Read Matthew 11:7–15 and re-read 11:11a.
This is an amazing tribute. Possibly 1 billion people had lived by this time, and Jesus says that John was the greatest of them.

Greater than Abraham? Greater than Moses? Greater than David?

In what sense was John greater than these?
This passage and others suggest two reasons:

Greatness of role

God gave John a uniquely great role in His redemptive plan.

• He was the last of the Old Testament prophets who predicted the coming of the Messiah (read 11:9a,13).
• He was himself a fulfillment of prophecy (read 11:9b,10).
  Malachi, the last Old Testament canonical prophet, had predicted that God would send one who would prepare His people for the coming of the Lord (Malachi 3:1).
  Isaiah had made a similar prediction in 750 BC (read Isaiah 40:3–5; see Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3).

Just before John was miraculously conceived (explain), an angel told John’s father that John would be this forerunner of the Messiah, bringing spiritual renewal to Israel as Elijah had done 800 years earlier (read Luke 1:16–17; see Malachi 4:5–6).
(This is probably what Jesus means in Matthew 11:14.)

He also had the unique privilege of announcing the imminent coming of the Messiah, and then personally introducing Him to the people of Israel (NEXT WEEK).

Re-read Matthew 11:11.
So Jesus says that John had the greatest role in the Old Testament period of promise leading up to the Messiah’s coming.
Yet the old order was about to be fulfilled and superseded by the new order of fulfillment—the beginning of God’s kingdom.
And even the least member of God’s kingdom is greater than John in that they belong to this period of superior privilege.

Read Ephesians 2:10.
God says that every person who receives Christ is His workmanship (poema; artwork), and that God has fashioned each of us uniquely for the significant accomplishments He has prepared for us.

Sadly, many of us do not experience the satisfaction of being a unique work of God because we do not allow God to work another kind of greatness into us—the greatness of godly character.

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Greatness of godly character

Here and elsewhere, Jesus also pays tribute to the greatness of John’s character. These tributes paint a picture of godly character to which we all should aspire—and toward which we all can make significant progress.

In Matthew 11:7–8, Jesus reveals two character reasons for John’s spiritual greatness (re-read). He describes them negatively:

• John was no “reed shaken by the wind” – This figure of speech refers to people who vacillate according to public opinion.
  He was a God-pleaser, not a people-pleaser (Galatians 1:10). His highest priority was to be faithful to God, regardless of what people thought.
  He didn’t read the latest popularity polls—he lived before “the Audience of One.”
  He showed no favoritism: he rebuked the religious leaders, told Roman soldiers to be satisfied with their wages, and criticized Herod for adultery (which cost him his life).
  This sincerity was key to his spiritual impact.
• → We too can become God-pleasers.
  This comes from spending time with God in His word—getting more impressed with Him, so that He becomes bigger and people become smaller.
• John wasn’t “dressed in soft clothing.”
  He lived a simple life—even his clothing and diet were simple (Matthew 3:4).
  He did this not to be ascetic, but because he was single-minded about fulfilling God’s purpose.
  This was the axis of his life; everything else took its place around that central purpose.
• → We too can have a simple, uncluttered, undistracted life (read 2 Timothy 2:4,7).
  A materialistic life is often a symptom of a life without purpose.
  The more focused we become on pleasing God, the less other things matter.

The burning wick life

Read John 5:35.
Like a Middle Eastern oil lamp, John shined because he burned. His heart burned with passion for God, which made his preaching radiant. This is what our Christian lives should be like (read Romans 12:11).

• The lamp’s wick is our heart.
• The oil is the Holy Spirit.
• The light is our words and lifestyle manifesting the life of Christ.

Some Christians want to shine for Christ but do not stay immersed in the Spirit.
They are not dependent on the Holy Spirit, so they burn out.

Others grieve and quench the Holy Spirit because they want to live for themselves rather than shine for Christ. They waste their spiritual lives.

How tragic when God’s people waste all their passion on sports, shopping, TV, and politics, but yawn their way through Bible study and fellowship!

It is easier to cool down a fanatic than to warm up a corpse.

John was great because he was a wick—dependent and consecrated, immersed in the oil, and living to burn and shine for Christ.

→ We too can be great in God’s eyes by living this “wick” life.

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Humility

Read John 3:26–30.
John’s followers suggest he should be upset because people are going to Jesus instead of him. John’s response reveals humility:

• Read 3:27.
  Pride craves human praise and takes credit for gifts like intelligence, personality, and talent.
  This attitude is literally satanic (1 Timothy 3:6).
  → Quote 1 Corinthians 4:7.
  Humility deflects praise and gives credit to God.
• Read 3:28–29.
  Pride wants to be the bridegroom.
  Humility is glad to be the friend of the bridegroom, rejoicing in Jesus being honored.
  Humility is the picture frame that guides eyes to the picture.
• Read 3:30.
  Pride is upset by losing influence.
  Humility is content to decrease as long as Jesus’ influence increases.

→ We cannot make ourselves humble.
Self-will cannot cast out a self-serving lifestyle.
But we can ask God for humility, to value it, and to do what is needed to grow it.

Are you willing?

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A tribute without miracles

Finally, read John 10:41.
People paid tribute to John in a way that should encourage each of us:

“John performed no sign.”

He did no miracles. His ministry wasn’t dramatic or flashy.
That has always been the case for most Christians—and is probably true for most of us.

We don’t do overtly supernatural acts—we don’t call down fire, raise the dead, or see dramatic visions.
God chooses a few for those things—but not many.

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The lasting impact of testifying about Jesus

But John did testify accurately about Jesus to others.
He told people the truth about who Jesus is, and he urged them to test his testimony for themselves.

And many responded to his testimony and discovered that Jesus is truly the Messiah.

We can all do this!

• Each of us can tell people the truth about Jesus.
• Each of us can share how Jesus has changed our lives.
• Each of us can encourage others to explore Jesus for themselves.

Read John 10:42:

“And many believed in Jesus because of John’s testimony.”

Just as God used John’s witness to lead many to faith in Jesus, He can use our testimony to do the same.
Over the course of our lives, many will come to believe in Jesus because of our words and witness.