A Man Sent from God

A Man Sent from God

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. ⁸ He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. ⁹ That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

John 1:4-5

Before we talk about John, it is important to see what Jesus himself said about him.

¹¹ “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. ¹³ For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Matthew 11:11-15

There has been no one greater than John. That is a powerful statement from Jesus. When you think of Moses, David, Samuel, Elijah and more of the heroes of the Bible, it’s hard for me at least to place John above them. John’s story is barely recorded in the Bible. He preached and baptized but very few words are recorded. He very quickly is put in jail and then beheaded. How can he be considered greatest above people born?

The next question of course is how can he be the greatest and also the least of all those who will be in heaven?

Let’s try and answer to these questions. He is the greatest because unlike all the other prophets and heroes who prophesied of the coming Messiah, John was the one to actually baptize him into his role. John witnessed and was a part of the fulfillment of the great promise of the Old Testament. In that way he is given an exalted position and title. He was the one chosen to introduce the light into the world. A very weak comparison would be like the person who finally carries the Olympic torch into the stadium and lights the big fire to start the Olympics.

But John is also the least because although being part of the beginning and being so close to the Messiah, he was kept at a distance and actually reduced by God so that Jesus could be increased.

³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease.

John 3:30

John was so important and yet his story is all but pushed to the side. We must accept that our lives can follow in the same way. Just because our names might be forgotten in history because we didn’t do something world changing, doesn’t mean that we aren’t important to God’s work. We must accept the role God has for us and accept that for many of us, our true reward will only come at the end.

God bless,

Pr. Steven Couto