Great like Johnny Baptist!

“Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist...” Matthew 11:11

In a truly honouring moment of his cousin John the Baptist, Jesus declares John to be the greatest person to have ever walked on the planet! Jesus goes on to say what we can do to be greater than John but that is for another blog. For now let’s look at why Jesus could possibly say that John was in fact greater than people like Abraham, Moses, Elijah, David, Isaiah and other greats of the Old Testament. 

1.       John knew who Jesus truly was

In an extraordinary prophetic declaration, John sees Jesus coming towards him and immediately turns to tell everyone “Look, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29b

John knew that Jesus was the promised messiah and was going to deal with the sin issue of humanity.  Knowing Jesus as your personal Lord and saviour is crucial if you want to be great in God’s eyes!

2.       John was fully committed to the call of God on his life

 “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, prepare the way for the lord, make straight paths for him” Matthew 3:3b

God had called John to prepare the way for Jesus to come. He devoted his life to calling people to repent and turn back to God.

3.       He made disciples and released them as leaders

John had an ability to see where his young leaders were and where God was wanting to take them. John 1:36, 37 says ‘When he (John) saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.’

Those two disciples were Andrew and probably John, two of the 12 that Jesus selected to be His disciples. John could have kept those two young men and would have probably done a great job with them but he had the security and vision to point and release them fully into the things God had for them. Both went on to be instrumental in the foundation of the church with John writing 5 books in the New Testament. Leaders have the privilege and responsibility to point and release the young leaders they serve to heights and places that go beyond where they are able to go!

4.       John was about Jesus, not himself

John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven... He must become greater; I must become less” John 3:27, 30

In an incredible act of humility and security John does something absolutely remarkable: he fades into the background. At probably about the age of 30, merely 6 months older than Jesus, John was at the height of his ministry. People were coming from miles to hear him speak. Thousands of people were turning from sin to God and showing it by being baptised. He was the most influential man in God’s Kingdom at that time! Today people would have been listening to his podcasts, reading his blog, and jumping on planes just to hear him speak. Things were going very well. But in one moment he goes from the heights of ministry to taking a seat in the back as soon as Jesus appears. John’s role was to prepare people for Jesus and when He appeared John’s ministry was no longer required.  John graciously steps back to allow another to become prominent. Now John continued to follow Jesus and point people to Him but with much less influence and he was 100% okay with that!

Would you step aside and fade into the background for Jesus? Are you prepared to become less so that Jesus would take greater prominence?