Matthew-025

 

 

Jesus is saying more than “I am greater than John the Baptist”

In the message on Matthew 11:11, I expounded that in the Lord Jesus’ teaching, he who is least is also the greatest. Therefore, he who humbles himself to the lowest position in the kingdom of God will also be the greatest in the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus humbled himself to that lowest position as we see in Philippians 2:8. Although he was perfect in the image of God, he humbled himself and took on the form of a servant. And more than that, he humbled himself to the lowest possible position to the death of a criminal, to the most humiliating, the most excruciatingly painful kind of death on the cross. One cannot go lower than that. Clearly, having humbled himself to the lowest position by his own choice to be the least, God exalted him as in Philippians 2:9, to a name above every name, he is also the greatest in the kingdom, and therefore greater than John.

Today, we will continue to consider what more does the Lord Jesus say in Matthew 11:11-15 other than he is greater than John the Baptist. Why do I say that there is more to it than that? Let us consider the reasons.

 

1. Jesus would have clearly said, “I am greater than John the Baptist”

First of all, if the Lord Jesus wanted to say that he is greater than John the Baptist, then he is saying it here in such a round-about way that it is doubtful his hearers would have understood the point. In spite of your having studied the Scriptures for some time, especially the New Testament, if it were not for that exegesis, I doubt if you would have seen the point that the Lord Jesus is saying that he is greater than John the Baptist. Now if you make a point, it is important that people understand what you are saying, otherwise you have not made your point at all. Do you think the Jews would have understood that this is what the Lord Jesus was saying? Not likely. Would the disciples have understood it? Not too likely either.

More importantly, it is contrary to the Lord Jesus’ style. When he wants to make a point, he makes his point very clear. He doesn’t beat around the bush so that people are likely to miss the point. For example, he does in fact state that the testimony that he has from the Father is greater than that of John the Baptist in John 5:36.

Jesus is very plain-spoken. His testimony is greater than John the Baptist’s. And this is very characteristic of his style. I would like to stress this point because we might get the notion that the Lord Jesus is always saying things in a way that is so hazy that you have to be almost a mind-reader to be able to get the point. No, the Lord makes his point very plain. Often, if we don’t understand the point, it’s not because it isn’t plain, it’s because of the dullness of our spiritual understanding.

He makes much the same point in Luke 11:32 where he says that his ministry is greater than that of Jonah. He doesn’t beat around the bush. He says that “someone greater than Jonah is here.” So when you hear Jesus’ preaching and you don’t repent, your guilt is much greater than that of the Ninevites, who did in fact repent at Jonah’s preaching. We can see that the Lord Jesus’ style is to make his point very plain.

Therefore if he said, “John the Baptist was the greatest among those born of women, but the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he,” in Matthew 11:11, it would be very hard to perceive the point that he is greater than John.

 

2. Positions of the greatest and the least are unspecified in Jesus’ teaching

Moreover, we also see that in his teaching, the Lord Jesus leaves the position of the greatest and the least unspecified. In all his teaching, he leaves it open to anyone. We see that repeatedly for example, in Matthew 18:4, or Matthew 20:27.

In Matthew 20:27-28, the Lord Jesus says,

Notice the words: “whoever would be first among you.” If he meant to say that he is already the greatest, then there is no question about “whoever is going to be first among you.” You can only be second since the Lord Jesus will always be first. He leaves this position open: “whoever would be first,” which is much the same expression as “he who is least” in Matthew 11:11. This shows that the Lord Jesus is making his statement much more general to mean: Whoever is least, even the least is greater than John.

 

3. Jesus identifies himself with others who are the least in the kingdom

The third reason is that the Lord Jesus identifies himself with the least in the kingdom. He does not simply say, “I am the least,” but he does speak of others as being the least, and he identifies himself with others who are least in the kingdom. For example, he said to his disciples in Luke 9:48,

Certainly, by “whoever is the least among you all,” he leaves this position open. He is saying “whoever.” He is not saying, “I am the least, therefore I am the greatest; he says, “whoever.” Therefore, we need not and we should not narrow the term down only to one.

Identifying himself with the least is also seen in Matthew 25:40 in the well-known Judgment scene in which he says,

He identifies himself with that least who is not himself. He didn’t say, “You did not do it to me,” but he said, “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

He said the same in Matthew 25:45, “as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”

So we begin to see that the Lord has a much wider purpose in mind than to narrow it down only to himself.

 

Jesus’ vision for the Church: Every true Christian is greater than John the Baptist

Let us put the question in another way. The Lord Jesus is saying that the least in the kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist, but who is the least? If we say that no one is ever greater than John the Baptist except Jesus, that statement may not be true even in the New Testament. If I ask you the question: By observation of all the given facts, who really was greater? The apostle Paul or John the Baptist? I think few of you would hesitate to say, “Certainly the apostle Paul was greater.” So then, the statement that only the Lord Jesus was greater than John the Baptist would not be true. The apostle Paul was also greater. If you made that assessment, your assessment would be true from all aspects, whether it be from the power of his preaching, the scope of his ministry, the extent of the signs wrought through the apostle Paul, they were all undoubtedly greater than John the Baptist’s.

And if I put the question to you: Who was greater? The apostle Peter or John the Baptist? I think you would also agree that the apostle Peter was greater, again from the scope of his ministry, the power of God working through him both in deed and in word.

This being the case, we begin to see that although the basic message is correct that the Lord Jesus certainly was greater than John the Baptist, it cannot be limited only to him.

What is the point the Lord Jesus is making? He is saying that the Law and the Prophets preach up to John the Baptist, and the kingdom of God has come in the preaching of the kingdom of God. Since that time, the kingdom of God has been suffering violence. And then he says in this context that those in the kingdom of God, even the least of them, are greater than John the Baptist. We need to catch a vision of the Lord Jesus’ vision for the Church of God: In the kingdom of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit in the new creation, every Christian, every disciple is greater than John the Baptist.

I would like you to ponder about this and try to absorb the signifi­cance of what the Lord Jesus had in mind. The Lord Jesus said,

The Lord Jesus has expressed the level of expectation that he has for every disciple. It is very staggering, isn’t it?! When this first dawned on me, it struck me like lightning. The more I studied this passage, the more I had to blink to make sure that I was understanding what the Lord Jesus was saying. Isn’t the meaning very plain when you come to think of it? We don’t have to beat around the bush with any complicated exegesis at all. The least in the kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist. That is exactly what he is saying. How did we miss the meaning?

 

No human being is greater than John the Baptist

Let us get a few more points clearly. What does the Lord Jesus say exactly in “Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist”? What does “among those born of women” mean? “Born of women” is another way of saying a human being. No person born into this world as a human being was ever greater than John the Baptist. This means to say the Lord Jesus is not saying that there are no spiritual beings greater than John the Baptist. He is only saying there are no human beings greater than John the Baptist. No doubt, there are spiritual beings much greater than John the Baptist. There are angels and archangels, there are “good spiritual principalities and powers,” if you can use those terms, which are of course greater than John the Baptist.

Notice too, the Lord Jesus does not say that John is greater than Abraham, or David, or Isaiah. What he is saying is that they are not greater than he. Now that is a very important difference: he did not say John is greater than they, but they are not greater than he. This means there is only one possibility namely, Abraham or David or Isaiah or any of these great prophets may be equal to John the Baptist, but not greater. That is to say, Abraham, David, or Isaiah might reach his level but they cannot reach any greater. John the Baptist has reached the top limit that a human being can reach.

 

Only spiritual greatness has eternal value

Then the next question we need to ask is: What kind of greatness do we mean when we say, among human beings, there is no one greater than John the Baptist? Do we mean then that there would never be one who would be greater than John the Baptist in the area of politics? That is, if John the Baptist became President, he would have made the best President that was possible to imagine? Is that what the Lord Jesus was saying? That was not what the Lord was talking about.

Then what did he mean? Does he mean that among businessmen, no one could be a greater businessman than John? So even Rockefeller could not compete with him in business. John would have controlled the biggest business empire in the world. Well, John might have controlled the biggest business empire if he directed his energy in that direction, but that is not the point the Lord Jesus is making either.

Was he saying this in the area of sports? If John the Baptist got into the boxing ring with Mohammed Ali, he would have knocked him out in the first round! Anyone born of women cannot be greater than John the Baptist, therefore, if you get into the boxing ring with John the Baptist, you would not stand a chance. Even the world champion would not stand a chance. I don’t know whether or not John the Baptist was a great boxer. Maybe in his youth he also did boxing, but surely this is not the point the Lord Jesus wants to make.

What kind of greatness is he talking about? Clearly, the greatness that the Lord Jesus is talking about is the only kind of greatness that matters as far as God is concerned. Do you think he is concerned whether or not you are a great boxer? Do you think whether you can play tennis very well in the kingdom of God makes any difference as far as God is concerned? Do you think that whether you make a lot of money in the kingdom of God is of any interest to God? Surely not! This kind of greatness is nothing; it has no eternal value. The only kind of greatness that has eternal value is of course, spiritual great­ness. That is the only kind of greatness that counts in terms of eter­nity, and it is this kind of greatness that the Lord is talking about. No one was greater than John the Baptist in terms of spiritual greatness.

 

Spiritual greatness consists in the quality of spiritual life

When we refer to spiritual greatness, what are we talking about? We must be clear of every detail. What do we mean when we say that Abraham was a great man of God? Do we mean that Abraham was a great preacher? It did not seem that Abraham ever did much preaching. Or did Abraham do a lot of miracles? When we study the life of Abraham, it turns out that he did not do any miracles that we know of. Then what was Abraham’s spiritual greatness? His greatness consisted in his total commitment to God, wasn’t it? When God demanded of him his only son, he did not even withhold his only son. It is often easier for a father to give his own life than to give the life of his son. God expected of him what was most precious to him. And Abraham’s greatness, as far as we can see in the history of the Old Testament, lies precisely in his total obedience to God. When God said, “Leave Haran.” He left Haran. When God said, “Go to Canaan.” He went to Canaan. He just obeyed God cheerfully and unconditionally. Isn’t that where the greatness of Abraham con­sists?

Or what do we mean when we said David was a great man of God? David was not sinless, then how was he great? Wasn’t it in his total devotion to God? Even in his failure, he glorified God in his total confession, his refusal to justify himself, his willingness to accept whatever consequences God considered fit to place upon him. Did David do any miracles? He didn’t do any miracles either. Or did he stand in front of Israel and preach the gospel? He didn’t. So wherein was his greatness? His total devotion to God is expressed in the Psalms, isn’t it? What else? David was a very capable man. So was Abraham. But their greatness did not consist in their ability. David was a great general. He was a great commander on the battlefield. But the Bible never once praises him for his generalship. God is not interested in that. His greatness consisted in the quality of his life.

Or let us take Isaiah. What miracles did Isaiah do? I don’t see that Isaiah did much in the way of miracles. You will say, “He was a great preacher!” Right, he was a great preacher, but there were many preachers in Israel, and none of them were said to be great. Why was Isaiah great? Was it because he was eloquent? We don’t know because we haven’t heard him. But his greatness certainly did not consist in that. His greatness consisted in his applying the law of God into every situation in the life of Israel, faithfully facing whatever any consequences anyone cared to place upon him. According to tradition, we are told that in the end, he was cut in half for his faithful preaching. He preached through the reigns of several kings. He was never afraid to confront the king with his sins. He was never afraid to tell Israel of its sins regardless whether or not they hated him. It was the same with Jeremiah. Wherein was their greatness? Isn’t it precisely in the quality of their lives? It is this kind of greatness that we are talking about.

 

Jesus expects every disciple to surpass the unsurpassable life of John

The Lord Jesus is saying that although John the Baptist never did a miracle that we know of, the quality of his life was such that his greatness ranked with the greatest of all time. No one could surpass him. Then he goes on to make this staggering statement: “But I say to you, my expectation of every person in the kingdom of heaven, in God’s Church at this present time, is greater than John the Baptist. John’s quality of life was unsurpassable but I expect you to surpass the unsurpassable.”

If you dare to live a defeated life, then you are not living the kind of life that the Lord Jesus called us to live. What he is saying is this: “My vision for the Church, the purpose for which I will die, is not just to raise you to the level of John the Baptist spiritually, but to raise you beyond that level.”

You are saying, “Lord, I can’t get to the level of John the Baptist. No, I can’t even get half-way there. Maybe I can’t even get one-quarter of the way there. And you are saying I have to exceed him? No, I can’t even imagine this!” But isn’t this the Lord Jesus’ teaching? Have I made some error in exposition? If so, I am willing to be corrected. “He who is the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Let us try to absorb this point.

 

The kingdom of God is present now in a hidden stage

Exegetically, I would like to help you notice one thing. Often in the Lord Jesus’ teaching, the kingdom of God is future. But there is no doubt that here he is speaking of the kingdom of God as present. We see in Matthew 11:12, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of God has suffered violence.” How can the kingdom of God suffer violence if it has not even come? How can something in the future suffer violence? The kingdom of God is present because only something that is present can suffer violence. You cannot take it by force when it is not even here.

He is saying, the kingdom of God came in the preaching of the kingdom of God in the days of John the Baptist, and since that time, the kingdom of God has been suffering violence. The kingdom of God is present now spiritually, in a hidden stage in which you don’t see it with your eyes. But when the Lord Jesus comes again in the future, it will come in a manifest stage, in which every eye will see the kingdom of God, and it will become physically present as well.

The kingdom of God is present in a hidden way at this present time, which the Lord Jesus has already made plain in his Parable of the Pearl. That pearl is hidden, and isn’t something that everybody recognizes. But someone who is looking for the pearl of great price recognizes it. And when the mystery is revealed to him and he sees the pearl of great price, he recognizes its value when other people didn’t, and he sells everything he owns to buy this pearl.

The kingdom of God is present today, but not everyone sees it. I don’t know if you see it. If you see it and its value, you will recognize that nothing is too valuable to give up in order to obtain it. That is the parable, isn’t it? This merchant saw this pearl and he recognized that it had more value than anything he had, and he was willing to give whatever he had to obtain this pearl of great price.

So the kingdom is hidden at this present time. Today, it is present by the working of God’s Holy Spirit and the proclamation of the Word. Therefore when you recognize the value of that kingdom, the message of the kingdom, you will accept the Word. The Parable of the Sower begins with “The kingdom of God is like…”; the kingdom of God is compared to the outgoing of the Word which is pictured as the seed, and some receive it and some don’t. This being the case, the people who have received the message of the kingdom are in the kingdom of God at the present time.

 

The kingdom of God produces a very radical reaction in people

“The kingdom of God suffers violence” or “is taken by force,” or “is the subject of force.” What does it mean? This verse has been the subject of much scholarly attention, which we will not go into now. Many articles and learned journals have paid attention to it. The meaning in its basic form is quite simple. It means that the kingdom of God produces a very radical reaction in people when it is preached by the power of God through the Holy Spirit. You are either for or against, but there is no neutrality. The Lord Jesus recognizes no neutrality: “You are either for me or against me.” The kingdom calls you to make this radical response.

This is why the Lord says that since the time of John the Baptist, the kingdom has been suffering violence. That is to say, people have been reacting either in love or in hate when they listened to the preaching of the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is always the case when the gospel is preached as it should be preached. People either love it or they hate it. It is very hard to remain neutral when you listen to the preaching of the Lord Jesus. It does not give you any neutral ground to stand on.

I get the same reaction when I my own expounding the teaching of the Lord Jesus. Some people are delighted; they receive the Word of God with joy. Other people feel very uncomfortable; they feel a very hostile reaction. But that is the way it is when you preach the Word of God. I don’t look for that kind of reaction but that is the inevitable reaction to the teaching of the Lord Jesus because he doesn’t leave you with a middle ground to stand on. He doesn’t allow you to say, “Oh yes, it’s quite nice.” No, you have to respond either positively or negatively. “The kingdom suffers violence, and men of violence take it by force.”

 

John the Baptist is in the kingdom of God, but he is still under the Old Testament

Does it mean that John the Baptist is not in the kingdom? This exposition would be totally false of course. We must not expound this passage as to assume that John the Baptist is not in the kingdom. John the Baptist is in the kingdom. How do we know this? It’s only because we see that the Lord Jesus has mentioned that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the servants of God in the Old Testament are also in the kingdom of heaven. For example, in Matthew 8:11,

If Abraham was not greater than John the Baptist, how can Abraham be in the kingdom and not John the Baptist? Of course, that exposition would be totally false. Of course, the kingdom of God will include John the Baptist.

Our exegesis must proceed carefully. I have stressed the point that we are talking about the kingdom of God in the present, not in the future. We are speaking about now in this new covenant period. Those who are under the new covenant are greater than John the Baptist. It is very important to understand this because in the future, John will be included in the kingdom of heaven, but he is not under the new covenant.

Matthew 11:13 says, “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John.” John was the watershed; he was still under the Old Testament as the last of the great Old Testament prophets. That is why those who received John’s baptism, as you see in Acts, had yet to receive the Holy Spirit, for example, through the apostle Paul (cf. Ac. 19:1-6). They still belonged to the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit is the gift of the New Testament, the New Covenant. The New Testament began with the Lord Jesus, and he established the New Covenant.

 

The Lord Jesus is saying the regenerate Christian is greater now

The Lord Jesus says, “Among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” What does it mean that we will be greater than John the Baptist? Does it mean that one day, when I get to the new heaven and the new earth, I will be so trans­formed, I will become such a new person, I will become totally like Christ, as the apostle John said, “When we see him, we shall become like him for we shall see him as he is.” (1 Jo. 3:2), I will be greater than John the Baptist? Since I have become like the Lord Jesus, and he is greater than John the Baptist, of course, I am greater than John the Baptist!

Is that what we mean? No. Notice carefully, the Lord Jesus did not say “he who is least in the kingdom of heaven”, the new creation, will be greater than John the Baptist on that day in the new heaven and the new earth, when the kingdom of God comes visibly and with power.” The Lord Jesus is saying the regenerate Christian is greater now. That is the staggering part! We have already seen one aspect of this greatness often stressed in Hebrews, namely, the fact that the New Covenant is much “better”, and so “greater” than the Old Covenant. Since John belonged to the Old Covenant, and we belong to the New Covenant, we are greater.

 

Error: “Greater than John the Baptist” because we are sons

But this “greatness” is about spiritual quality not status. I am concerned that someone is going to come along and say, “Oh yes, it’s very easy to understand this verse. What it is saying is really that we are all greater than John the Baptist because we are sons of God. Since we have become sons of God through Christ, then of course, sons are greater than servants. John was only a servant.” This is erro­neous on two counts.

 

1. “Son of God” is not at all confined to Christians

First of all, the term “son of God” is not at all confined to Christians. Many Christians seem to be ignorant of this fact. Yes, we are sons of God, but the people of Israel were also called “sons of God.” In fact, not only Israel, but even the angels were called “sons of God.” Indeed, not only angels but also fallen angels. Some think that the “sons of God” in Genesis Chapter 6, who consorted with the daughters of men, or human beings, refer to angels, and in this case they fell. Even fallen angels are called “sons of God,” whereas if that refers to followers of God, they became “fallen ones.” We have reference to “sons of God” as far back as in Genesis Chapter 6. I hope you will understand very well that “sons of God” is not a title peculiar to Christians. We do have the privilege to call God, “Abba Father” since the Lord Jesus has reconciled us to him, but we must not imagine that this was a peculiar privilege granted only to the Church.

 

2. Spiritual quality not status

Secondly, the Lord Jesus is not speaking about status. As we saw, he is speaking about spiritual quality, spiritual greatness. We must not make the mistake that we can compare status. “I have the status of son, and no matter how great you are spiritually, I’m still greater than you.” What kind of reasoning is this? You must understand this Scriptural teaching very well, that no one in the Bible is great on the basis of status. God is only interested in spiritual greatness.

David was a king, but no one in the Bible suggests that he is great because he was a king. Israel had many kings and most of them were not good. They were regarded as nothing in the eyes of God although they were kings. And they were kings in a theocracy, kings in the nation of Israel, the people of God. But the fact that they were kings among the people of God was nothing in God’s eyes.

I am not great because I am a pastor among God’s people. That does not make me great. There are a lot of pastors and I would suggest that none of them are very great. If status is what counts in the Bible, then all we have to do is look for status. So not only do you become sons of God, but make sure that you also become pastors, so that you can sit among the high-ranking ones in the kingdom of God, perhaps right next to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! This is ridiculous! No one who understands the Bible credits such nonsense for one minute.

Therefore saying that of course, every one in the kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist because we are all sons, is utter nonsense! Never for one minute believe such nonsense! Those with higher status will be judged more severely according to their status. Pastors, people like us, will have a much more severe judgment. Sometimes, we would be happier if we crawl under the pulpit and disappear because of the Judgment. That is why James also says, “Let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment,” (Jam. 3:1) because much more is required of the teacher than of the student. We, teachers will be judged more severely. That is enough to make me fear and tremble.

“The greatest” and “the least” are a comparison of quality not of status. This means we are left with only one exegetical possibility. The Lord Jesus is saying this: In the kingdom of God, the spiritual quality of even the least is greater than that of John the Baptist.

 

The Lord’s vision for God’s church that is greater than John the Baptist:

1. We become new creatures who have abundant life

Now, how do you stand in terms of the Lord’s vision for God’s church? The Lord Jesus died to redeem us, to set us free from the power of sin with a better sacrifice than they ever had in the Old Testament, with better promises and a better covenant. He provided everything better for us to make it possible for us to also live at a better spiritual quality. That is what the whole book of Hebrews is about. Do you think that we have a better covenant for no other reason than having a better covenant? No, we are made new creatures that God might produce a people who reflect the glory of their Creator. Do you live like a new creature? Do you look like a new creature? We are made new creatures in the perfect image of God, as in the pattern of the heavenly man, Jesus. (1 Cor. 15:49) How easily the evangelists use this term “born again”! What does “born again” mean unless you become a new person?

Are you born again? Don’t answer that question too hurriedly. Just take a look at your life, whether it looks like a born-again life or not; whether you look like a new person, or whether you behave as you did before. How can you be a born-again person if you still have the bad temper that you had before? What does “born again” mean? You are a new person! How? A born-again person is a person who is born in the image of God as reflected in the only perfect man, Jesus. And like Jesus, he is equipped with the power of God because the Holy Spirit of Yahweh God lives in him.

Jesus said, “In my kingdom in this present age, the spiritual quality of every disciple, even the least of them, will be greater than John the Baptist.” Didn’t I say it was staggering? That is the vision the Lord Jesus has for the Church. Think well on it, and see how well you and I match up to this. Can we measure up to this kind of spiritual great­ness that the Lord Jesus is talking about? Then why don’t we see this kind of spiritual greatness when we look around the church? You look around and ask, “I don’t even find somebody on the level with John the Baptist let alone greater than he! Where are these people?”

 

2. Jesus aspires that every disciple will do greater works than himself!

This teaching of greatness of life quality is constantly found in the teaching of the Lord Jesus; it is characteristic of his teaching. I can show you further exegetical evidence that the Lord Jesus wants to say to us that every disciple is greater than John the Baptist not just from this verse. Let us turn for example, to John 14:12. Here we are talking about greatness too, and here we see something also very staggering:

There is the word “greater.” Who is the Lord Jesus speaking to? Is he speaking to the apostles only? The apostles will be greater than John the Baptist? Of course, Paul, Peter and all the apostles are greater than John the Baptist. Look carefully at what it says here. He is addressing you, if you believe in him – “whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do.” Isn’t that saying exactly the same thing in Matthew 11:11? If the Lord Jesus is greater than John the Baptist, and we do the works that he does, are we not also greater than John the Baptist? It doesn’t take a great logician to see that. We will do the works of the Lord Jesus?! But we can’t even do the works of John the Baptist! And the Lord is saying, “You will do the works that I do.”

If the Lord Jesus had finished there, we would have already had enough to swallow, but he has not finished yet: “and greater works than these will he do.” And you will say, “Oh, Lord! I can’t even manage to do your works, and do you want me to do greater works?”

I am so touched by the words of the Lord Jesus, “Greater works will you do.” He is actually saying, “I want my Father to make you greater than me. I desire that my God and Father’s Spirit—living in you just as he lived in me—do greater works through you than I did.” What a precious Lord! The Lord Jesus could have done all the greatest works there was ever to do, and leave you only the seconds. You would have no chance to catch up with him. But the Lord’s attitude is this: he did amazing works, but he wants his Father to do greater works through you. He wants you to do greater works than he did. What kind of Lord is this? He is amazing! He did not reserve the first place for himself. Now you can understand the point that I was stressing earlier on. He wants you to be greater. He is effacing himself even to this point. He is content to do works less great than what you do. “My Father will do greater works through you, so that it can stand written that you did greater works than me.” Think about this. Precious Lord! He did not want to reserve first place for himself. He says, “You can be greater than me. Go ahead!”

There were some in the First Team who once asked me, “What if one day we preach better than you? What if we are mightier than you?” They thought I might be jealous, that I might be worried that those trained by me become greater than me. I said to them, “Nothing would give me greater joy than if you should be greater than me! Why don’t you hurry up? Come on! Be quick about it so that you can be greater than me!”

The precious Lord Jesus! He did not say, “Now look, I did all the greatest works. From now on, you just try to be number two. Perhaps if you cannot make number two, try number three.” He never did that. “I want you to be greater!” What kind of vision did he have for each one of us!

We live in a state of defeat. I see so many Christians struggling, trying to manage just to keep their heads above water. And the Lord Jesus says, “I am going to make you swim the 100-meter race in 14 seconds!” You will say, “I can hardly keep my head above water, and you want me to win the world championship? Are you kidding? I can’t do this!” But that is the vision that the Lord Jesus has for God’s church, I beg of you to grasp this picture!

 

Whoever believes in me, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water

If this is not enough, let us go back to a verse that I often love to quote, John 7:38. There again it isn’t speaking about apostles, about mighty men of the past that we know by name, but what does John 7:38 say? “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.” I wonder if out of your heart flows so much as one measly little stream, not to mention rivers of water! Or maybe a few drops might occasionally manage to evaporate from your heart and produce a few clouds for someone else. But rivers of living water? I don’t know about this. Maybe some streams? Dare we talk about “rivers of living water”?

When the First Team and I were in Israel, we visited Caesarea Philippi, and we stood at where Peter made his great confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” (cf. Mt. 16:13-16) There we saw the waterfall thundering down, separating into two mighty streams of rivers, and wetting us all with its sprays as we stood at the foot of the waterfall. And I thought of these words, “Out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.”

Could it be that the Lord Jesus was saying these words, as he and his disciples were looking at this mighty water rushing down from the cliff at Caesarea Philippi? “Do you see that waterfall here? Do you see the mighty rushing water of the upper reaches of the Jordan River that goes down to the Lake of Galilee to irrigate the whole land of Israel? So out of your innermost being will come rivers of water to water the land of Israel, the people of God, and indeed, the whole world.”

But notice that these words are addressed to “whoever believes in me,” to anyone who believes in him. Do you believe in him? If so, are rivers of water coming out of you?

 

Jesus, filled with God’s fullness, made his greatness possible to us

The apostle Paul is saying the same thing. In Colossians 1:19 Paul says, “For in him (Christ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” In Colossians 2:9 he says again, “For in him (Christ) the whole fullness of deity (God) dwells bodily.” Why does the Lord Jesus have greatness? It’s because “the whole fullness of the Godhead was in him.”

Notice what Paul says about the Christian in Ephesians 3:19, “And to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” In Colossians 1:19 and 2:9, he also said Christ was filled with all the fullness of God. If you put the fullness of God in Christ, next to the fullness of God in you, do you see that this was what the Lord Jesus was saying? “The works that I do, you will do too. My greatness will be found in you.”

In Ephesians 4:13, he goes on, “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” There it is again, that we all attain this measure, the fullness of the stature of Christ. What does it mean? If you attain the fullness of the stature of Christ, you will have the full greatness of Christ in your life. That is what we are to attain.

That is why Paul says in Colossians 1:28, “For this I labor and strive with all my energy to present every man perfect in Christ.” The fullness of the stature of Christ is to be “complete”, “perfect,” or “mature” in every true Christian.

Paul’s vision was exactly the same as the Lord Jesus’: Every person should have this greatness of Christ, and therefore be greater than John the Baptist. This is clearly what every Christian must arrive at. It means that we must, like Paul, commit ourselves utterly to the accomplishing of this purpose, that God will fill us with his fullness, that we may reach the fullness of the stature of Christ.

Clearly, this would require a bit of time. Some people may take a little while to accomplish this, maybe a few months, a few years, I don’t know. But it must be accomplished! It must be accomplished here and now because Jesus died for this, that each one of us will be greater than John the Baptist.

 

Fulfill Christ’s vision for us: Have great power to bring others salvation

Why do we want to be greater than John the Baptist? Why do we want to have Jesus’ greatness? Just so that we have glory? Not at all! Why does the Lord Jesus want us to be the greatest? It is to have the greatness of the power to convey salvation to others. Why was John the Baptist great? It’s because he brought Israel to repentance. Israel turned to God through his quality of life. Multitudes repented of their sins and they were changed; they were prepared for the coming of the kingdom of God.

We seek this greatness so that we may fulfill the task which is consented to us namely, to bring God’s salvation to the people who are perishing in the darkness of this world. May Christ’s vision be fulfilled in us!