Matthew 11:11

“Truly I say to you, Among those who are born of women there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist. Yet he who is least in the Kingly Rule of heaven is greater than he.”

And then Jesus makes clear that in Himself a new age has begun. It is the time of consummation (even if it will last for two thousand years and more). The Kingly Rule of Heaven is now being established on earth (it has always been established in Heaven - Psalms 22:28; Psalms 103:19; Psalms 93:1, etc). And the one who is least in the Kingly Rule of Heaven is greater than John, for John is a figure of the old age, preparatory to the Kingly Rule, but not under it. Indeed he is the greatest of all born in that age. For of men born of women none has arisen who was greater than John the Baptist. And what this statement is telling us is not that he is greater than Moses, and Elijah, and David per se, (such comparisons would be odious), but that he is greater than them all because he is the Introducer of Jesus. He has a higher office than all the others, and it is that which gives him his greatness, that he is the one appointed to prepare the way for Jesus, and declared to be such in Scripture. And let us consider what that tells us about the greatness of Jesus. It tells us that He towers above them all, and that all point to Him.

And yet, and here is the remarkable thing, even the one who is least under the Kingly Rule of Heaven is ‘greater than John'. That must make us pause. How can that be? And the reply is that John, and all who came before him pointed ahead to the day when the King would come. But they had no place in the Kingly Rule of Heaven on earth, for the King had not yet come. But now all who come under the Kingly Rule of Heaven on earth, by responding to and submitting to Jesus the King, are becoming His servants by being the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), and are bringing men and women into His Kingly Rule, and there is no greater status than that.

Some have seen ‘he that is least (or youngest)' as applying to Jesus, so that it is He Who is greater than John the Baptist. But that would not have needed to be said. It was intrinsic in the fact that John had prepared the way for Him. What was startling was that a new age had begun in which all who served God had a unique greatness, the greatness of personal service to the King (Matthew 20:25; Luke 22:24; Mark 9:34) and of being involved in the new salvation. The greatness lay in their status, just as John's greatness lay in his status. It is telling us that all true status in the world is to be measured against the position of men in the light of Jesus.

But we must note what being in the Kingly Rule of Heaven involves. It is not the same thing as being a member of the Christian church (although it is the same thing as being a living member of Christ's body). Being in the Kingly Rule of Heaven involves being in genuine submission to the King. Many outwardly appear to be in the Kingly Rule of Heaven who are in fact ‘sons of the Evil One' (Matthew 13:38). But it is only the ‘sons of the Kingly Rule' (Matthew 13:38) who are really within the sphere of the Kingly Rule of Heaven, for they alone truly serve the King.

Of course it is important to remember here that greatness in the Kingly Rule of Heaven is not to be measured by earthly standards. True greatness in the Kingly Rule of God is evidenced by unflagging and totally unselfish service (Matthew 20:25). It is found in self-denial, in the taking up of the cross to follow Jesus. It is found in being ‘the least', the one who serves (Mark 9:35; Luke 22:24). And once a man truly does that, he is truly great with a greatness that is unsurpassed. It is the greatness of privilege. He has a status beyond all others.

It may be asked, does this mean then that John was not included in the Kingly Rule of Heaven? And the answer is that in his office as the preparer of the way, he was not included in the Kingly Rule of Heaven on earth. For it was Jesus Who brought in the Kingly Rule of Heaven on earth after John was imprisoned. He was announced as King after His baptism, but He did not begin to take on the role until John was put in prison. It was true evidence of His graciousness that while John was still preaching Jesus played a subordinate role to him. He preached alongside him and was concerned when more began to seek to Him rather than to John (John 3:22; John 4:1). It was only when John was imprisoned that Jesus began to introduce the Kingly Rule of Heaven (Mark 1:14), as revealed in His mighty works, consolidating what John and He had begun, and revealing the Kingly Rule as now present (Matthew 12:28). John could never as a prophet be a part of the Kingly Rule on earth (even though his followers possibly could - Matthew 21:31), for he was pointing towards it, and for him to enter under the Kingly Rule of Heaven would have involved him becoming officially subordinate to Jesus. And that was something that Jesus in His graciousness would not allow. He was, however, along with all the prophets, certainly an inheritor of the Kingly Rule in Heaven (Luke 13:28).