Both John and Jesus were the fulfillment of Malachi 3:1.

The Least Is Greater? Jesus’ next statement can be difficult to understand.

Jesus’ point is that no one greater than John had been born through natural, human, sexual relations. He was the greatest of all the prophets because he was the forerunner of the Messiah. But what did Jesus mean that “one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he”?

Younger View. One of the views claims that the Greek word that is translated as “least” actually means “younger.” Then Jesus’ statement would imply that the younger one, Himself, was the one that is greater than John. But, the root Greek word is MICROS. We get our word “micron” from it. An examination of any good Greek lexicon will reveal that the word refers to something that is “smaller” and not younger. Therefore, this view is rejected.

Jesus Is Less. Another view says that Jesus was not yet king at the time that He made this statement. Therefore, Jesus was less than John. This view ignores Matthew 3:11 where John the Baptist implies that Jesus is greater.

It is also important to notice that in the process of answering one of Pontius Pilate’s questions, Jesus stated that He already had a kingdom and He was a king (John 18:36-37). Jesus did not need to wait to become a king some day. Therefore, this view is rejected.

Unambiguous View. A third view says that the prophets of old knew that the Messiah would be coming, but they did not know when He would come exactly or who He was. The view also claims that John knew when the Messiah was coming even though he was not completely sure who the Messiah was, but those who are in heaven knew exactly when the Messiah would come and that He was Jesus. Therefore, even the least in the kingdom was greater since they had better knowledge. Their view is rejected for two reasons. First, the passage does not even give us a hint that the issue is about identifying the Messiah. Second, 1 Peter 1:10-12 states that even the angels did not know everything about the Messiah. If that is true, why would the least in the kingdom of heaven know more? Therefore, this view is rejected.

New/Old Covenant View. The next view says that John the Baptist was the greatest of the saints in the Old Covenant (that is, before Jesus’ death). Yet, even the least in the New Covenant (that is, after Jesus’ death and return to life) would be greater than John since they would be in the New Covenant. Since this view cannot be supported by scripture, it is rejected.

Participation View. The fifth view says that those who were able to participate and experience Jesus’ ministry were greater than those who were not able to participate and enjoy it. Therefore since John was in prison, even the least of those who participated in Jesus' ministry were greater than John. Since this view cannot be supported by scripture, it is rejected.

“Is” View. The most obvious and correct view can be discovered by asking, “What is the plain meaning of Jesus’ words?” What did Jesus say? The key word in Jesus’ statement is the word “is.” It is repeated twice.

Jesus was not talking about the past or the future. He was talking about the present. The followers of God who believed in Him and died down through the ages were those who were living in the kingdom of heaven. They were holy spiritual beings living in heaven while Jesus walked, taught, and performed miracles on the earth. Those who were alive on planet earth were not holy beings, except for Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15). They were sinners (Rom. 3:23; 6:23) living in a fallen, sinful world. Just read the daily newspapers, watch the news, and see how people act on the streets and how members of a family interact. Every person on this planet lives in a sinful world (Rom. 5:12). Jesus’ point is that holy, spiritual beings in their glorified, heavenly bodies are greater than people who are still living on earth. Therefore, even the great John the Baptist was less than the least person in heaven. He was still on the earth and not up in heaven. Jesus was making a spiritual statement. God sees us through a spiritual camera lens and not as man sees. He is interested in our spiritual condition. This view understands Jesus’ words plainly. Yes, John was great in this life, but when compared to those spiritual beings in heaven, he was less.

Until John. Why did Jesus tell the crowd that John was the prophet who would come before the Messiah, and that no one but those in heaven were greater than John the Baptist? Why was Jesus talking about John? Unfortunately, we are not told, but it appears that Jesus is answering the question, “Why did John question you?” If you are the Messiah, or the Coming One, why is John the Baptist in prison? Some in the crowd might have been criticizing John in their thoughts, since faithful followers tend to support their leaders.