Jesus did not keep the striving of faith away from John, for it is the act of faith that justifies and not repentance, knowledge, and godliness. Christ loved his forerunner, and showed respect towards him openly. He said that the Baptist was not movable as a reed shaken with the wind, but hard toward the proud and sinful, strict against the soft and haughty, and harsh toward the adulterous king. He pierced their hearts. John was the true harbinger, and faithful guard to his nation, who called all to repentance and returning.
John did not only speak with his mouth pressing on his hearers with heavy burdens which he did not bear, but he lived what he said, and denied himself. He did not give way to ease and comfort, nor did he seek pleasure in the midst of the flood of sin in his people, but repented instead of them all, had his clothing of camel’s hair, and lived on locusts and wild honey in the wilderness. Thus he was the embodied call to repentance.
Nevertheless, John was not only the greatest of all prophets in the history of mankind, but was also more important than all the leaders and priests of the Old Testament. He surpassed Moses, David, and all philosophers and founders of religions in the world, for he foreran the Lord immediately before his coming, prepared his way, and cultivated, with the power of a divine angel, the hearts of the people that they might be prepared to accept the sowing of the gospel. Christ bore witness to his power, and confirmed that he prepared his way rightfully, and lived in faithfulness, lowliness, and power. This is the high encomium, which Christ gave of John the Baptist. Would that we hear, at the end of our effort, a warm admiration for our faithful service from Christ that has been raised from the dead.
Christ clarified to his hearers, in relation to the kingdom of God, that he that is least among those born of the Holy Spirit is greater than John, who is the greatest of all those that are born of dust. It goes without saying that the believers of the New Testament are not in themselves better than John. Moreover they cannot do any good of themselves. However, God became their Father through Christ’s reconciliation, and the Holy Spirit made them partners in eternal life. In fact, if you believe in Christ, you will become, by grace, greater than a prophet; i.e. you will become a child of God with all the rights and power given freely to you. But you are also called to participate in Christ’s sufferings, to deny yourself, to bear your cross everyday patiently, and not to doubt your Father’s love which cares for you at all times.
The multitudes of sinners confessed their sins openly during the baptism on the Jordan. They bowed down under God’s judgment, confessing that they deserved destruction, and asking forgiveness only for the sake of grace. As to the professors and scribes, they embraced their own righteousness and trivial dignity, rejected John’s baptism, and did not enter into the redemptive plan of God. They hid their sins in themselves, thinking that their good deeds caused God’s blessing forever. By this principle, they transgressed God’s plan of grace, and instigated the people against John and Jesus, in order that their deceiving teaching should not move from the law, and that the people may remain imprisoned in the nets of their deception.