The Greatest Prophet Among Men

Luke 7:27-28
27 "This is he of whom it is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.'28 "For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."(NKJ)

This is a great example of how God's kingdom works. Jesus actually said that John the Baptist was the greatest prophet on earth. But right after that, he balances it out by saying that one can be greater than John the Baptist simply by being the least. By humbling themselves and becoming nothing, that is how a person becomes greater than the greatest prophet among men.

Jesus is an excellent example of this. He is THE greatest because he lowered himself further than any man ever could.

When He came to earth as a man, He gave up some of the power that He had in heaven. He was still God, but He was also a man, with an imperfect body. He came not as a conqueror, but as a servant. He said so Himself:

Matt 20:26-28
26 "It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."(NAS)

He took on the sins of the entire world on the cross, becoming separated from God the Father and bearing a punishment that we can't even begin to imagine. The punishment was so severe that the actual physical pain and humiliation associated with Crucifixion doesn't even begin to compare with the separation from the Father that He felt when He took on our sins.

So, how does this relate back to the passage about John the baptist? To be great in the Kingdom of God, one must be a servant. And the greatest example of a servant is Jesus Christ. He is the model that we look to for a servant's life, a man who was truly capable of keeping the greatest commandment: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength; and the second: love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus did both. He died on the cross to bring absolute glory to the Father. He loves the Father enough that He gave up His life for the Father's glory to be shown. And He loved His neighbor because it gave us the opportunity to become children of the most high God through the same sacrifice.