No One Greater (Lk. 7:24-35)
Good morning, BCC!
A couple weeks ago we were reintroduced to John the Baptist. Before that time we learned from chapter three, that John was in the wilderness baptizing and preaching a message of repentance in preparation for the coming kingdom of God. For a little over three chapters, Luke has been silent about the Baptizer, and then he breaks that silence by presenting him as a bit of a hopeful skeptic.
If you recall, John sent two of his disciples to ask if Jesus was the One Who was promised to come. And how does Jesus answer John’s question? He says, “Tell him what you have seen and what you have heard” (Lk. 7:22).
Jesus often referenced the works He did as evidence of His Person and power (Jn. 9:3, 4; 10:25, 37; 17:4).
He actually addressed this concern several times in John’s Gospel.
John 5:36 NKJV
36 But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.
Jesus tells John's disciples to report that the Gospel is not only being proclaimed but is being actively demonstrated through God's compassionate ministry.
With this message, John’s disciples depart, marking his final appearance in the Gospel. Yet, his story isn't finished; Jesus is about to pull back the curtain for all the people to discover who this wild man actually was.
Open your Bibles to Luke seven and let’s pick up at verse twenty-four.
The Greatest Prophet
Luke 7:24–35 NKJV
24 When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
25 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts.
26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.
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.”
29 And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.
30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.
31 And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like?
32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.’
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
35 But wisdom is justified by all her children.”
Questioned (Lk. 7:24-28)
Luke opens this section of scripture by fully disclosing the identity of John. Some commentators (Morris, Swindoll) believe that Jesus is clearing up any confusion the people might have about John’s faith in the Messiah since he questioned if He was the Coming One.
Leon Morris explains,
Those who heard Jesus answer John’s messengers may have thought that he was rebuking or even repudiating John. He removes any such impression by making it clear that John was the greatest of men.[1]
Luke 7:24 NKJV
24 When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John:
Something to note about this multitude is that this is the same group who previously witnessed the miraculous works of God to show compassion, to bring the dead back to life, and to restore health to the sick. Not only that, but based on Jesus’ interrogation of the multitude, it is implied that this group is made up of people who were previously familiar with John.
How do I know that?
Well, let’s look at the first question Jesus asks, which is really the only question that He asks just before offering three possible responses.
Luke 7:24 NKJV
24 “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?
If you recall from Luke chapter three, the wilderness is where John’s ministry took off.
Luke 3:2 NKJV
2 the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
Mark 1:4–5 NKJV
4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
So, this multitude that Jesus addresses in Luke seven, knows who John is, but they don’t really know. “Did you go out to the wilderness to stare at the foliage”, Jesus asks? A reed shaken with the wind? Did you expect John to be easily swayed? A man without convictions tossed about by the winds of doubt or the influences of other men?
John was no doubleminded man (James 1:7-8).
Did you expect to see something stunningly beautiful? Were you expecting a fashion show? Or did you go looking for a prophet of God? The first two answers Jesus offers are utterly ridiculous and absurd. No one would’ve wasted their time going into the wilderness for a nature hike and they certainly would not have expected to see kings and men of means hanging out there either. So, a prophet makes the most sense. Moses and Elijah spent time in the wilderness during their own days.
They went out to see a prophet and they got more than they expected.
More Than a Prophet (Lk. 7:26-28)
Luke 7:26–28 NKJV
26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.
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.”
This is the third time Jesus asked what did they go out to see, but this time He gave the correct answer - a prophet.
The Apostle Paul says, that prophets are appointed by God not by men, like you see in many of our modern churches (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11). According to Peter (2 Peter 1:21), prophecy comes from the Holy Spirit’s prompting, not human insight. And in the book of Revelation, an angel tells John,
Revelation 19:10 NKJV
10 “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
And John certainly testifies about Jesus. But Jesus points out two contrasting qualities of John.
First, as the forerunner to the Messiah, he is more than a prophet (v26).
Jesus quotes from the words of the prophet Malachi to make His point.
Malachi 3:1 NKJV
1 “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me.
Malachi 4:5–6 NKJV
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
Jesus confirms this in two places. One is in Luke 7:27 and the other is in Matthew 11.
Matthew 11:13–15 NKJV
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.
15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
The same Spirit who moved through prophets like Moses, Isaiah, Elijah, and Jeremiah was at work in John (1 Cor. 12:10-11). And yet, Jesus says, though he was more than a prophet, he was less than the least in the kingdom God. That statement has rightfully left many scratching their heads in confusion, but I think that God’s word can help us understand what Jesus meant by that.
Least and Greatest (Lk. 7:28)
Luke 7:28 NKJV
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.”
One point that I think Jesus is making here is that He is not a prophet. Was Jesus not born of a woman? Is John greater than Jesus? Absolutely not. Even John confessed to this,
John 3:30 NKJV
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
If you recall what happened after Jesus raised the dead son of the widow in Nain,
Luke 7:16 NKJV
16 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.”
Jesus draws a clear line of distinction between Him and John. John is the greatest prophet to ever live. Jesus is the Son of God and sacrifice for the sins of all humanity.
You will often hear people dream about going back to the good ol’ days. Longing for days gone by. And yet, there is much that we are privileged to experience today that our ancestors hoped for. If possible, I believe that they would swap places with us. Their hope is our reality.
John was considered less than the least in the kingdom, not in terms of value or significance, but rather in terms of timing. Understand this, because the law had not yet been fulfilled through the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, in a sense, what we read in the Gospels can still be considered Old Testament. John, like so many before him, was an Old Testament prophet.
Matthew 11:13 NKJV
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
Darrell Bock brings this to a very reasonable conclusion,
It is hard to think that it would have been great, maybe even better to have lived in an era when God was mightily at work, to have crossed the sea with Moses or seen Elijah defeat the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. But Jesus is clear that as great as the former times were, as great as John the Baptist was, nothing before that time matches what Jesus offers. If Moses and the prophets could speak, they would say that they longed for these days. They would gladly have traded places with us. That is how special it is to share in the salvation that Jesus brings.[2]
Jesus confirmed this in His encouragement to His disciples.
Matthew 13:17 NKJV
17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Peter agrees with Jesus as he states,
1 Peter 1:10–12 NKJV
10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,
11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.
What John hoped for, we know. What John looked for, we see. What he prophesied, we are living out today. You are greater than John the Baptist if you have been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. If you do not know this grace of God for yourselves, understand that today is the day of salvation for you. Christ has come in the flesh that you might have life in abundance.
Don’t ignore this grace of God like the Pharisees and lawyers in John’s day.
Justified and Rejected (Lk. 7:29-30)
Luke 7:29–30 NKJV
29 And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.
30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.
Luke mentions two groups of people in this section: tax collectors and the religious elite.
Luke tells us that while Jesus was speaking about John the Baptizer, that “all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God (Lk. 7:29). They believed what John had said about the coming Messiah and they proved it by being baptized. Luke follows this up by contrasting the response of the tax collectors with that of the Pharisees and lawyers. He says,
Luke 7:29–30 NKJV
“But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.”
I hope you heard that, they rejected the will of God for themselves. Don’t make the same mistake they did.
God’s will for you today is this (Ezek. 18:23, 32; John 3:17; 1 Tim. 4:10; Titus 2:11; 2 Pet. 3:9),
1 Timothy 2:4 NKJV
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Peter 3:9 NKJV
9 ...not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
What the tax collectors understood that the Pharisees and lawyers could not see is that they were sinners who needed a Savior and Jesus was the Answer. They knew that they had to repent and they trusted God for their lives.
I pray that you can hear the voice of God speaking to you this morning. I pray that as you listen to the gospel of Jesus proclaimed from this podium this morning, that you will not harden your heart to the voice of God. I pray that you will not stiffen your neck, but instead that you would humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and allow Him to raise you up today.
Childish (Lk. 7:31-35)
Jesus ends His eulogy of John with one final admonition. Stop being childish.
Luke 7:31–35 NKJV
31 And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like?
32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.’
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
35 But wisdom is justified by all her children.”
This portion of scripture has been referred to as the Parable of the Brats. It’s believed that the game to which Jesus refers was common among Jewish children during that time. They would either play “wedding” where music was played and they would dance or “funeral” where they pretended to be sad and mourn.
Jesus used this comparison to highlight how difficult that generation was to satisfy. They viewed John the Baptist as an extreme radical for his ascetic lifestyle—eating locusts and honey while preaching repentance. Conversely, they criticized Jesus as being too permissive because He socialized with tax collectors and sinners. To these critics, John was too rigid, while Jesus was too relaxed. John needed to lighten up and Jesus needed to tighten up.
A lot of that still goes on today in regards to Jesus and the Church. Some people will never be satisfied with how we present the Gospel. They will either call you a hypocrite, a liberal, or a fundamentalist no matter how you package your message or how you behave.
Some people will accuse Jesus of being unfair regardless of what happens in their lives. They will blame Him for the bad, yet they will not credit Him for the good.
Have you ever noticed that?
The same people who question the love of God because of the troubles of their lives or the same ones who rob God of the honor and recognition He deserves for the many blessings they have enjoyed.
How many critics of God’s sovereignty and benevolence see the good things that they enjoy as a result of their own wisdom, wealth, power and influence? However, when things don’t work out the way they expected or the pieces of their lives start to fall apart they don’t blame themselves, they blame God.
Will you credit God for the hardships of your life and not for countless blessings?
Stop being childish!
Those who are truly wise will be the ones who humble themselves and trust in Jesus and the redeeming work of God for the salvation of their souls.
Psalm 111:10 NKJV
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
Respond
We covered a lot today and still there is plenty that I just couldn’t fit in to this message. However, what I want to be absolutely clear about is this, as great as John the Baptist was, Jesus is greater still.
Acts 4:12 NKJV
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
You might be living your best life today right now, but understand this, even your greatest present successes would be eclipsed when compared to the life Jesus provides. It is far better to be the least in the kingdom of God, than it is to be the greatest in a kingdom built with our own hands.
Tre Clark
Britton Christian Church
5/14/2026
[1] Leon Morris, Luke: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 3, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 162.
[2] D. Bock, Luke, 139
