Least in the Kingdom

Luke 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

John the Baptist was the greatest prophet ever.  Greater than Elijah or Moses.  More passionate than David.  More eccentric than Ezekiel.  Why was his prophecy so important? Because, like other prophets, he prophesied about Jesus’ life and death, but unlike his predecessors, he directly prepared the way for Jesus’ ministry in Jesus’ own time. Other prophets even prophesied about John’s ministry.

But Jesus says that even John has little compared to one who enters the kingdom of God.  Who enters the kingdom of God?  Those born again of water and the Spirit, that is, Christians.  So the least Christian is greater than John the Baptist, who was in turn the greatest “Old Testament” prophet.

What makes a Christian so much better than the prophets and godly men of old?  Certainly not the quality of our deeds!  It’s obviously not our character!

I think part of the reason Jesus says Christians, partakers in the New Covenant, are greater– more blessed– than the prophets of Israel is that, despite their memorable encounters with God, the godly men and women of the Old Testament didn’t live to see their hopes of a savior realized.  The Holy Spirit didn’t live in their hearts to teach them and guide them in the way he does in those of Christians.

Every Christian, great or small, has a gift that any one of our biblical heroes would kill to have!  David longed to know more about his redeemer.  Isaiah knew details of Jesus’ death, but he never knew about his life and teachings.  Every Christian gets to talk to Jesus every day as intimately, if not quite so dramatically, as Moses, unique among all Israel, did from time to time.

How precious a gift we carry in our hearts, to know our Savior by name.

(The song that got me thinking about this.  As Christians we can ask God to show us his glory in a way few Israelites would have dared– because we are made right with him through Christ.)

The Infamous Sports Analogy

Last night at the restaurant we had a famous person come by and hang out at the bar.  No entourage, no giant sunglasses– just a regular guy in a baseball cap having a beer and watching major league baseball on the big TV.

His name is Kevin Millwood, a former pitcher in the Braves’ late 90s all-star lineup and now a starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers.

As he watched the game (I don’t remember who was playing– obviously not the Rangers) I thought how incredibly different every move on that television must look to him than it did to me or anyone else in the restaurant.  Every glance, twitch and expression means something to him– “He’s thinking about a slider.  Two-seam fastball.  He might steal.”  He sees and knows these things more intimately than even the most avid fan, because he’s been right there, and he probably knows many of the players in the game.  Watching baseball as Kevin Millwood must be a much more connected experience than it is for me.

We see a similar process in the Christian’s relationship to the Bible.  An outsider may see a bunch of boring old guys with an altar, or at best some interesting stories about a faraway culture.  But it’s different for us Christians.

We know the God of the Bible personally.  We can commiserate with David when he’s rebuked by Nathan for his misdeeds, because we’ve had our fellow believers call us out when we were on the wrong path.  We know exactly why Jonah got on a boat going the other way, because we’ve been just as terrified to do what God demands of us.  We can empathize with the prodigal son when he sees his father run to him, because we too have experienced God’s immeasurable grace pouring into our lives in spite of our sins.

And just like Kevin can palpably feel the roar of the crowd and the intensity of the spotlights when he watches ESPN, the Bible becomes a living, tangible reality in the hands of a Christian moved by the same Spirit who moved through those pages.

*Small update* Kevin came back in last night and I had a chance to talk to him for a minute.  I asked him if it was indeed true that he could understand all the minute aspects of the game because of his experience, and he confirmed what I thought.  He was really down to earth and cool, and when I shook his hand it was like being clamped by a vise!