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Charlie Traffas
Charlie Traffas has been involved in marketing, media, publishing and insurance for more than 40 years. In addition to being a fully-licensed life, health, property and casualty agent, he is also President and Owner of Chart Marketing, Inc. (CMI). CMI operates and markets several different products and services that help B2B and B2C businesses throughout the country create customers...profitably. You may contact Charlie by phone at (316) 721-9200, by e-mail at ctraffas@chartmarketing.com, or you may visit at www.chartmarketing.com.
Religion
2005-04-01 10:50:00
Is John the Baptist greater than Mary?
QUESTION:  In Matthew 11:11, Jesus said: "Amen, I say to you that, among those born of women, there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than he."   Since John the Baptist was born after Jesus' mother, was he saying that John is greater than Mary?

QUESTION:  In Matthew 11:11, Jesus said: "Amen, I say to you that, among those born of women, there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than he."   Since John the Baptist was born after Jesus' mother, was he saying that John is greater than Mary?

ANSWER:  This question is a clear example of the perils of looking at only one verse of a larger section and not taking into account the theological framework of this portion of the Gospel of Matthew or of what it means to be a prophet.
When taken in its larger context what is being talked about here, by Jesus and to some extent by John and his followers, is what is the relation between John the Baptizer and Jesus and what is the relation between the time of the prophets and this new age that has been commenced by the birth of Jesus.
It is good to note that from the perspective of the writer of the Gospel of Matthew, there is no question that Jesus is the Messiah, the one who has come to usher in the new age of God's reign.  From this perspective John represents the end of the age of prophets.  He is the last in the line of the great prophets who were called by God to proclaim that the dawning of this new age is at hand.  Therefore, behind Jesus' statement that, "among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist…" is the understanding that Jesus is talking about those who are prophets, not about all of humanity and certainly not about Mary, the mother of Jesus. 
The simple message behind this statement is that John represents the final and greatest prophet whose task it is to announce not just the future coming of the Messiah but the actual presence of the Messiah.  In doing so, John then stands with one foot firmly planted in the old age - the age of prophets - where he represents the last of the line and with the other foot in this new age - the age of the Messiah - where he represents the one who has come to "prepare the way."
So, to answer the question in another way.  Mary, Jesus' mother, is not at all in his mind when Hhe makes this comment.  There is no comparison being made between Mary and John.  The comparison that is being made, if it can be called a comparison at all, is a proclamation to all of those gathered at that time and place (and to all who now read this passage today) who have expectations and pre-conceived notions about what a prophet and/or a Messiah should be like.  This is the reason for the challenge to the crowds in Luke 11:7-10, about what they expected to find when they went seeking John the Baptist in the wilderness. 
The message behind the words is, God will use whom God chooses as God chooses, and our notions about how that works are not necessarily most important.

 
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