Beyond Our Imagination

Read: Matthew 11:11-12

I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is! Matthew 11:11

IN WORD

Jesus thought highly of John the Baptist, the prophet who prepared the way for His message in this world. John had been set apart by God from the moment of his conception and had fulfilled his role exactly as God had planned. He endured hardships, isolation, and rejection for the sake of the Kingdom, and even lost his life at the hands of another king. If anyone other than Jesus could lay claim to completing his Kingdom mission, John could.

So, we might think, John ranks really high in God’s esteem, right? Yet in spite of his faithfulness, zeal, perseverance, and obedience, he was a mere human being living under the Fall. None was greater, Jesus said, but He quickly followed with an astonishing statement. The position of Kingdom citizen is greater than the greatest human before the Kingdom era. The inauguration of the Kingdom brought a quality of life and a privilege of royalty that the human race had never known. Yes, Abraham, Moses, David, the prophets, and John were all amazing human beings. But they were not expressions of the fullness of the Kingdom. And we can be.

Jesus’ statement has little to do with rankings in heaven. We will surely see the great heroes of faith in the age of Kingdom fullness, and we will honor them. No, His statement is concerned more with the nature of the Kingdom itself. We have been given greatness by the King, and regardless of what anyone has accomplished in this realm, His realm offers a higher life. It’s greater than we can imagine.

IN DEED

Never underestimate the privilege of being a Kingdom citizen. Never see yourself as a run-of-the-mill human being who merely has a different worldview than others. You are sheer greatness because God says so. The new covenant is infinitely greater than the old. And citizens of the Kingdom are infinitely greater than citizens of the world.

ADDITIONAL READING: 1 Peter 2:9-10

God looks at you as if you were a little Christ. Christ stands beside you to turn you into one.

C. S. LEWIS