He who is least in the kingdom
of heaven. By Charles Simeon. I tell you
the truth, among those born of women, there has not risen anyone
greater than John the Baptist. Yet he who is least in the kingdom
of heaven is greater than he. Matthew chapter 11 verse 11. The least in the Messiah's kingdom,
which was just then founded upon earth, are greater than John
the Baptist. they have a fuller discovery
of Christ's character. John himself, and indeed the
apostles also, until after the resurrection, had very imperfect
views of Christ. They saw not, or saw, but very
faintly, the dignity of his person, the necessity of his death, the
certainty of his resurrection, and the nature of his kingdom.
But now, the most ignorant of Christ's disciples have a comparatively
clear, enlarged, and certain knowledge of Him. They know what
God has revealed concerning His person, as Immanuel, God with
us. his work as making a perfect
sin-atoning sacrifice and working out a perfect righteousness for
his people, and his offices as the prophet, priest, and king
of his redeemed people. In this they are as superior
to John, just as John was superior to the least enlightened of all
the ancient prophets. They have a richer experience
of Christ's love, They can tell, not merely what He will do, but
what He has done. Yes, they can say, He has loved
me, and given Himself for me. They have felt the sin-atoning
virtue of Christ's blood in purging their consciences from guilt,
and the efficacy of His grace in subduing their most inveterate
corruptions. They know what it is to receive
the blessings which they need out of His fullness, and how
to maintain sweet fellowship with Him from day to day. They
have within themselves the evidence that He is a living, a gracious,
and an almighty Savior, who fulfills all His promises to them, who
guides them by His Spirit, who upholds them by his arm, who
sanctifies them by his grace, who comforts them with his presence,
and who renders them fit for the enjoyment of his heavenly
kingdom. In all of this, their superiority
to John the Baptist is as the Meridian sun compared to the
early dawn.