What Jesus says about John the Baptist in today's Gospel passage is high praise indeed, " among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist." John is deserving of such recognition because, as Jesus says, he is the prophet to whose coming all of the Jewish Scriptures looked forward. He is the Elijah figure who, it was believed, would immediately precede the coming of the Messiah.
Yet, having praised John the Baptist for his unparalleled status, Jesus goes on to make an even more extraordinary statement, "the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." John was beheaded before he could hear and respond to Jesus' preaching of the kingdom of God. However, through the Gospels and the Holy Spirit's coming upon us, we have heard and responded to Jesus' preaching of God's kingdom. That places us in a more privileged place than that of John the Baptist.
Advent is a time to give thanks for the Gospel and our faith response to it. It is time to grow in our appreciation of that gift and the quality of our response to it. +
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