John had borne witness to Jesus, and now Jesus bore witness to John. In doing so Jesus pointed to Himself as the person who would bring in the kingdom.
11:7-8 As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus took the opportunity to speak to the crowd about John. Reeds of cane grass grew abundantly along the Jordan River banks. A reed blown by the wind represents a person easily swayed by public opinion or circumstances. The multitudes certainly did not go into the Judean wilderness to view such a common sight. They did not go out to see a man in soft, even effeminate clothes (Gr. malakos) either. Such people lived in palaces. Jesus probably alluded derogatorily to Herod who had imprisoned John. Herod wore soft garments, but John wore rough garments (cf. 3:4-6).
By replying this way Jesus was allaying public suspicion that John's question might have arisen from a vacillating character or undisciplined weakness. John's question did not arise from a deficient character but from misunderstanding concerning Messiah's ministry. Jesus was defending John.
11:9-11 The people had gone out into the wilderness to hear John because they believed he was a prophet. Jesus affirmed that identification. He was the first true prophet who had appeared in hundreds of years. However, John was an unusual prophet. He was not only a spokesman from and for God as the other prophets were, but He was also the fulfillment of prophecy himself. He was the one predicted to prepare for Messiah's appearing.
The passage Jesus quoted is Malachi 3:1, and His quotation reflects an allusion to Exodus 23:20. The changes Jesus made in His quotation had the effect of making Yahweh address Messiah (cf. Ps. 110:1). This harmonizes with the spirit of Malachi's context (cf. 4:5-6). By quoting this passage Jesus was affirming His identity as Messiah.461He viewed John as potentially fulfilling the prophecy about Elijah preparing the way for Yahweh and the day of the Lord. Whether John really did fulfill it depended on Israel's acceptance of her Messiah then (cf. v. 14). In either case John fulfilled the spirit of the prophecy because he came in the spirit and power of Elijah.
Jesus called John the greatest human being because he served as the immediate forerunner of Messiah. This was a ministry no other prophet enjoyed. Yet, Jesus added, anyone in the kingdom will be greater than John.
Scholars have offered many different explanations of the last part of verse 11. Some translate "the least"as "the younger"and believe Jesus was contrasting Himself as younger than John with John who was older.462However this is an unusual and unnecessary translation. Others believe that even the least in the kingdom will be able to point unambiguously to Jesus as the Messiah, but John's testimony to Jesus' messiahship was not persuading many who heard it.463The best explanation, I believe, is that John then only anticipated the kingdom whereas participants will be in it.
". . . possession of a place in the kingdom is more important than being the greatest of the prophets."464
Jesus did not mean that John would fail to participate in the kingdom. All true prophets will be in it (Luke 13:28). He was simply contrasting participants and announcers of the kingdom.
