Evidently Jesus spoke these words praising John because John's question about Jesus' identity made John look like a vacillator, a reed blowing in the wind. Jesus assured his hearers that that was not what John was. John's testimony to Jesus' messiahship was reliable.
7:24-26 John was not reed-like nor was he soft or effeminate. John did not serve an earthly king but the heavenly King, and his clothing identified him as a prophet of God. Jesus said that John was a prophet but more than a prophet.
7:27-28 These verses are almost identical to Matthew 11:10-11. Jesus identified John as the forerunner of Messiah predicted in Malachi 3:1. As Messiah's forerunner, John enjoyed a role greater than any other prophet, even those who gave messianic prophecies. However even the most insignificant participant in the messianic kingdom is superior to John because John only anticipated it.
