“Among Those Born of Women There Has Not Risen a Greater Than John the Baptist”

Why Did Christ Give the Holy Forerunner This Extraordinary Praise?

Each year, as the Church celebrates the Nativity of the Holy, Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John, we hear once again the remarkable words of our Lord Jesus Christ:
“Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.” (Matthew 11:11)
These words should cause every Orthodox Christian to pause in wonder. The Lord does not merely call St. John a great prophet or a righteous man. He places him above every person born before him. Greater than Abraham, the father of the faithful. Greater than Moses, who spoke with God face to face. Greater than King David, the Psalmist. Greater than the fiery Prophet Elijah. Greater than Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and all the prophets of Israel.
Why?
What made St. John worthy of such praise from the lips of Christ Himself?
The answer is not found in worldly greatness. St. John in His days performed no recorded miracles. He built no earthly kingdom. He wrote no books. He possessed no wealth, held no office, and sought no honor from men. His greatness lay elsewhere—in his complete fidelity to God and to His Truth.
The Holy Forerunner stood almost alone in his generation. Israel had long awaited the coming of the Messiah, yet when the Messiah appeared, few recognized Him. Religious leaders had become attached to outward religion while neglecting the life of repentance. Many desired a political deliverer rather than the Savior of the world.
Saint John remained faithful.
He neither altered God’s message to please the crowds nor softened the truth to gain acceptance. Standing in the wilderness, he proclaimed with boldness:
“Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2)
When others compromised, he confessed the Truth without fear. When others sought the favor of men, he sought only to fulfill the will of God.
This unwavering confession is one of the reasons he stands as a timeless model for Orthodox Christians. Truth is never determined by numbers. It is not established by popularity, worldly success, or political influence. The Truth remains the Truth even if only one voice proclaims it. So important for the small flock of today to remember!
Throughout history, the faithful remnant has often appeared small. Noah stood almost alone before the Flood. The Prophet Elijah believed himself to be alone against the priests of Baal. The Apostles stood against both the Jewish authorities and the Roman Empire. Likewise, St. John the Forerunner stood as the solitary voice crying in the wilderness.
This is also the calling of True Orthodoxy. The Church has never measured herself by numbers, influence, or public approval. She measures herself by fidelity to the Faith once delivered unto the saints. The example of the Holy Forerunner reminds us that it is better to stand with the Truth in apparent loneliness than to enjoy the applause of the world by surrendering it.
His humility was equal to his courage.
Although multitudes gathered around him, he continually directed every soul away from himself and toward Christ.
“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)
And again:
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)
In these few words lies the secret of true holiness. St. John never sought disciples for himself. His entire life became a finger pointing toward Christ.
The Lord immediately follows His praise of St. John with another statement that has often puzzled readers:
“He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Matthew 11:11)
At first glance this appears contradictory, but the Holy Fathers explain it beautifully.
Our Lord is not diminishing the holiness of St. John. Rather, He is revealing the greatness of the New Covenant.
The Holy Forerunner belonged to the final chapter of the Old Testament. Although he baptized Christ and prepared His way, he died before the saving Passion, before the glorious Resurrection, before the Ascension, before Holy Pentecost, and before the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within the Church.
He stood at the very threshold of the Kingdom, pointing others toward the door that Christ Himself would open through His Cross.
Those who live within the life of the Church after the Resurrection receive blessings that even the greatest of the Old Testament righteous awaited in hope. Through Holy Baptism, Chrismation, the Divine Eucharist, and the indwelling grace of the Holy Spirit, believers participate fully in the life of the New Covenant established by Christ’s victory over death.
Thus the least citizen of the Kingdom enjoys gifts that were not yet bestowed before Christ completed the work of our salvation. This does not lessen St. John’s greatness; rather, it magnifies the immeasurable gift that Christ has given to His Church.
Finally, we may ask another important question. Why does the Orthodox Church celebrate the birth of St. John the Baptist? The Church ordinarily commemorates Her saints on the day of their repose, the day of their birth into eternal life.
Only three nativities are celebrated with universal solemnity: the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, and the Nativity of the Holy Forerunner.
This is because these births are not merely personal events. They are essential moments within God’s eternal plan of salvation.
The birth of the Theotokos prepares the coming of the Incarnate Word. The birth of St. John prepares the public manifestation of the Messiah. His entire existence was ordained by God to prepare humanity for the coming of Christ. Even before his birth, he leapt for joy in his mother’s womb at the presence of the unborn Savior.
His birth therefore belongs to the unfolding of the divine economy of salvation itself.
As we celebrate his Nativity, we are not simply remembering an extraordinary man who lived long ago. We are remembering the one whom Christ Himself called the greatest among those born of women—the fearless confessor of the Truth, the model of humility, the voice crying in the wilderness, the bridge between the Old and New Covenants, and the faithful Forerunner who prepared the way of the Lord.
May his prayers strengthen us to preserve the Orthodox Faith without compromise, to proclaim the Truth without fear, and, like him, to decrease ourselves so that Christ alone may increase in our hearts and in His Holy Church.