Matthew 11:9-11

Matthew 11:9-11

[9] But  what  went ye out  A prophet?  yea,  I say  and  than a prophet.  [10] this  he, of  whom  it is written,  Behold,  I  send  messenger  before  face,  which  shall prepare  way  before  [11] Verily  I say  Among  them that are born  of women  not  risen  John  the Baptist:  notwithstanding  he that is least  in  the kingdom  of heaven  he. 

What does Matthew 11:9-11 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

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. Psalm 110:1). This harmonizes with the spirit of Malachi"s context (cf. Matthew 4:5-6). By quoting this passage Jesus was affirming His identity as Messiah. [1] He 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. Matthew 11:14). 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 Matthew 11:11. Some translate "the least" as "the younger" and believe Jesus was contrasting Himself as younger than John with John who was older. [2] However 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. [3] The 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." [4]
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.