The Greatest Prophet

From Andrew Wommack’s Every Day With Jesus:
www.harrisonhouse.com

He must increase, but I must decrease.
John 3:30

Jesus said in Luke 7:28, “Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.” I believe the story of John shows us the main reason Jesus called him the greatest prophet that ever lived.

John the Baptist spent thirty years in preparation for his ministry. He didn’t enjoy the normal benefits of childhood or adolescence. He lived out in the desert, away from people and separated unto God. (Luke 1:80.) Then finally, for approximately six months he enjoyed success in ministry like no other man ever had. The multitudes flocked to the wilderness to hear him preach. He became the most influential man in Israel and was known to the Roman rulers.

Then one day he baptized Jesus in the Jordan River and proclaimed Him the Messiah. (Matt. 3:13-17; John 1:29.) From that moment on, the multitudes and even his own disciples began to follow Jesus in ever-increasing numbers. This would have destroyed most men; but when he was questioned about it, John replied, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Shortly after that he was imprisoned (Matt. 4:12), and after one-and-a-half years in a dark cell, he was beheaded.

John’s greatness didn’t lie in his own success but in the success of another. Jesus owed much of His success to the preparatory work of John. In our celebrity-conscious society, few people want to be the backup singer or the stage manager. We have adopted a mentality that unless we are in the limelight we are nothing. That’s not the way Jesus sees things! He taught in Matthew 23:11, “He that is greatest among you shall be your servant.”

Surely John the Baptist was the greatest prophet because he was a great servant to Jesus. His life and Jesus’ commendation for him is all you need to inspire you to be a great servant to Jesus and everyone you meet today.