The Third Sunday of Advent, December 14, 2025

Matthew 11:11-15

Jesus said to the crowds: “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force. All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. Whoever has ears ought to hear.

“Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist.”  The Gospel Reading for today’s Mass is found in the context of John the Baptist sending to him two of his disciples with the question, “Are you the one who is to come or are we to look for another?” Now, John knew Jesus was the long-awaited Lamb of God, but he sends his disciples to Jesus to learn the answer for themselves. It is upon the departure of these disciples that the Lord teaches the significance of John to the people. The people hearing Jesus were very disappointed at John’s imprisonment. Many had been baptized by him. Some had thought him to be the Messiah or at least a prophet — such a prophet as was not seen in Israel in hundreds of years.  The Lord here praises John and indirectly he praises the people who followed him. He says to them, John is the greatest of men and he remains the greatest of men even though he has been imprisoned by Herod. 

Despite the reasons for the Lord’s saying this of John may seem elusive to us. In order to understand this we should keep in mind that Jesus was speaking to his fellow Jews, not to a crowd of Romans or Greeks. We should also keep in mind how Jesus defined “greatness”: “He that is the greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matthew 23, 11). That is, You will recognize who the greatest among you is by his selfless service. 

In what did this selfless service consist? John took on the roles of Forerunner, Herald, and Witness. As the Forerunner of Christ he obeyed the commandments the Angel Gabriel had given to him through his parents, and at a young age left them and his priestly heritage in order to wait in the wilderness for instructions: he “was in the wilderness until the day of his manifestation to Israel” (Luke 1, 80). He must have waited and prayed for years until the time came for him to begin his ministry: preaching repentance, baptizing, and proclaiming the coming of the Messiah. He did precisely this as the Lord’s Herald, the appointed representative of the Messiah himself. As a herald, nothing superseded the communication of the message entrusted to him, with the result that he pared his life back so that nothing could hinder him. To this end he wore the simplest garment, and one that would not wear out. He also ate the simplest of foods that did not need to be grown,purchased, or prepared. And then, as Witness, John did not merely tell the people that the Lord was coming but he pointed to him when he came: “Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1, 36). To sum up, he gave his entire life to God without condition, and he did this though, unlike his father, he received no angelic visitations.