What?! “I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Luke 7:28

Luke 7:28 is one of those powerful, head-scratching statements Jesus makes that packs a theological punch.

“I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Luke 7:28

Let’s break it down:

1. “Among those born of women, no one is greater than John”

- Jesus is honoring John the Baptist here.

- He’s saying: of all the prophets and righteous people who have ever lived—Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah—John is the greatest.

- Why? Because John prepared the way for Jesus directly. He stood at the threshold of the old covenant and introduced the new. He was the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets.

2. “Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

- Now Jesus flips it.

- Even the most “insignificant” person who belongs to the Kingdom of God—someone who experiences the new birth, salvation through Jesus, and the fullness of the Holy Spirit—is greater than John.

- Why? Because John only saw the beginning of Jesus’s ministry. But we—on this side of the cross—get to live in the fulfillment of what John was pointing to.

Bottom line:

Jesus is saying: John was the greatest man under the old covenant, but anyone in the new covenant—any follower of Jesus—is living in a greater reality.

It’s a reminder of how amazing it is to live in the age of grace, on this side of the resurrection.