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Luke 7:24-30
Jesus questions the crowd in confirming John the Baptist’s role of importance in announcing the coming Messiah (Jesus). In Luke 7:28 (NKJV) Jesus teaches that John the Baptist is the greatest of “those born of women,” but yet, “he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” In the next verse, Luke 7:29, we learn that the least in the kingdom of God is greater than the messenger because those who accepted the teaching of John the Baptist followed it by being baptized to show their public declaration of faith in the Messiah Jesus. But notice that everyone did not “justify God” (Luke 7:29) but only those who had been baptized. Only those who believed in Jesus as the Messiah are the ones that justified God.
Luke 7:30 may have been the most shocking part of the story as those who were the religious leaders of the day (Pharisees) “rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him” (Luke 7:30). The people that claimed to be the most righteous (in their own eyes) were the people that would not justify God’s will for their lives by being baptized. Satan had taken over the hearts and minds of the Pharisees and experts in the law by way of inducing them with self-pride and arrogance – they thought they were better than everyone else. In God’s eyes we must deny our self-pride and arrogance and humble ourselves to the point of acknowledging our need for forgiveness through Jesus. Those who had been baptized by John the Baptist were able to understand this because they believed in Jesus as their Savior.
This is the confirmation of John the Baptist’s ministry as seen by Jesus.
This is an example of Jesus opening the eyes, hearts, and minds of those who believe in Him.
This is an example that we must rid ourselves of self-pride and arrogance to put Jesus first in our lives and believe in Him.
Many of us are strong-willed and are perfectly capable of making our own decisions in life – and that is great, but if we are relying on our own knowledge without seeking the knowledge of Jesus, we are sure to fail. We can stay in denial all our lives in searching for our own way of success, but if you are one of these people, I promise that you are still looking. Jesus proclaimed in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” I also promise you that if you will put your trust in Jesus and believe in Him, you will find the peace in life that you have been looking for.
Dear Lord,
Satan has a strong hold on many of us through self-pride and arrogance. Please help us to realize and understand the need for forgiveness through Jesus; for it is what He has done on the cross, not what we can do in and of ourselves, that will get us to salvation and eternal life in heaven with You Lord. In Jesus name I pray, amen.