No one is greater than John the Baptist?

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In John 7, Jesus says “I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John; yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.” I don’t have the exact verse, but it’s from the gospel reading of 12/15 John 7:24-30.

Obviously Jesus is born of a woman, and so is Mary. I don’t think Jesus is saying that John is greater than he or Mary and in John 5 this seems so when he says “But I have testimony greater than John’s”, and John himself says later “He must increase and I must decrease.”

How is John 7:24-30 to be understood?
 
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milimac:
In John 7, Jesus says “I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John; yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.” I don’t have the exact verse, but it’s from the gospel reading of 12/15 John 7:24-30.

Obviously Jesus is born of a woman, and so is Mary. I don’t think Jesus is saying that John is greater than he or Mary and in John 5 this seems so when he says “But I have testimony greater than John’s”, and John himself says later “He must increase and I must decrease.”

How is John 7:24-30 to be understood?
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I just got a book called “This is the faith” and in this book it said John was bron with out sin
 
Luke 1:12 tells us of John the Baptist: **He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. *Does this mean he was born without original sin?

Notworthy
 
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milimac:
In John 7, Jesus says “I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John; yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.” I don’t have the exact verse, but it’s from the gospel reading of 12/15 John 7:24-30.

Obviously Jesus is born of a woman, and so is Mary. I don’t think Jesus is saying that John is greater than he or Mary and in John 5 this seems so when he says “But I have testimony greater than John’s”, and John himself says later “He must increase and I must decrease.”

How is John 7:24-30 to be understood?
Click to expand...
The “exact verse” is not in John 7, but in Mt. 11:11.

I could be wrong, but the “no one greater” probably refers to the “messenger” in Mt 11:10, not to Jesus’ mother. IOW, John is the greatest of the Prophets.

He is probably the greatest, as it says in Mt, because he was the one who gave testimony to Jesus. From Luke’s gospel, you will recall that John’s father Zacharias is a Levite – a temple priest. So, John was a priest by birth.

There is probably greater spiritual depth to that, as well. Keep those posts coming in!

We would all do well to heed John’s preaching “REPENT for the Kingdom of God is at hand!”
 
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milimac:
In John 7, Jesus says “I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John; yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.” I don’t have the exact verse, but it’s from the gospel reading of 12/15 John 7:24-30.

Obviously Jesus is born of a woman, and so is Mary. I don’t think Jesus is saying that John is greater than he or Mary and in John 5 this seems so when he says “But I have testimony greater than John’s”, and John himself says later “He must increase and I must decrease.”

How is John 7:24-30 to be understood?
Click to expand...
I would take it that the key is “the least in the kingdom of heaven” is referring to those under the new covenant that Jesus was yet to make. John was the greatest under the old covenant. Since the Church teaches that Mary was redeeemed from the moment of her conception I guess she would come under the new covenant.

Only May was born without original sin.
 
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NotWorthy:
Luke 1:12 tells us of John the Baptist: He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. Does this mean he was born without original sin?*

Notworthy
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It is my understanding that John was sanctified (Baptized) in the womb by Jesus. Hence, John “leaping” for joy in Elizabeth’s womb. So, he was born without original sin, but not created without original. Mary was created without original sin.
 
I urge you to get a copy of the " Catena Aurea" by St. Thomas Aquina. I believe it is out of print but you can still get copies. It has been the most useful tool for me in understanding the gospels. It is basically a commentary on the 4 gospels by the church fathers, but it was compiled by Thomas.
 
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tdandh26:
I urge you to get a copy of the " Catena Aurea" by St. Thomas Aquina. I believe it is out of print but you can still get copies. It has been the most useful tool for me in understanding the gospels. It is basically a commentary on the 4 gospels by the church fathers, but it was compiled by Thomas.
Click to expand...
tdandh26:

You can still get parts of it ONLINE:

Index of Scripture References
ccel.org/ccel/aquinas/catena1.iii.i.html

Catena Aurea - Gospel of Matthew
by, William Whiston
ccel.org/ccel/aquinas/catena1.toc.html

I believe you can get most of the book by going through tone or the other links.

It’s well-worth “Bookmarking”.

Enjoy.

In Christ, Michael
 
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NotWorthy:
Luke 1:12 tells us of John the Baptist: He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. Does this mean he was born without original sin?******

Notworthy
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I believe the Church is now saying he was born with out sin, Please remember Maty was CONCEIVE WITHOUT SIN
 
What the CCC says:

John, precursor, prophet, and baptist

717 "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John."89 John was "filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb"90 by Christ himself, whom the Virgin Mary had just conceived by the Holy Spirit. Mary’s visitation to Elizabeth thus became a visit from God to his people.91

718 John is "Elijah [who] must come."92 The fire of the Spirit dwells in him and makes him the forerunner of the coming Lord. In John, the precursor, the Holy Spirit completes the work of "[making] ready a people prepared for the Lord."93

719 John the Baptist is "more than a prophet."94 In him, the Holy Spirit concludes his speaking through the prophets. John completes the cycle of prophets begun by Elijah.95 He proclaims the imminence of the consolation of Israel; he is the “voice” of the Consoler who is coming.96 As the Spirit of truth will also do, John "came to bear witness to the light."97 In John’s sight, the Spirit thus brings to completion the careful search of the prophets and fulfills the longing of the angels.98 "He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God. . . . Behold, the Lamb of God."99

720 Finally, with John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit begins the restoration to man of “the divine likeness,” prefiguring what he would achieve with and in Christ. John’s baptism was for repentance; baptism in water and the Spirit will be a new birth.
 
Will Pick:
I just got a book called “This is the faith” and in this book it said John was bron with out sin
Click to expand...
Did Dan Brown write this book too?
 
Among those born of women, no one was greater than John the Baptizer, in the sense that to John alone was given the privilege of publicly introducing the Redeemer. Even our Lady did not enjoy this blessing! John was thus the greatest prophet, and the greatest party to the Old Covenant, the purpose of which was to foreshadow the Messiah.

The New Covenant began with Mary and Jesus. And so, the least member of the Catholic Church, the Kingdom of God begun on earth, is greater than John. The least among Catholics - incorporated into Christ Himself through Baptism, nourished with His own Body and Blood - is greater than the greatest figures of the Old Testament, indeed greater (more blessed) than all of them put together.

Wow.
 
He was the greatest and last Old Covenant Prophet. As far as being less than the least in the kingdom of God I had always assumed that John the Baptist was pre-Church and thus pre-Sacramental and as such not Sacramentally baptised.

I think that all who are Sacramentally baptized have a greater spiritual gift and are Holyer (at least at the moment of their baptism) than he was.
 
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NotWorthy:
Luke 1:12 tells us of John the Baptist: He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. Does this mean he was born without original sin?******

Notworthy
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YES, John was born without OS and that is the teaching of the Church
 
Will Pick:
YES, John was born without OS and that is the teaching of the Church
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Can you point me to the section in the CCC on this teaching so I can have a read.
 
Given the context, it seems like Jesus was saying, “Among those [prophets] born of woman, none is greater than John.”

A priest gave a homily on this, explaining how the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than John the Baptist. He said, “John ate bugs in the desert. We get to consume the Eucharist.”
 
In years of dogmatic theological studies, I’ve never encountered any official (magisterial) Catholic teaching that John the B. was born w/o Original Sin. However, the proposition is a necessary theological conclusion:

A. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, Uncreated Grace, before he was born;
B. Original Sin is incompatible with Fullness of Grace; indeed, the essence of originated Original Sin is the soul’s inherited absence of the divine life of grace
C. John could not have lost this grace through sin before birth;
C. Ipso acto, he was born w/o OS, that is, With Grace.
 
Searching on born of women at DRBO.ORG gives …

“Amen I say to you, there hath not risen among them that are born of women a greater than John the Baptist” [Matthew 11:11]

Jesus is speaking in past tense, “hath not risen”, referring to the
Old Covenant.

One in the Old Covenant was greater than John the Baptist,
one who was NOT born of woman – Adam. Adam was created
without Original Sin.

John the Baptist was concieved with OS, but it was taken away during the Visitation (a baptism I presume), and he was born without OS.

Adam sinned and lost grace with God. Mary was concieved
without Original Sin and did not sin. Therefore Mary is greater
than Adam for this and other reasons.

About the least in Heaven being greater than John the Baptist,
I don’t have an explanation for that, yet.
 
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