Matthew 11:11  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

What is Jesus talking about here?  What does he mean?  or How can this be?
 

 This verse is referring to the core of the gift of grace to mankind.

  I'm going to explain this verse in it's entirety.   Since the dispensation of God's grace was not full filled until Jesus died  on the cross, and rose from the cross, paying the price at that time.

(all His time ministering before that was preparing people's heart, for a different and awesome gift from God, as opposed to working for righteousness under the law)

Many people just assume that grace started with the N.T.  which it didn't.  Only Jesus was full of God's grace at that time.  It was the beginning of the new covenant, but not yet full filled until the cross. . 

Jesus lived and taught under the covenant of the law of the time and the synagogue.

So knowing that first, John died before the fulfillment of God's grace had taken place. . He only knew that it was coming, but his ministry was still under the Mosaic law. . and knowing that under that law, one had to acquire their own righteousness by following the synagogue's rituals and laws of sacrifice etc etc. could one consider themselves right with God. . so to speak. 

 They could then acquire some amount of rightness towards God.  And since it is clear from Jesus and other apostles that our righteousness is as dirty rags, they had very little righteousness, no matter what they did under the law. . 
 
 

When Jesus gave the final sacrifice for us, this included giving us God's perfect righteousness through Jesus, in spite of our frailties. . 

Therefore when John died, he went to a place reserved for the souls at that time. . it was called by several names,  'the bosom of Abraham' 'paradise' Luke 23:43. . it was there where Jesus ministered during his three days of decent,  (and it is also called hell, (English word, only)  Gehenne, Hades,  by some scripture reference from the prophets) to free the bonds of Satan, and set them free through the new covenant of grace. 

Therefore we all, since the cross, have free access to the kingdom of heaven, both now and after here, whatever stage we are in, in Christ.  Thus the part of the above scripture, "notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven"
And this only through the gift of God's grace, without working for it, as opposed to the O.T. souls and their access, or lack of it, through works. . 

So even the least of men, attaining even the smallest part in the Kingdom of Heaven, has been given more perfect 'grace' than John was ever able to attain, through his works of the law of that time.

(And the words Jesus spoke, were in that very moment, of his life.  This is not to say, that when Jesus ministered during his three days between his death and his resurrection, He didn't give to the souls that accepted His grace, the same perfect status that we and all men have been given since the work of the cross that Jesus did.)

Jesus was speaking in a very high spiritual meaning when he said this to the men of the time.  They didn't understand it then, and a lot of people don't understand it now.
 
 
 
 

RememberJesus sent His twelve unto the house of Isreal, charging them to preach the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Jesus decended from heaven, and eventually asended back to heaven. . He was, or was giving to all mankind,   the kingdom of heaven which was at hand.

When He finished the work God sent Him to do, the kingdom of heaven was fulfilled for mankind.  God's heavenly gift to man.
 
 
 

 And that is why he said that we are so much more gifted by God than John was, because we live under the fullness of forgiveness and grace, sanctified by God, both here and after here.  Since it is God's grace, forgiveness, and sanctification that is the only source of perfection, we are the first of mankind to receive this freedom of life both here and after. . God's gift of grace through love.
 

John's only perfection was of works, and not a free gift from God. . so he belongs to the O.T. of the law, which was so imperfect that God had to finally send His son to bring God's perfection to us, there was no other way, and it could only be free. 

The magnified love of God to us through Jesus, and that through His grace to mankind, which He had not before given to man.  We are all the more blessed then all other mankind before the cross, and because of His gift to us, we are more perfected than mankind before the cross, just because of Jesus' cross and God's gift of grace.

So to recap here:  Jesus said this after John had been murdered, but before He (Jesus) had gone to the cross for the fulfillment of God's work that He was here to accomplish.  And Jesus did think John was or had the greatest mission of all mankind, before His (Jesus') mission. 

When Jesus ministered to the souls that had already died in the law, (OT)during his three days of decent from the cross, Matthew 12:40  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth  then I can only conclude that they followed His ministry of heavenly words on the new gift of grace and were set free then:

Isaiah 25:8  He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

John 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Acts 2:30  Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31  He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32  This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

But I can see how hard it must have been for the O.T. holy men to accept that they did not any longer have to be righteous in their own works, and that all the work they had done for God, was no longer necessary to find grace and favor with God, and all because Jesus had done the final work.

Hebrews 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Hebrews 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

We are now under God's umbrella of righteousness, with nothing of ours, at all, no matter what we did or do. 

And today in many churches it is just as hard to see that we are covered completely by God's grace and not by anything we do in our churches. . which many think gives them more favor with God. . People work for their churches, and of course there's nothing wrong with that. . but it is wrong to confuse it with more favor in the freedom of God's grace towards us, who believe in Him and the work of Jesus and what He did for us. .
Jesus did all the work, not us, and we still don't do the work, else we take away some of the glory of what Jesus did. . all by Himself.
 
 

Grace, index page here
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John Newton (1725-1807) was an English hymn writer and Church of England minister. An early life of wanton sin included ten years of trading African slaves. While reflecting on salvation from this life he penned the famous hymn "Amazing Grace".