Matthew 11:11
Click or tap any sentence to jump there. The side buttons skip a paragraph.
He calls greater than John the believer reborn through the washing — a state he names “kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 11:11) since the kingdom of heaven is given to the faithful, which the Baptist had not yet attained. Even the one only baptized, if he does not yet have a virtuous life, is above John. So the saying is praise of holy baptism.
Greek
137 Μείζονα λέγει Ἰωάννου τὸν πιστὸν τὸν διὰ τοῦ λουτροῦ ἀναγεννη θέντα, ἣν κατάστασιν καλεῖ βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν ὡς τοῖς πιστοῖς διδομένης βασιλείας οὐρανῶν, ἧς οὔπω ἦν τυχὼν ὁ βαπτιστής. ὁ δὲ μόνον βαπτισθεὶς εἰ καὶ μήπω ἔσχεν ἐνάρετον βίον ὑπὲρ τὸν Ἰωάννην ἐστίν. ὁ οὖν λόγος ἔπαινον ἔχει τοῦ ἁγίου βαπτίσματος.