An Eternal Relative

by Jon Buck

“John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.”

- John 1:14

If you come from a family with multiple siblings, you know that birth order matters. Age of child determines everything from bed times and privileges to who sits in the front seat, and who can stay up and chat with the adults for a few extra minutes. Plus, when mom and dad are away, birth order determines who is in charge. Birth order even offers authority!

But these are just small things in our modern culture. Even as recently as 100 years ago, birth order determined issues of inheritance, land ownership, and societal prominence. This view of birth order is ancient with widespread. In fact, oldest sons in the Roman Empire were venerated by families, and second, third, and fourth children were forced to make their way in the world often on their own.

When thinking about John 1:14, at first glance, it might seem that John the Baptist was making a statement that would run contrary to this view of age and authority. John and Jesus were cousins, and John was born before Jesus. What’s more, John’s parents were older than Jesus’s parents, meaning that Jesus was the younger family member of younger family members. Even as the firstborn in His family, Jesus would have owed familial honor to John.

Rather than accept this honor, John proclaimed that Jesus was above him in rank, giving Jesus both honor and authority. In fact, John’s whole ministry was designed around lifting Christ up, even though Jesus was younger than John. John understood this about his life and ministry, and John 1:14 tells us that John had been testifying to that fact, even before Jesus showed up on the scene.

However, in actual fact, John wasn’t violating any of the cultural norms of his day, and he makes that very clear. John tells the crowds with a loud voice that Jesus came before him.

Now, this is quite shocking. Jesus was born after John—everyone around them knew it, and if they had any question, they could have simply consulted other family members. Yet, John is telling the crowds with authority that Jesus came before him, and therefore had the preeminence. In fact, the phrase translated ‘has a higher rank than me’ is actually literally ‘has become before me’—that is, He is ahead of me because He was before me.

For John, this is completely logical because he understands that Jesus is the eternal God, second person of the Trinity, Who has come into the world. John simply explains what is the most important message of his ministry, and the most important message that has ever been communicated. God had entered the world, taken on flesh, and had all authority.

John the Baptist’s testimony was designed to lead people to believe that Jesus really was the Son of God. And John the Apostle, who wrote the Gospel, had the same goal (see John 20:31).

John could have claimed birth order, but that would be silly when your relative is eternal. Instead both he and John the Apostle do the only natural thing to do with an eternal relative—they worship Him! So, this Christmas, do you believe them? Do you believe John the Baptist and John the Apostle that Jesus is the Son of God, the eternal God made flesh? If so, worship Him with them.