Lit., less. All the prophets prior to John prophesied only that Christ was coming, but John testified that Christ had come. The prophets were looking forward to Christ, but John saw Christ. Hence, John was greater than all the prophets. Although John saw the incarnated Christ and introduced Him to people, he did not have the resurrected Christ indwelling him. The kingdom people do. John could say only, "Here is Christ," but the kingdom people can say, "To me, to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). Hence, the least in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. Whether a person is greater or lesser depends on his relationship to Christ. Christ is the deciding factor. The closer one is to Christ, the greater one is.