When Christ Jesus was speaking to the people concerning John the Baptist, he asked them some questions, saying (Luke 7:24, 25): "What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment?" Perhaps Jesus wanted his listeners to consider their motives in searching out John the Baptist. Was it curiosity? Was it to know more of the physical man? Was it in adulation of a man of substance? He did not wait for a reply, but repeated his question, "What went ye out for to see?" and added: "A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet."
A prophet in those days was greatly sought after and revered. He lived near to God. From the prophets the people learned of God's promises for the reestablishment of Israel and the coming of a king to crown their glory. In John the Baptist, had they had eyes to see, they would have found more than a prophet, for John's quickened sense recognized the Christ. He said of Jesus (John 1:29), "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
John was a prophet, according to the definition of the word given by our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," namely (p. 593), "A spiritual seer; disappearance of material sense before the conscious facts of spiritual Truth."
