Isaiah predicted the coming of John and the Messiah in (ESV) Isaiah 40:John the Baptizer confirmed it in John 1:3 A voice of one calling: "Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
John prepared the way for the YHWH-LORD-God.23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
Jesus affirmed both Isaiah and John the Baptizer in Matthew 11:
John wasn't just another prophet. He was unique.7b Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John. … 9 "What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10This is he of whom it is written,
What did Jesus mean by "more than a prophet"?‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
He was the forerunner for the Lord Jesus who was the manifestation of the YHWH-LORD-God.
Among the prophets, John marked the point between the OT and the NT. John didn't just prophesy about the Messiah; he introduced the Messiah personally (John 1:29).11a Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.
No one among those born of women was greater than John the Baptist because John introduced the Messiah to the world. That's the past.
Now presently, Matthew 11:
Positionally, unlike his disciples, John wasn't with Jesus. Jesus' disciples heard the revelation of the Father from the Son. They are in a better position than John. John marked the end of an era. John was the space-time demarcation line between the OT and the NT (kingdom of heaven).11b Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
After Jesus had died on the cross, the Paraclete was released to dwell in a believer's spirit, i.e., the born-again experience. John the Baptizer did not experience the second birth as we could. We are in a better position.13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.