The Gospel of John - part 9
Preached Nov 11, 2018
John 3:22-36
John's story is bookended with chapter 1 and the end of chapter 3. After the prologue, John the Baptist is introduced with his message: the Messiah is on the way, get ready! Here, at the end of chapter 3, John repeats his message, but adjusted a bit: the Messiah is here, we must get out of the way. It is one of the great acts of humility in the Bible. John the Baptist has garnered a large following and has been serving God faithfully. He is at the peak of his success. But now, Jesus has made His ministry public. It is time for John to step aside.
Could you step aside?
Could you forsake all your earthly success, give up all your followers, and simply step out of the spotlight?
Let's look at how John demonstrates his great humility.
The Humility of John the Baptist
After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized (for John had not yet been put in prison).
Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”
John 3:22-30
Verse 27 - All things come from the Father Above
The first step towards a proper humility is a proper understanding of where you get your stuff. Whether speaking of your talents, possessions, skills, knowledge, whatever--it all comes from Heaven above. Sometimes we forget God designed you the way you are for a reason. Now sin might corrupt parts of you, but all it's doing is marring a part of you God wanted you to be.
For example: stubbornness runs in my family. I come from a long line of stubborn Powells, and my children can be just as stubborn. My mom likes the phrase "strong-willed", I guess it sounds better. That stubbornness can be a blessing or a curse. It just depends on what we're stubborn about. My prayer for my kids and myself is that we will be stubborn for Jesus. It's OK to be stubborn, as long as you're stubborn for the right cause.
Our skills are the same way. Creativity is a beautiful gift that comes from God. But, if we are creating abominations or idols rather than using it to glorify God, then it becomes a curse. Singing is a great gift--when it is used to praise our Father. Whatever skill-set you have to make a living can, and should, be used to glorify God. He has given you that skill-set to do just that.
Verse 29 - Jesus is the Bridegroom; His bride is the Church.
Whenever someone comes to Jesus, it is a time of rejoicing. Whether we had a small part or large part in someone's salvation, we should rejoice. However, there is a tendency for Christians to become competitive. It's very subtle. Usually, it starts with questions about a church's program or staff that lead to boasting--a good kind of boasting. "Oh, we do this really well" or "you wouldn't believe how God used that". But, a little bit of jealousy will creep into the mind. "Why can't God do that here? Why aren't we that big?"
Think how easy John could have succumbed to this kind of jealousy. "God, I have been serving faithfully. Why are my disciples leaving me? I'm doing so much good, and people are repenting. Don't let them take away from what I'm doing." But John remembered what we must remember: God uses us to take people to Jesus. It's not about us, it's about Him. We are blessed vessels that get to be a part of God's plan. The goal is to grow the Kingdom of God, not our kingdom.
Verse 30 - The greatest verse for missions: "He must increase, but I must decrease"
And thus, we have the greatest verse on missions. We must always remember our church and our personal ministries are all subject to the greater mission--Christ courting His bride, the Church.
It is not wrong to want a large ministry or a large church, as long as we remember that is not the goal. My goal is not to grow this church, it is to make much of Christ. Share the gospel and live the gospel, and this church will grow. But the growth isn't the goal, living the Gospel faithfully is. Paul told us to race for the prize. The prize is Christ. A side benefit for reaching Christ is to have a role in growing the Kingdom, but make no mistake, Christ is our reward. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the One who came down while we were still sinners and died for us. He is the One who must be made much of. Earthly kingdoms will fade away--whether nations, churches, or even families, they will fade into the sands of time. But Jesus is eternal, and His Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom.
Do not give up an eternal glory for a temporary trinket.
The Supremacy of Christ
He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
John 3:31-36
Verse 31 - Christ is Supreme because He is from Heaven
Jesus is the Source of all good things, because He is God who came down to us from Heaven. Christ's Supremacy is not something bestowed to Him by humans. It is because He is God.
Verse 36 - Repetition of Eternal Truth: Whoever has the Son has life, whoever does not obey the Son has God's wrath still on him.
Like all good teachers, John has a habit of repeating himself. He wants us to know the most important thing, and one of the best ways to teach people is to repeat it over and over. After all, most of us tend to not listen the first time. So in case you missed it earlier in John's Gospel: Eternal life is found in Christ, God's Son. Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever denies the Son does not have life.
Although this passage is not a ‘missions’ passage per se, its applications are best looked at from a missions mind-set. After all, as Christians we have a very similar mission to John, we are to help people find their way to Jesus.
So what are some principles from this story?
First, the goal of missions is to make much of Christ.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” A church’s mission is to bring people to Christ. It’s not about anything else.
It helps to feed the poor, but that’s not the end-goal.
It helps if people show up on Sunday morning, but that’s not the end-goal.
It helps to have good music, and good Sunday School classes, and good sound, and good this and good that, but those things are not the end-goal.
It’s even good if people tithe, but that’s not the end-goal either.
The end-goal is to see people come to faith in Christ. He must increase, and we must decrease.
Second, we can’t get in the way of people finding Jesus.
Notice John’s reaction to Jesus’ ministry. He doesn’t tell people to stay with him, but he also doesn’t even join in Jesus’ group. We know from the other Gospels that John is always separate from Jesus. John’s ministry grows apart from Jesus’ ministry. Sometimes the best thing for us to just not get in the way.
Now, hear me correctly, I’m not giving you an out, so you don’t have to do anything. In fact, just the opposite is true: there is something God is tasking you to do. I’m just reminding you that it might not be something that a lot of people are doing. It may be that God wants you to start something new, or witness to a group that no one else is reaching.
You do what God has given you to do, and let others do what they’ve been given to do. Each should do the work God has given them.
But there is another way we get in the way. It happens every time we want our way instead of letting God have His way. Regardless of how things have been, we must always be ready to listen for God guiding us with new steps.
Here’s a Bible challenge for you: Find a story in the Bible where God reveals something to His people, and it ISN’T a giant interruption for daily life.
Last, rejoice in spiritual success.
Whenever someone comes to faith, or whenever someone is stepping out in faith, rejoice! Take time to celebrate spiritual successes. However small or large, thank God for people’s faith. When we take the time to celebrate, it does two things:
It reminds us the most important thing is Jesus.
It also reminds us that even though life gets really hard at times, there is joy in Lord.