Whoever Believes

John 3:22-36

²²After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. ²³John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized ²⁴(for John had not yet been put in prison). ²⁵Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. ²⁶And 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.” ²⁷John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ ²⁹The 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. ³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease.” ³¹He 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. ³²He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. ³³Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. ³⁴For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. ³⁵The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. ³⁶Whoever 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.

I have a friend who used to listen to her sons argue with the neighbor boys about whose father was the strongest. It finally came down to her sons being certain that their father could lift the house. It was said in all earnestness and belief. My dad is better than your dad. She still smiles when she tells that story.

That one-ups-man-ship seems to be ingrained into us at birth. It is, stated in the simplest terms, what leads to war. My ideas are better than yours. My politics is far superior to yours. My intelligence is far greater than yours. So, since I’m better than you, perhaps I’ll march in and share the wealth by conquering you! It’s sin in its purest form. Oddly enough, that attitude attacks the followers of John the Baptist. They become jealous of Jesus and the fact that so many are seeking to follow Him instead of John. (Just on a side note – we’re told in John 4 that Jesus was not baptizing people, but His Disciples were.)

John the Baptist sets the record straight and likens himself unto the Best Man at a wedding. His job is to announce the coming of the Groom and then step aside. John seemed to be completely comfortable with that role. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Say it with me. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” This is where the whole passage crashes together. It’s always about Jesus becoming greater in our lives. Please don’t miss understand. It’s not about having “more of Jesus.” That’s just bad theology. You’ve already got all of the Jesus (Holy Spirit) that you’re ever going to need (for he gives the Spirit without measure). He is always all sufficient. But let’s be honest. All of us can tone down the self-aggrandizing and personal kingdom building. There’s always room to step further into the background so that the work of Christ can take up more of your life.

So I guess it’s time to take a personal inventory. Where might I step back so that Christ can shine more clearly? How might the humility that John the Baptist displayed be more evident in my life? How might I decrease so that Christ may increase? Sadly, I don’t think about these questions often enough, but today’s reading certainly begs me to do so today.