The Christian Vocation

Introduction

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The Problem

Before we dive into the passage, let’s set the scene of what’s been going on so far in this chapter. So far in chapter 3, we have had Jesus tell Nicodemus about the new birth, that this new birth is by the Holy Spirit, and that this new birth is spiritual and that is completely transformative. This new birth is received by the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross, like the bronze serpent, and whoever looks at Jesus by faith, believing in his name, they receive eternal life. And all this is the very expression of the love of God for the world that is in darkness, evil, and condemnation. And John tells us that God’s grace loves this broken world despite this and offers eternal life for all who believe in His name. And all this is achieved through the sending and death of the loving only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ.

So we have had this moment of extraordinary, divine revelation from God, revealing to us this heavenly truth, something that is normally completely inaccessible to us. John gave us a glimpse into heaven. And then, in verse 22 John seemingly brings us straight back down to earth, back to the ordinary, and human. We see Jesus and his disciples walking to the countryside, and He and his disciples are baptising people, and John the Baptist and his disciples were also baptising nearby. And when we get back to the human and ordinary, we get back to the human and ordinary problems. What’s the problem that is occuring here?

Well John’s disciples see Jesus and His disciples baptising, and what do they say? Read John 3:26 “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.”” Now, there is a lot of debate about what the motive behind this statement of John’s disciples, and we have to be very careful about ‘psychologising’ the Bible and imputing certain motives onto the people that appear in the Bible. However, when we take into account the verses that follow, it is clear that when John’s disciples say this to John, it is not a positive thing they are trying to say. They are speaking out of concern for John and His ministry. They saw all these people flock to Jesus for baptism instead of coming to John, and it’s possible that they felt threatened and worried for John the Baptist. They were worried for John’s reputation, and perhaps this is a hint that John’s disciples felt a certain rivalry between John and Jesus.

And as they should! It’s clear that John’s disciples deeply respected Him, and you could say that they felt an honourable jealousy for their master and teacher. You can tell this by the fact that they call him ‘Rabbi’ in verse 26, which was a title of great honour and respect. Even Jesus called John greater than anyone who has ever lived (Matt 11:11). John the Baptist was so great that even today, after over 2000 years, there is a religious sect that that still follow John the Baptist as the greatest and final prophet called the Mandaeans.

But what’s wrong with this? Is it right for John’s disciples to feel this jealousy for John? Is it right for Mandaeans to still follow John like a god? No, it’s wrong. And it’s wrong because it shows that John’s disciples and the Mandaeans have a fundamental misunderstanding: they are confusing the message and the messenger. John the Baptist was just a messenger, proclaiming that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is coming. He was not Jesus Christ Himself. John’s role was to prepare the way for the arrival of the good news, the message, the gospel of Jesus Christ; John was not the good news, he was not the gospel.

And why did John’s disciples have this misunderstanding? The center had moved. The center of their mission, their vocation, their calling, is meant to be God. It is all meant to be glorifying God and making Him known. But little did they realise that that center had now become themselves. Rather than making God known, they were more concerned about themselves. Their job as messengers was to make the message of God known, but rather they wanted to make their own message known. This explains why they felt threatened when Jesus arrived on the scene and people were flocking to Him. If God was truly at the center of their mission through their baptising, then they wouldn’t have been concerned when Jesus came and did the same thing, because Jesus was also ministering for God. But they felt jealous, indicating that what is at the center of their heart, is a concern for elevating themselves.

I think Christians also often do this. And sometimes it can be very subtle. We talk about needing to tell others about Jesus and the gospel, and we may do so with our words. But what is at the center of our hearts? Is it really a heart of making the gospel and Jesus known? Or without realising, is there a heart where I am still at the center, trying to bring attention and glory and praise to myself, rather than God? One way to find out is to think about the things you are involved in in church, whether it be a specific role or ministry. If someone came in to do the exact same role as you, and they are the same age, same qualifications as you, but they did it much better, would you feel threatened? Jealous? And I think whether you would feel threatened or not is revealing of where your heart is. And if you think you would feel threatened, perhaps you need to question the gospel you are proclaiming: is it truly the gospel of Jesus Christ? Or is it the gospel of some other ‘good news’? Is it a gospel that is completely Christ centered, and comes out of humility with no self-interested involved? Or is there a hidden underlying motive, perhaps seeking your own ambitions, glory, fulfillment, mission, meaning, praise from others?

The Christian life is not about getting God into your story; it’s about getting your life into God’s story. It is not about using God and the mission He has given you to somehow enrich your life; it’s not about using God and the gospel as a vehicle to bring attention to yourself. It’s about being transformed by God so that our life is no longer about us, we are no longer the center, we no longer seek our own interests, our own fame, our own attention, but we now solely focus on bring attention to God, Jesus Christ, the gospel, even if that means our own self-interests are no longer prioritised.

And the two John’s in this passage, John the Baptist, and John the Evangelist, recognises this heart problem in the disciples and they give a correction, a solution. To fix this problem of the heart:

John the Baptist tells us that we need understand ourselves correctly.

John the Evangelist tells us that we need to understand Jesus correclty.

John’s Answer

So John the Baptist says to fix this problem of the heart that the disciples are having, we need to understand ourselves correctly. What’s the first thing John the Baptist says?

Read John 3:27 “John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”

This verse is talking about the fact that everything that we have is under the sovereign will and control of God. Our role, who we are, our ministries, our gifts and talents, are all given to us by God Himself. That means whatever that we have are given to us by God and He gives to us as He pleases and He uses us for his purposes. That means that whatever our role, whatever our ministry, whatever our talents, whatever gifts that we have in this life, no matter how small and insignificant, or how great they seem to us, they are a gift from God, and God gave them to us for His purposes. So when we recognise that our vocation and everything needed for that vocation comes from God, we can no longer place ourselves in the center of that vocation. It is no longer about us, but it is all about God. We are to be satisfied with what we have been given by God, no matter how great or small. Often we compare ourselves with others, become dissastisfied and demoralised and view ourselves as worthless, not good enough, because what we have seems to be less than others. Or, we may become arrogant when we see the great talents and gifts that we have. But John here is saying that even if you have a talent or role that you think is insignificant it is still something ordained and given by God for His purposes; and even if you have a talent that you think is great and better than everyone else, there is nothing to boast about because it is given by God; both whether small or great, are for God’s purposes, not for your purposes.

And no matter what our gifts or role may be, we can be satisfied and content when we understand exactly who we are before Christ. Look at what John the Baptist says in John 3:28–30 “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 has a clear understanding who he is: he is not the Christ. He clearly knows his ministry and his talents are not for himself, but he has been sent before him, he has been sent to prepare the way for Jesus. His entire purpose is to point to Jesus, not himself.

He then describes himself as the bridegroom’s friend. To be the bridegroom’s friend back in the days of Jesus was equivalent to being the best man in modern day weddings. Yes, John was important, just like the best man is important in weddings today. But ultimately, the wedding is not about the best man. It is about the bride and the bridesgroom. And John understood this about himself clearly. He wasn’t confused about himself; he didn’t mistake himself to be the message, he clearly knew he was just the messenger. His heart wasn’t self-centred; it was completely Christ centred. He wasn’t interested in himself, about how he can be great, about how he can stand out; John the Baptist defined himself completely centred upon the bridegroom, Jesus Christ. Everything in his life revolved around what is needed for the bridegroom, making Jesus Christ stand out. John was happy to recede into the background and let Jesus take centrestage.

In our modern culture, it is easy to treat Christianity as a consumer. It is easy to take a consumerism mindset and apply it to Christ. What do I need from Jesus? What can I get out of church? What can I get out of this sermon? What can I get out of these services? We tend to focus on what we desire, what makes us comfortable, and what makes us happy. Our lives tend to focus on our needs, on what we want, and what we want to achieve, our own goals and dreams. But John the Baptist here shows us that our lives are not about ourselves. The more we grow in Christian maturity, the more our lives are completely defined by Christ, our lives become about pointing and showing Jesus Christ, and less of ourselves. This is why John the Baptist is able to say ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’

And not only does having a correct understanding about himself allow John the Baptist to have the right heart for Christian vocation, but it also is what brings him most joy, purpose, and fulfillment in life. Showing Jesus more in his life, and less of himself, was his entire purpose and fulfillment because it is only when Jesus takes centre stage that John says in verse 29, ‘therefore this joy of mine is now complete.’ John the baptist as the bridegroom’s friend, rejoices at the marriage of Jesus with his bride. The Christian vocation of self-denial, and centering our lives around Jesus and not ourselves, is actually what brings us true joy in life. If you think about it, John was not only the bridegroom’s friend, but he was also part of the bride. Remember, when the Bible uses the wedding metaphor, the bride is used to speak of the church. Jesus redeems and loves his bride, the church. And Jesus loves, blesses, protects, and serves the church with a love that is self-sacrificial. So when we become less and less, and see for ourselves and show people how great and wonderul Christ is, we see all the great things Christ is accomplishing for his bride the Church, for us. When we witness to Christ, we not only become less and point to His greatness, but we also receive, as we are not only the bridegroom’s friend, but we are also the bride. So when Jesus asks us to decrease so that he might increase, it is also actually a blessing.

John’s Answer

Then we get to the comment by John the Evangelist. If John the Baptist talked about having a correct understanding about ourselves for proper Christian vocation, then John the Evangelist talks about having a correct understanding about God for proper Christian vocation. And the two are related, because if we are to have a correct understanding about ourselves, that understanding always has to be in reference to God - a correct understanding abotu ourselves is not just about ourselves in isolation, but always in relationship with God. Not ‘who are we?’ but ‘who are we before God?’. So we need to have an understanding about who God is as well.

Here, John the Evangelist tells us about who Jesus is. And the common theme is how much greater Jesus is compared to John the Baptist.

John 3:31 “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.”

We see that Christ is superior because He is the one who comes from above. John is earthly and can only speak in earthly ways. But Jesus is God. He has been sent by the Father to the earth, he comes from heaven above, He is in perfect relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and He can tell us heavenly realities that we would otherwise never have access to. Only Jesus can give us things that are from heaven, like the new birth that we talked about last week - it is not a new birth of the flesh, but it is a new birth of the Spirit, which can only be given by Jesus as one who has come from above.

John 3:32–34 “He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 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.”

And the very words of Jesus are the very words of the Father. If John the Baptist was just the voice of God (John 1:23), then Jesus is the very words of God. So whatever Jesus says is the words of the Father. And because God is truthful, if you do not receive the testimony of Jesus which He has heard from the Father, it says the ‘wrath of God remains on you’, you receive God’s judgement, because you are rejecting the claim that God is truthful -> you are saying God is a liar.

And whereas prophets like John the Baptist were given the Holy Spirit with a certain measure for their ministry, Jesus is given the Spirit without measure. His person, role, and ministry, is infinitely superior than any earthly individual, because Jesus is God in the flesh.

John 3:35 “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.”

And Jesus’ authority is above all others. The Father loves the Son so much that He has given all things into the hands of Jesus. Jesus’ power, authority, and resources cannot compare with anyone else. John conclusively shows that nothing or no-one can compare with Jesus. He is above all because he is one who comes from above.

So in the face of the utter supremacy of Jesus, how wonderful and powerful He is, how great He is, how can we focus on ourselves anymore? We are to be captivated by Him, amazed and be in wonder of him, give him glory, praise, worship, honour, because He is worthy of all this. We are but dust compared to Him. And despite being so infinitely above us, God loved us who are but dust. God who rules in heaven, loved us so much that he came down as man so that he can save us, even though we were unworthy, even though we were doomed for death and destruction. So in the face of how great Jesus is and how much he loves us, what we once thought was important, our lives, our values, goals, meaning, fulfillment, happiness, fame, money, success - all this fades into the background and our desires change to put Christ on the centrestage of our lives, not ourselves.

Conclusion

This is the final appearance of John the Baptist in this book. We all know how John dies from the other gospels - Herod beheads him and he dies a tragic death. But even his death is not recorded in this gospel. Instead, the final record of John the Baptist are his words ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’ John the Baptist clearly knew his vocation, because he knew exactly who he was, and he knew exactly who he was in relation to the wonderul and supreme God, Jesus Christ. And because of this, unlike his disciples, he knew that his life wasn’t about himself. He knew that he was the bridesgroom’s friend, not the bridesgroom; he knew that he was the messenger, not the message; he knew that his life was making Christ centrestage, not himself. He wasn’t concerned about his own interests, but he was concerned about the interests of Jesus. And ultimately, this brought him ultimate and perfect joy, because Jesus’ interests are our interests. How easy it is to forget this in our society today that values individualism, consumerism, self-help, personal development. Live your life for Christ, because the Christian vocation is for Christ to increase and for us to decrease.

Sources:

PNTC

Zondervan exegentical commentary (Klink)

BST (Milne)

TNTC (Kruse)