John Exalts Christ, Not Himself (3:22-30)

John exalts Christ, not himself. John possesses a proper view of God, has a robust view of Jesus, has a realistic and humble opinion of himself, and has an accurate picture of his purpose in life. As a result, when his ministry success could be deemed threatened by the success of another, he remains undeterred in his focus and continues to serve as he always had – of course only after he redirects his disciples back to their proper focus.

John exalts Christ, not himself. John possesses a proper view of God, has a robust view of Jesus, has a realistic and humble opinion of himself, and has an accurate picture of his purpose in life. As a result, when his ministry success could be deemed threatened by the success of another, he remains undeterred in his focus and continues to serve as he always had – of course only after he redirects his disciples back to their proper focus.

John exalts Christ, not himself. John possesses a proper view of God, has a robust view of Jesus, has a realistic and humble opinion of himself, and has an accurate picture of his purpose in life. As a result, when his ministry success could be deemed threatened by the success of another, he remains undeterred in his focus and continues to serve as he always had – of course only after he redirects his disciples back to their proper focus.

Background

After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. 23 John 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). ().

Jesus came into Judea. John must have meant that Jesus and His disciples went into the countryside of Judea. They were already in Judea during the Passover, so they couldn’t have entered Judea now, but they could have left Jerusalem and went into the countryside.

Jesus was baptizing. We are told that Jesus was spending time in Judea and baptizing. To be more specific, based on 4:1-2, Jesus was not directly baptizing, but instead, his disciples were baptizing.

John’s was a baptism of repentance. The initiation of the kingdom of Heaven would find the Jews in a state of repentance. Therefore, John proclaims that the Kingdom of heaven is here therefore they were called to repent (). Jesus’ presence would not have changed this need for repentance or negate the value of a baptism of repentance. If anything, Jesus presence would have heightened this call to repentance. Jesus proclaimed the same message or repentance of which John the Baptist proclaimed ().[1]

John had not yet been imprisoned. The fact that John the Apostle includes the fact that John the Baptist had not yet been imprisoned indicates that he was likely aware of the other gospels and the potential confusion that might come as a result of their chronology. The other three gospels seem to indicate that Jesus did not start any Galilean ministry until after the arrest of John the Baptist (; ). John the author, desiring to avoid any appearance of contradiction, briefly explains that there was a brief overlap between John the Baptist’ ministry and Jesus’ ministry.

Discussion between John’s disciples and a Jew. While there is conjecture concerning who this Jew may have been, there is no substantial evidence for a conclusion. The Jew and the discussion they had with him are fairly irrelevant, except for the fact that somehow it stirred some concern within these disciples.

Baptism was not irregular at this point, and it is likely that the discussion had something to do with comparing the purification baptisms of other people to John’s baptism of repentance. Amid this discussion, Jesus and His disciples must have been mentioned. This reality brought some concern to John’s disciples and the injury it might bring to John’s own ministry.

The Hearts of John’s Disciples Revealed.

The unfolding interaction between John and his disciples offers us a wonderful example of how our thinking, emotions, and actions are all tied together.

Illustration. A little under a decade ago, Christ Fellowship started in Sun Prairie. Shortly after, First Baptist Church in Watertown went through a restoration. Prior to that period, Cornerstone Church was one of very few churches between Oconomowoc and Madison that was conservative theologically, somewhat contemporary, and reformed. Within a couple of years, there were two similar churches within the larger communities on either side of Cornerstone. As a result, Cornerstone saw a dip in its attendance and fewer visitors.

I recall, on many occasions, a bit of an internal struggle. Of course, I’m thrilled that good churches are flourishing in the communities around us. I’m so thankful that the gospel is being proclaimed and people are being discipled. But, there are internal struggles that come with that. To some degree we share the same pool of people to pull from. We all have financial needs and challenges. We may know better, but our feeling of success is often connected to the numbers of people in attendance.

All of a sudden, we may have been tempted to resent the cause of Christ being accomplished somewhere other than in our own church. I don’t think this is much different than what John the Baptist’ disciples may have been feeling.

Disciple’s Thinking. Of course, we must surmise to some degree but (1) John’s disciples were likely protective of their leader. They wanted their leader to be “successful” and of course this would translate into them being more successful. Fewer people coming to John because so many were going to Jesus threatened John’s (and their) numerical success. (2) Clearly, they had a wrong view of their overall purpose. If they were bothered that everyone was going to Jesus, they must have missed the point of John’s message.

Disciple’s emotions revealed in their conversation. “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” (). The fact that they don’t reference Jesus by name seems to indicate a spirit of hostility or minimally frustration. They use the dramatic term “all.” (1) jealous of Jesus’ success, (2) maybe even threatened by Jesus success, (3) Maybe they even were struggling with selfishness in wanting more followers and the resources that may come as a result.

Disciples actions. Their wrong thinking led to wrong emotions which led to dramatic complaining to John about the potential threat.

John’s Heart Revealed.

John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 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. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.” ().

John’s Thinking. (1) John had a proper view of God. Take note of his first statement, “a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.” John acknowledges the sovereign hand of God in the success of any venture. (2) John had a proper view of himself. He wasn’t the Christ. He was a friend of the bridegroom – not the bridegroom. (3) John had a proper view of the overall purpose. (4) John had a proper view of Jesus.

John offers a beautiful response. John was thrilled to accomplish that which God had purposed for Him. He had never pretended to be the highlight, but instead always was pointing to the true light.

Realize that all we have is from God. John realizes that his purpose and the ability to accomplish that purpose were given to Him from God. If God is the giver of all, we must simply learn to be content with what He chooses to give us.

Realistic view of your role and purpose. John saw his responsibility in light of the much greater picture. His disciples, however, simply saw John’s ministry being threatened. When we realize and accept that God has a master plan and divvies out ability and responsibilities in accordance with His plan, it is easier for us to accept our small part. If we are focused on our own plans and goals, we can become disenchanted when we seem to accomplish little.

Always point to Christ, not yourself. Throughout the entirety of John’s ministry, he was pointing to Christ. It would have been illogical for John to be bothered that people were following Christ, since that’s what he was telling them to do. This was not as logical to his disciples and often is not as logical to us today.

John’s Emotions. (1) Joy due to the success of the bridegroom and his success.[2] (2) Humility as a result of a proper view of God and himself. (3) Contentment in his role.

John was the friend of the bridegroom. He was happy to be part. There was no expectation that the friend would be receiving any prominent position or fanfare. The prominence was to go to the bridegroom and the bride. All the work that the friend did for the wedding was for the pleasure and benefit of the bride and groom.

John’s Actions. He continued to do the work he was called to do.

Conclusion

There are two principle applications I would like for you to walk away with this morning. One of them is drawn from the observations concerning this discussion between John and his disciples. The other is drawn both from John the Apostle’s purpose in this passage and John the Baptist’s priorities.

Strive for a proper view of yourself. Both the actions of John the Baptist and his disciples were largely impacted by the view they had of themselves. John’s disciples had an imbalanced view of who John should have been and closely connected to this was who they should have been. They desired more attention than they warranted. They desired a position that wasn’t there’s to hold. John the Baptist, on the other hand, knew who he was, where his role fit into the larger picture and he neither undermined his role or over stated his role. He was a significant figure in the redemptive storyline and he embraced his part, but he knew he wasn’t the main character and he appropriately and happily deferred all attention to the main character.

Have a realistic and humble view of who you are. Embrace who you are – not your sin – but embrace the human frailties, strengths and weaknesses, personality quirks, talents and abilities, etc. Don’t undervalue the strengths God has given with false piety, but as well don’t try to accomplish what your abilities would never allow. Of course, God can do whatever he wants with you, but we should have a realistic approach of what God is going to do in us.

Exalt Christ at personal cost. John the Baptist is one our witnesses to Jesus being the Messiah. John’s actions were largely affected by his belief that Jesus was the Messiah. John didn’t just acknowledge the reality of Jesus being Messiah, but he bowed himself in every possible way so that Jesus could be more clearly exalted.

We can say that we only want God to be glorified; but as soon as someone glorifies God and fails to glorify us, we often struggle. We may not expect anyone to glorify us more than they glorify God, but we may at times wish they would glorify us a little bit. John had nothing to do with that. He wanted nothing but for Christ to be exalted.

If your life doesn’t allow you to focus on Christ and what he would have for you, then something needs to change.

[1] Concerning the baptism done by Jesus’ disciples (1) The baptism was probably like John’s – a baptism of repentance because the kingdom of heaven was in their midst. (2) Chapter 4 indicates that it was not Jesus performing the baptism, but instead was His disciples. Possibly, these were the disciples that had followed John the Baptist earlier. We have no clear indication either way. (3) At this point John the Baptist is still ministering, and it is possible that at the end of John’s ministry, this type of baptism ceased. (4) Jesus may not have continued to baptize due to the potential confusion that might have occurred when He spoke of the baptism of the Spirit.

[2] John the Baptist was not likely ignorant of the imagery of the coming Messiah being the bridegroom and Israel being the bride. (Cf. , , ) As well the apostle John would likely have been aware of the church being a picture of the bride and Christ as the bridegroom. (Cf. ; )

[2] John the Baptist was not likely ignorant of the imagery of the coming Messiah being the bridegroom and Israel being the bride. (Cf. , , ) As well the apostle John would likely have been aware of the church being a picture of the bride and Christ as the bridegroom. (Cf. ; )