John 3:22-36

John 3:22–36 NASB95

22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized— 24 for John had not yet been thrown into prison. 25 Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.” 27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. 28 “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. 30 “He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 “What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 “He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. 34 “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. 35 “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. 36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Vs. 22:

Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus occured during the Passover festival. Following this Jesus left with the disciples and went into the countryside near the Jordan. It is here that only the Gospel of John records that Jesus Baptized. However, we know that it was not Jesus who was baptizing but the disciples. We see this in the first two verses of Chapter 4. Why is this significant? In Chapter 3 John says Jesus (in the singular) was doing the baptizing but in chapter 4 He says Jesus personally was not baptizing, rather, the disciples were. It communicates being of one accord, together, given the authority. This baptism is also important for us to discuss because there striking similarities but also differences in baptism or washing. Baptism prior to the death and Resurrection of Jesus was more associated with old covenant purification rites than the Baptism for remission of sins. Can Jesus pardon sins? Yes, He did so with the thief on the cross. But the Baptism into Christ which Paul so beautifully describes in Romans 6 cannot be done apart from Jesus’ own resurrection. Also, there cannot be the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the seal of ones salvation, apart from Jesus ascension. Jesus speaks of this in John 16, that He must go so that He can send the Helper/Advocate/Counselor/etc, AKA God the Holy Spirit. That’s the distinction between them, but it is the similarities that I find so important. This does not mean that those who were being baptized by John or the disciples were not repentant. Scripture is very clear that John the Baptist preached baptism of repentance (Mark 1, Luke 3, and Acts 13). But again, this baptism was not the one which we share in today. The purification right for the day of atonement is found in, Leviticus 16:18-20 “18 “Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. 19 “With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and from the impurities of the sons of Israel consecrate it. 20 “When he finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat.” We see here the sacrifice, but we also see the washing of the man. John and the disciples baptized in the same fashion. But upon Jesus death and resurrection, The Holy Spirit is now poured out upon the believer in this New Covenant washing. One is temporal, while the other is eternal. Baptism or the washing of oneself throughout scripture is linked to repentance and forgiveness.

Vs. 23-26:

23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there; and people were coming and being baptized— 24 for John had not yet been thrown into prison.

25 Then a matter of dispute developed on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing and all the people are coming to Him.”

What do we really see happening here? Is it a theological problem or a popularity problem? There was a debate over ceremonial washing but John’s disciples show what they are really concerned about. Do we see this happening in the church? When should we care where professing Christians attend church? When that church is unbiblical. Such as? When they are teaching heresies. Such heresies like modalism. The prosperity Gospel. Where the authority of Scripture is rejected. Where Scripture is manipulated. Apart from that, we need to be more concerned professing Christians are active in a church body, rather than what church body they belong to. Two Biblical churches are a part of the same body, the body of Christ. it is only when it is clear that a brother or sister is a part of a group which is not a part of the Body of Christ, should we intervene.

Verses27-30:

27 John replied, “A person can receive not even one thing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves [h]are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the [i]Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

There are men much wiser than me to explained John’s response very well. “This can be understood as a general statement applying to all people, but in context its primary reference is to John and… Jesus in particular. That Jesus’ ministry was expanding, while John’s was diminishing, was given from heaven...All gifts come from heaven, including the call to a particular station in the stream of redemptive history. For John the Baptist to have wished he were someone else, called to serve in a way many would judge more prominent, would simply be covetousness by another name; if the person he envied were the Messiah himself, he would be annulling the excellent ministry God had given him...John, recognizing that ultimately it is God who determines the role a person has, was content with the ministry God had given him and felt no need to promote himself or compete with Jesus… [One’s discontentment] over God’s [sovereignty is]the worst form of the perennial human sin, the arrogance that wants to be God and stand where God stands.”

We have a serious problem when we think we are more important to the Kingdom of God than we really are. This begs the question though, John knew His role in the kingdom of God. I think, “He must increase, I must decrease” is dead on, but, how does this apply to you? John 13:16 “16 “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.” If at any point we think, “God needs me” we are in a very dangerous place. This is heretical. God does not need me, but He does want to use me for His Glory. We truly see the image of a Father and His child. I see this even playing out in my wife and our daughters, she is doing some gardening and she is including Evelyn in it. Does Evelyn help? No. Is she growing anything? No. Mom is doing the work, but the joy of seeing her cultivating alongside her mom is beautiful. God has called us to serve with Him to accomplish His sovereign Will, and that is beautiful. So where is your place? Who is retired here? I have some good news for you. You may be retired from the workforce, but you never retire from Kingdom work. So where is your service to the Kingdom? I can tell you, it is not in coming to church and Bible study every week. That’s for your growth, but where do you serve God?

Verses 31-36:

31 “He who comes from above is above all; the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony. 33 The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true. 34 For He whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit [l]sparingly. 35 The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand. 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

It should be noted that verse 31 picks up with comments from The Apostle John, not John the Baptist. We saw this following Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus. But we do see a connection now in these comments and what Jesus said earlier in the chapter. John 3:32-33 “32 “What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 “He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.” John 3:11 “11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.” One commentator puts it, “John explains why accepting the words of Jesus certifies that God is truthful: For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God. Since Jesus’ words are the words of God, to accept them is to accept that God is truthful.” This also stated by John in verse 35-36, “35 The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand. 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not [m]obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Jesus is either the Truth or He is not. There is no in-between.