John 3:22-36

John 3:22–36 ESV

22 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). 25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. 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.” 27 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.” 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. 32 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. 34 For he whom God has sent utters 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 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.

PP: As Christians, our primary purpose in this life is to make much of Jesus.

Introduction:

Have you ever made an impulse buy because of someone’s testimony of how great a product is?

As Christians, our primary purpose in this life is to make much of Jesus.

Body:

John 3:22–24 (ESV) — 22 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).

“After this...”

Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus during the Passover festival in Jerusalem

“Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside”

Map

In verse 24, we will read that John and his disciples were baptizing up at “Aenon near Salim”

At one point I pictured Jesus and john just down river from each other a couple hundred yards, but this map helps us see that there was still some distance between the two.

“and he remained there with them and was baptizing”

What is the deal with this baptism?

John 4:2 tells us that Jesus wasn’t actually baptizing but his disciples were

There is some evidence that certain Jewish communities practiced baptism as a way of bringing Gentiles into the faith

The members of the Qumran community would practice daily baptisms as a way to keep themselves ceremonially clean and ready for the Messiah

But the most logical connection for what John was doing and what Jesus was doing seems to be found in the New Covenant expectations prophesied about in Ezekiel and Jeremiah

Ezekiel 36:22-28 (3 Slides)

Ezekiel 36:25 (ESV) — 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

Repentance

Ezekiel 36:27

Matthew 3:2 John saying “Repent”

Matthew 4:17 Jesus saying “Repent”

So these baptisms were potentially signifying that the inauguration of the NC was at hand.

It is also probable that these baptisms served to inaugurate the individual into the cohort of disciples of either John or Jesus.

Identification

“John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim”

As we’ll find out, this is the introduction of our plot conflict in our passage, but here John (our author) was simply making note that John and Jesus were both in the wilderness doing the same things for the same reasons

“John had not yet been put in prison.”

Signifying John’s (author) awareness that the synoptic gospels all pick up the start of Jesus’ earthly ministry after these events, after John the Baptist had already been imprisoned (Mark 1:14)

Like-minded ministry partners are a good thing to have especially in an increasingly darkening culture like the one we find ourselves facing. It’s a comfort to know you’re not the only one, that you’re not the only voice calling for people to come to Jesus. God has designed the bride of Christ to consist of individual congregations scattered throughout the world who all work together toward the goal of seeing the Great Commission fulfilled. Let’s allow this picture of John and Jesus laboring together in the Judean wilderness for a common purpose, remind us that we should be praying for the Lord to multiply those who will do the same with us today.

P1: Pray for the Multiplication of Like-Minded Ministry Partners (vv. 22-24)

There are many different ways for us to think about this (SLIDES)

The individual ministries we are a part of in our local churches

The pastoral teams that shepherd our local churches

The believers in our communities that attend other local churches

The pastors who shepherd those other local churches

The believers and pastors in our region

The believers and pastors in our state

The believers and pastors in our nation

The believers and pastors in our world

We should be praying regularly for the Lord to multiply like-minded, doctrinally-sound, followers of Jesus who will join us in accomplishing the common goal we all share of seeing the world reached for Christ.

Philippians 1:27-2:2 (2 Slides)

This is a unity we need more of across the landscape of the evangelical church today.

PR sent me a link published by Ligonier ministries on the current state of theology in our nation (SLIDES):

The Bible is significant but not literally true

2014: 41% agree

2016: 44% agree

2018: 47% agree

2020: 48% agree

2022: 53% agree

Gender identity is a matter of choice

2016-2020: 38% agree

2022: 42% agree

The Bible’s condemnation of homosexuality doesn’t apply today

2016: 42% agree

2018: 44% agree

2020: 40% agree

2022: 46% agree

God accepts the worship of all religions including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam

2016: 48% “evangelicals” agree

2018: 51% “evangelicals” agree

2020: 42% “evangelicals” agree

2022: 56% “evangelicals agree

Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God

2020: 30% “evangelicals” agree

2022: 43% “evangelicals” agree

Do these numbers resonate with you as to why we must be praying for the Lord to multiply like-minded ministry partners in this nation?

God

Bible

Gospel

In our text we had the disciples of John baptizing up the river from the disciples of Jesus, but they were all pulling the ship in the same direction.

We need to look around our community here in southern California and give thanks to God for churches who are pulling in the same direction while we also pray that he would raise up more like-minded pastors and congregations to join us in seeking to accomplish the task at hand.

END P1

John 3:25–30 (ESV) — 25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. 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.” 27 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.”

“Now a discussion arose”

This was more than a casual conversation; the word meant “debate” or “argument”

This argument broke out between the disciples of John and a Jew

“over purification”

Ceremonial cleansing

Mark 1:44 (ESV) — 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

This individual had taken offense at the manner in which John was going about his baptism, and he was there to let them know

“And they came to John and said to him...

The connection between this debate and what follows isn’t immediately clear from the text.

One commentator suggested the possibility that this Jew had been up where Jesus was baptizing and brought news of his activity and the crowds coming to him to John’s disciples while they were engaged in this debate. Perhaps.

“Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan”

The one you baptized

“look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him”

Resentment

Mark 1:4–5 (ESV) — 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

NLT: “everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”

Fear of losing their status

Fear of being with last year’s model

These disciples had been riding the hot hand of the day. Sure, he liked to wear uncomfortable clothes and eat strange foods, but they were willing to put up with those idiosyncrasies in order to benefit from the fame of being associated with him.

But now there was a threat to their status

Now there was someone else doing what they had been doing

And, he was gaining more followers

In fact, some of the people that had once been following them were now following him

When our ministry focus becomes more horizontal than vertical we can begin to foster a spirit of competition that can be damaging to the overall mission of the church. The temptation that John’s disciples gave way to is still a temptation for pastors and Christians today. We must remember what our ministry is about, and we must pray that God keeps us from unhelpful ministry competition.

P2: Pray for Protection from Divisive Ministry Competition (vv. 25-30)

Illustrate: My kids can turn anything into a competition; sometimes that includes chores even! Sometimes this works to our benefit (bedtime); other times it is detrimental (fighting over who gets to sit in what chair at dinner time)

Thankfully John was having none of it.

“A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”

The success John and these disciples had enjoyed was only possible because God had granted it

God doesn’t need a particular individual or personality to accomplish what he desires; he can use anyone he has equipped at any time and in any place

When we see a brother across town whose ministry is growing and multiplying we should do two things:

First, we should remember that God is the one who causes the growth (1 Corinthians 3)

Second, we should praise God for the work that He is doing there

James 1:17 (ESV) — 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

This applies to the good gift of ministry success as well!

“You yourselves bear me witness”

John the witness calling for his own witness

“that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’”

John 1:19-28

Illustrate: Buying milk a few days before its expiration date and then getting mad when it expires before we’re done

Y’all joined on to follow a rabbi whose expiration date was fast approaching!

“Did you think I was joking?”

John’s entire ministry purpose was to prepare the way for Jesus and then to get out of that way.

It’s good for us to remember that we are the messengers, not the author of the message.

The gospel isn’t a step-ladder to personal or congregational fame and prosperity.

There are no standings for churches such that we’re competing with one another for notoriety and fame.

“The one who has the bride is bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoice greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.”

John uses this parable to drive home his point

No one is excited about the best man at a wedding, and no good best man tries to make the wedding about himself

He’s there to serve the bridegroom and to rejoice in the bridegroom’s presence

Isaiah 62:4–5 (ESV) — 4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

Hosea 2:16–20 (ESV) — 16 “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ 17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. 18 And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. 19 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.

“Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

dei = it is necessary that he should increase

This is the only logical conclusion not only for John but also for his disciples as well if they truly understood what he was implying

The promises of old were coming true before their eyes, and it wasn’t about the messenger but the author of the message.

It’s interesting because success in ministry is so often judged based on numbers and increasing numbers at that. And not without reason. But John’s joy is fulfilled in knowing that his ministry was fulfilled because Jesus had arrived and the way had been prepared.

I mentioned earlier that this temptation toward divisive ministry competition is still present today.

Because of that can I ask you to pray for your pastors that we/they would be kept from this resentful spirit that gripped the heart of John’s disciples?

Can I ask that you also pray for yourselves that you would be kept from this resentful spirit that gripped the heart of John’s disciples?

There are times for us to warn against churches who aren’t doing the work of the ministry, churches who are tampering with the gospel, churches who are preaching a false gospel, churches who are compromising biblical standards.

But there are also times for us to celebrate the victories of the like-minded ministry partners around us as the Lord blesses the faithfulness of their ministries by adding to their numbers.

END P2

John 3:31–36 (ESV) — 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. 32 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. 34 For he whom God has sent utters 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 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.

There is some debate as to whether this is John the Baptist, John the Apostle, or even Jesus speaking here in this final section of our text.

Those who argue for John the Baptist simply see the quotation marks continuing on through the end of the chapter

Those who suppose it to be Jesus argue that the passage probably originally occurred right after verse 21

It seems best to see this as the Apostle’s reflection on the entire chapter.

John’s words: “He must increase, but I must decrease” seem like a fitting end to his speech

Also, the statement: “no one receives his testimony” makes more sense from the Apostle in reflection than John in the moment

There are themes in this section that borrow from the whole chapter and not just this interaction between John and his disciples (i.e. John 3:36)

The Apostle is providing his own commentary then on the significance of Christ based on these two interactions that he had recorded.

“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.”

John 3:3 (ESV) — 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

“again” is the same word for “from above”

“from the earth” isn’t implying sinfulness as in “world” but more of the created nature and its accompanying limitations

This is the Apostle’s commentary on John’s concluding statement: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Colossians 1:15–20 (ESV) — 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

“He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.”

The one “from above” is uniquely qualified to testify to these things, thus his testimony is greater even than John’s.

He has access to the wisdom of the heavenly counsels, and he has come to take it and declare it to us if we have ears to hear

John 3:11–13 (ESV) — 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

“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.”

To “set his seal” was a reference to validating a legal document as true

Here John is once again unambiguously placing Jesus on equal footing with YHWH

To accept the words of Jesus is to accept the words of YHWH

To believe Jesus is to believe YHWH

In the OT the prophets who prophesied did so under the power of the HS given to them in measured supply for the task at hand.

2 Peter 1:21 (ESV) — 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Ezekiel 11:5 (ESV) — 5 And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind.

Hebrews 10:15–16 (ESV) — 15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”

Jesus is different though because according to John, he has the Spirit “without measure”

John 1:32-33 The Spirit descended and remained on Christ

All of this commentary from the Apostle serves to remind us that Jesus is worthy of the highest place of honor among his followers, among the churches. It is a reminder, that every ministry must ensure that Jesus is the object of praise, honor, and exaltation. Every ministry must ensure that Jesus is the target, that Jesus is the point. John was a paradigm for us as he sought to get out of the way, diving out of the spotlight as it were, to make sure it remained on Christ. Let’s make sure we are praying for our churches and ministries to be marked by a similar concern.

P3: Pray for Christ-Exalting Ministry to Abound (vv. 31-36)

This goes back to the second point about guarding against divisiveness in ministry because if Jesus is the target and aim of our ministries there will be no room or cause for competition.

Illustrate: “A cancer in the clubhouse”

We have to make sure that our ministries have no cancer in the clubhouse.

A person can be the most gregarious, outgoing, intelligent, well-read, well-studied, eloquent individual, but if they are more about exalting themselves than exalting Jesus they are of no use to the Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:17–31 (ESV) — 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

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

This again points to the unique relationship the Son has to the Father

Matthew 11:27 (ESV) — 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

No human being can claim such a relationship.

Jesus can, and this is yet another reason that Jesus needs to stay the focal point of our exaltation and praise.

FF Bruce: “The Son is the Father’s envoy plenipotentiary (ambassador with full power for independent action), his perfect spokesman and revealer.”

“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 concludes his commentary on this section by calling for a verdict

He’s already pointed to the impending threat of judgment (John 3:19-21) and here he again returns to that theme and calls for belief in Jesus.

The disobedience in view is nothing more than failure to believe in Jesus for salvation and the forgiveness of sins.

John 3:18 (ESV) — 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

This final verse is the hallmark of any good Christ-exalting ministry, to call for a verdict is absolutely essential if we are to be faithful to the task at hand of making disciples for the glory of God.

So pray for the message to remain focused on Jesus,

pray for people to hear the call for belief in Jesus,

pray for pastors to preach and call for the verdict in their preaching,

pray for believers to preach and call for a verdict in their preaching,

pray for the lost to hear Jesus exalted and to be confronted with the call for a verdict,

pray that they would respond in obedience by coming to Jesus in faith for the forgiveness of their sins.

This is a Christ-exalting ministry, and we must be praying for this type of ministry to saturate our churches in order that we might continue to make progress together toward the goal of fulfilling the Great Commission.

Conclusion:

John’s humility is ironically one of the most admirable traits about him. It’s amazing how self-deferential he was. It’s little wonder that Jesus said of him, “Among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.” (Matthew 11:11) But what made John this way was an all-consuming passion for the glory of Jesus. He had that, and we should pray for more of it, for ourselves, and for our churches.