John 3:22-30 says...

Our devotional verses today are John chapter 3 and verses 22 through 30, which read,

v.22-24 - After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing.  John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized--for John had not yet been thrown into prison.

Our focus moves from Jesus back to John the Baptist for a moment and for some very important words from him.  We have the picture here of both John the Baptist and Jesus baptizing.  We are told in John chapter 4 and verse 2 that it was really Jesus' disciples who were doing the baptizing but He would be overseeing this activity.  It seems that John the Baptist, the forerunner and announcer of the Messiah, did not stop with the message that the Messiah had come.  His ministry continued on.  

We are also given the detail that John the Baptist would be thrown into prison for some reason.  The reason is that he stood on what the Bible said about marriage and that ruffled the feathers of Herod and Herodias who were in an adulterous affair.  

One last note before moving on is that John the Baptist went where there was much water and the people came to him to hear the preaching of repentance.  John the Baptist did not go to the place where there were much people and hope there was water there.  He sought out the water and had the people come to him.

v.25, 26 - Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John's disciples with a Jew about purification.  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."

The people are noticing that the crowds that were coming to hear Jesus were larger than the crowds that were coming to hear John the Baptist.  "Rabbi, what do you think about that?"  They called John the Baptist a "rabbi" and they also had accepted his testimony that Jesus was the Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  It seems to matter to them that John the Baptist and Jesus are doing the same thing.  Which one would be better to go to?  Should I get baptized by John the Baptist or by Jesus?  Which would be more pure?  The crowd has shifted and we will see how John the Baptist who had center stage will do with being stage left or right.

v.27, 28 - John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.  You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent ahead of Him.'

John the Baptist acknowledges that what has been given for him to say and do has come from heaven just as it is for heaven.  He also reinforces what they have witnessed by accepting his testimony that he was not the Christ, the Anointed One, and his position to come before Him to prepare the way.  

This echos what Jesus will say to Peter later when he gives that great proclamation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.  Jesus tells Peter that those words did not come from him but from God above who put them into Peter's mouth.  Our ministry is not our own but really something that God wants accomplished and uses us to see it happen.  It is not our church but His church is the idea here.

v.29, 30 - 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.  He must increase, but I must decrease."

John the Baptist will use a very common illustration to tell them and us something important about Jesus.  Let's put some characters to his word picture.  The bride is the church or God's family.  The bridegroom who has the bride, the church, is Jesus.  The friend of the bridegroom, the best man, the one who helps plan the wedding and all its preparations is John the Baptist.  The bridegroom's friend is waiting like everyone else for the coming of the bridegroom to take his bride home to the great celebration.  One day, Jesus will come again and take home His bride, His church, to the celebration of heaven and eternal life with the Trinity.  So the friend of the bridegroom is excited when he hears the bridegroom's voice saying, "I am here!"  

John the Baptist, the friend of the bridegroom, Jesus, heard the voice of the one who carried the Messiah, Mary, when he, John, was in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth and leaped for joy.  Now John the Baptist has had the privilege of proclaiming the coming of Jesus, seeing Jesus, baptizing Jesus, and even doing ministry together with Him.  The leap in the womb at the coming of the Messiah in Mary's womb is now full for mission has been completed to make the Messiah known.

John the Baptist has some famous lines he ends here with one of the them, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  He had to help his disciples understand this.  The focus had been on him and what he was saying but it needed to transfer to the One who had come.  I find this true today.  As I share with other about Christ, many times the new friendship with me can be the focal point but I can't save people.  Only Jesus can save so I need to help them see Jesus more than they see me.  I can be a great friend that has been gained and maybe with God's grace a Christian brother because we are in His family together and doing ministry together but our focal point is not each other but Jesus Christ.  The family of God is attractive and the Church and its compassion help is a drawing card when ministry is happening but neither is Christ.  

We need to make sure that we point people to Christ.  We might have a cool building or fun and fulfilling activities that bring some temporal happiness but these are all secondary to what is primary and that is knowing Christ so our joy can be made full.  Only Christ can make our joy full.  I pray we all have the opportunity to say to others that Jesus must increase in your life and I must decrease.  The increasing of Jesus is what puts more workers out in the harvest.  Let us pray.

"Heavenly Father, thank You so much for the ministry of John the Baptist.  Thank You for his humility and his focus on pointing others to You.  May we follow his example as we go about the ministry of the Bride, Your church, and resist the temptation to say to others, 'come look at us' but say to them 'come and look at our glorious Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.'  Amen."

Pastor Adam