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 conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus began to do more work among the people. In this episode in His earthly life, we see him traveling to the Judean countryside, remaining there and beginning to baptize. John the Baptist was apparently continuing his ministry doing the very same thing; baptizing. John had not yet been put in prison, so he continued to do what God had called him to do.
25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification.
There is the thought that this was Nicodemus asking this question, due to the proximity of where Jesus was and the proximity to the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus and the placement in the book of John. Remember, Jesus told Nicodemus that one must be born of water and of the Spirit. The water cleansing was a common practice among the Jews, and perhaps Nicodemus was furthering the discussion of what Jesus had meant when He said that one must be born of the water and of the Spirit. John’s emphasis in preaching, as we see from the other Gospels, was repentance because the kingdom of heaven was near. Purification did not come from the water, but from a heart of confession and turning to God. He even spoke of this when the Pharisees (who were separatists) coming to be baptized:
Matt 3:7-10 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
John was not preaching a popular message in a popular way by any stretch of the imagination. Baptism, ritual cleansing, was something that the Pharisees and Sadducees were very familiar with. But where they were willing to do an outward act, they, like many today, did not understand true repentance. God does not look on our outward appearance, the acts that we may do on the outside, but he looks at the heart and the motives for doing the works that we do. John knew clearly that the motives may have been producing fruit, but God sees our best works outside of Him as rotten fruit. He does not see the family we grow up in, the denomination we are a part of, or the country that we come from. He looks at individuals, at their heart, and if they are trusting in Him. A clear indication is the resulting works done to the glory of God. John was not afraid to preach repentance and faith, and he was not afraid to warn the powerful and the religious.
26And 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."
Another part of the speculation that it was Nicodemus who was initiating this conversation was the awareness of the disciples of John that Jesus and His disciples were also baptizing. The point here is not who was doing the talking or why Jesus was baptizing, but the concern of the disciples of John about people going to follow Jesus. Apparently, these disciples of John had a stake in how many would come and be baptized by them. Perhaps it was a personal affront; that the one who they had been following (JtB) was there first doing this ministry and this other ministry was stepping on their toes. Perhaps their donations had decreased and they had less money. Maybe they just loved John so much that they did not desire for him to be second fiddle to Jesus. Maybe some were even concerned that John was not preaching an attractive enough message! Whatever the reason, his disciples were clearly concerned.
This is a bad attitude that many in the church have today. So often, we get caught up in personalities and politics and forget that the work we are here to do is to build up the kingdom of God by going out and making disciples. I have always said that it does not matter if one gets saved through my preaching if that person comes to our church or somebody else’s. It is God’s Church, anyway. I preach to glorify Him and build His kingdom, not my own. In almost every community I have been in there is far too much competition among churches. We should be working together to build up the kingdom of God. Imagine, if you would, if the church invisible in this community would unite under the purpose of winning the lost. There would be immediate and incredible revival and this town and our nation would be changed for the glory of God. I would love to see that attitude magnified worldwide! Unfortunately, too many are focused on their own kingdom, and their own power, and their own glory instead of God’s. To be like John the Baptist, we must be about the business of preparing the way for God’s kingdom to come.
27John answered, "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.
I love John’s responses to his jealous followers. First, he tells them of the sovereignty of God. He realized that his ministry, indeed, God ordained his life for a special purpose. He was, from the beginning of His life, a forerunner of the promised one. Wherever that led him, and whatever that meant as far as success in the world was not even relevant to John. He simply did His job, his ministry with all his might, led by the Holy Spirit, and he allowed the chips to fall wherever they would fall. He realized that everything was indeed in the hands of God, and he trusted God with all of the results. If there were other ministries out there, he realized that God for a God ordained purpose also placed those ministries there. Their success would be determined and ordained by God.
As born again followers of Jesus Christ today, we must do the things that God has called for us to do, regardless of the sensitivities of man and the offenses of the other ministries. We have been given the responsibility as the church to proclaim the good news, to build up and to equip people who attend our services to do the ministries that God has called them to do. We are not called to do things like other Christians, or other churches, we are not even called together to be an institution. We are individually and corporately called to fulfill the mission that God has gifted us to and that God has given to us. We are called, not to build an institution, we are called to build His church. That means that we need to take seriously our call to reach the lost for Christ. All too often we are concerned with the other ministry down the street or what is happening in politics, or with the economy, and yet we do not even know or love our neighbors enough to share the good news with them. That is what we are here to do, and, like John the Baptist, we need to focus on our ministry that God has given us and recognize that it is from Him, by Him, and for Him.
28You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.'
John knew his place while so many of us want the credit and the glory. Our main problem is pride. One who is totally sold out to God and to His purposes has no issues with God getting all the glory, even if that means that we must be humbled before Him. John knew that he was not Jesus, therefore it was not even his ministry. It was God’s from the beginning, and it would be God who would determine its end. He was the voice crying in the wilderness to make the way for the Lord. “ I am not the Christ! I have said it before! I am here to proclaim Him, nothing more!
How many of us are ready to give up our very lives: our dreams, our ambitions, our wallets, or our possessions for the glory of God? More importantly, how many are willing to give up their social status, our time, hobbies, or activities. We need to recognize that it is God who is the provider of all good things in our lives, and it is all about Him and His glory, not our own. Many who have gone before us have literally sacrificed their lives willingly because Jesus called them out. Our gratitude for being saved from sin should be motive enough to seek the Lord as to what we are to do. John’s disciples, like many churchgoers today, had no idea of the overarching purpose of the ministry they were a part of, despite repeated testimony. We love to follow personalities and institutions instead of our Lord. The purpose of River of Life Alliance Church is to glorify God by doing what as a church we have been called to do in this community. We are here to serve the Lord, not to build an institution. We are a living organism, not a club. We are not what we do on Sunday, we are what we do during the rest of the week at work, at play, and at home.. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus, and follow whatever He calls us to do through His word. We are not Jesus, but we have been sent to represent Him here, because he will return soon to judge the quick and the dead.
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.
John took joy in the Lord and His success and will being done. John recognized his place as the best man so to speak. The best man operates to make sure that the wedding goes off smoothly, to make sure the needs of the bridal party, specifically the bride and the groom. This best man has an important role, but He is not the center of attention. In the modern wedding, the bride is the center of attention. In these days, however, it was the groom. Remember who the bride and groom represent: The Bride is the church and the groom is Christ. This is the important concept here: The bridegroom is the possessor of the bride. The best man does not. The best man celebrates when the bridegroom comes and gets the bride. When his role is complete and is done well, he has great joy.
Do we have this same focus as John? Our success is found when we do our role completely. As the church, our role is to make the bride ready for Jesus’ return by building up and equipping her. As individuals, our joy should be found in sharing our faith, thus bringing great glory to Christ thus allowing the bridegroom to return for his bride. We, like John, should be making ready for Christ to return. We should be about the business of making the bride complete. In the church, this means the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. In the world, this means the verbal proclamation of the Gospel with everyone we come in contact with. This, and only this, will make the Christian’s joy complete, for our real joy comes from fulfilling God’s will and will only be made complete when Jesus returns for His bride.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease."
John knew this very pithy truth, that, in His ministry, Jesus must increase and be the primary focus. In this context, He was communicating this directly to his followers reminding them that his job was soon to be done, and Jesus was to become the one and only focus. This is a great reminder for us today, as well. Your salvation marked the beginning of your life in Christ, where you are to this day being saved. You are being made more like Jesus Christ. Every day, Jesus must become more and more evident in our lives. To put it another way, we are to be growing in sanctification and holiness with each passing day. Our old selves, our flesh need to be mortified. Part of this process is to put aside any goals, dreams, and ambitions that are not directly related to the promotion of the Gospel; in other words, Christ is to be our primary focus. He may not be calling you into vocational ministry like being a pastor or a missionary, but it is still your full time job to go and make disciples whatever your current vocation. He should be in the driver’s seat of your life, taking you where He wants you to go. John the Baptist saw his role as being mortified- put to death- a little day by day. We must have this same attitude in dying to ourselves and living to Christ wherever we are and whatever we do.
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.
John recognized who Jesus was and, as such, determined to listen to His words and to serve Him. As God incarnate, Jesus had come from heaven above, and had intimate, personal knowledge of the Father. He was the only one who could speak with authority about what God was like and what the will of God was. He was here to reveal these things to mankind, yet, as John noted, humans have a hard time receiving Jesus’ testimony. Perhaps he was speaking to the Pharisees and their followers in the crowd here, stating that they, as humans, spoke in an earthly way and that really they did not have the authority Jesus had. More harsh commentators have stated that they are of the slime of the earth (of dust) and really their words and their lives reflect that.
I have found it interesting in these latter days that books by human authors, and sermons from human persons have surpassed , it seems, in importance the true Word of God. One example of this is “The Shack”, a semi-autobiographical novel in which the author creates an anthropomorphic, three people God- as – his peer, calls into question scripture, creation, and many other essential doctrines. Now, many people see this book as drawing them closer to God, but the god presented in the shack, while he seems personable and kind, is Not the God of the Bible. It is, as the author described, god as I need Him to be. This is just one example of many books out there today that people are reading to try to understand God and their Christian life. They do this, all too often, to the neglect of the Word of God! We must recognize the gift that we have in the Bible, and, as John the Baptist did, recognize the authority of the one who came from heaven for our lives, not some contemporary author.
33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
When we receive what Jesus says, we are testifying that God is true, indeed, that Jesus is the truth. Jesus is superior to all of us who are Pastors and all of us who are authors and all of those who were prophets in that He, as God incarnate, had the Spirit without measure. The prophets of old had a limited or measured amount of the Spirit in order to accomplish what God had sent them to do. Indeed, John had the Spirit in direct proportion to His calling and ministry as the forerunner. He was unashamed to proclaim Jesus as the one who was above Him in all ways. Again, many people and even pastors tell their stories and elevate their words above the words of Jesus. I do not ever want to be in that position! This is why I preach from the Word, exegete the scriptures, and seek to understand what God is trying to say to me before I bring His Word to you. The Spirit in you and I is the same as the Spirit is in Jesus, but we are not God, and we do not have the Spirit without measure. And remember, the Holy Spirit comes and amplifies and glorifies Christ, not himself. When we are preaching and speaking by the Spirit, Christ is uplifted and glorified. Oh, to have more of Him and less of me!
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.
John knew who was in control. Jesus Christ was already given all things. He was, as John wrote, the eternal word of God, from eternity, the creator. He was and is co-equal with God. The keys to eternal life and the keys to eternal judgment are in His hands. In verse 36, John ties belief with obedience. If we believe in Jesus, it is more than just a mental ascent. It is believing mentally, emotionally, and volitionally. If we say that we believe in Him, and yet it has no impact on the way that we live our very lives, then we do not truly believe in Him. Said a different way, if you believe, you will obey, and you will have eternal life. The most important thing that you must obey is the Gospel. This means that you believe what God says about you, and who you are in truth. As a result, you repent and trust in the Savior. If you do not believe, you will not obey the Gospel. If you do not repent and look to Christ alone for your salvation, the wrath of God remains on you.
Jesus Christ has already been given all things. He deserves our worship, our praise, our thanksgiving, and all the glory that is due His name. If we believe, we will recognize as John did that God is sovereign, and as a result, we will know our place. We will know Jesus, and we will have great joy in His plan and His purpose being accomplished. Finally, we will know that He is in control of all we are, all we say, and all we do. We will submit to His guiding and His leading in everything.
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