May He Ever Increase | Sermon 11/20/2022

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John chapter 3. This will be our last sermon in chapter 3 of the

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Gospel according to John. We're going to be in verses 22 -36.

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We're going to be mainly in 22 -30, and we'll kind of just go quickly as possible in 31 -36.

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The title of this sermon today, church, is, May He Ever Increase.

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May He Ever Increase. Starting in verse 22 of chapter 3 of the

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Gospel according to John, hear now the inerrant and infallible words of the living and true God.

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After these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea.

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And there he was, spending time with them and baptizing. John also was baptizing in Anon near Salem, because there was much water there, and people were coming and were being baptized.

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For John had not yet been thrown into prison. Therefore, there arose a discussion on part of John's disciples with a

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Jew about purification. And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the

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Jordan to whom you have testified, behold, he is baptizing and all are coming to him.

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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,

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I am not the Christ, but I have been sent ahead of him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom.

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But the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.

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So this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease.

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He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth.

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He who comes from heaven is above all. What he has seen and heard of that he testifies and no one receives his testimony.

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He who has received his testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.

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For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the spirit without measure.

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The father loves the son and has given all things into his hand. 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.

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Thus ending the reading of God's holy and inspired word, let's pray quickly one more time. Lord, would you please speak through me today, dear

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God? Would you not just inform your people, but transform them? Edify us according to your word.

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Lord, truly, how could your word, which is living and active not do something today?

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It is so powerful, God, it will do something and that's what we ask. Let this not just be data or knowledge or information,

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Lord, but let us be transformed by it, let us be edified and Lord, let us be encouraged by it.

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So God, please use me today and bring the word to your people.

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I pray this all in Christ's name, amen. In the Bible, we have seen various examples of those who had a ministry of their own, but God eventually wanted them to pass it on or sometimes do away with it completely.

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One prime example of this is in 2 Kings, when Elijah the prophet had lived out his calling.

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He proclaimed the word of the Lord, he went face to face with wicked kings and he even slayed false prophets of Baal with a sword.

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But Elisha, there's Elijah and then Elisha, Elisha is younger and he comes on the scene and he is a disciple of sorts to Elijah.

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Now, multiple times, it says the sons of the prophets approached

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Elisha and told him, do you know that the Lord will take away your master from you?

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And each time Elisha looks to his master, Elijah, and he says, as the Lord lives,

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I will never leave you. Elisha didn't seize the opportunity to elevate himself and maybe gain the favor of the sons of the prophet, maybe come before them and show them that he's the person they should follow, not

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Elijah, not God, but he didn't, he stayed faithful. And finally, it is time for Elijah to go.

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And he says to Elisha, ask what I shall do for you before I'm taken away from you, ask me, and I'll give it to you.

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And Elisha, the younger one, says, can

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I have a double portion of your spirit? Now you can imagine, he's nervous, he's the student, he's got big shoes to fill, and what's amazing is

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Elijah, this whole time, has only looked to bless and elevate his successor.

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Elijah was never threatened by Elisha. Okay, quite the opposite, he was delighted to help raise this man up to be the next prophet of God.

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And that's what predecessors are to do. If you're not working with men to eventually replace you, then

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God will, that goes for me. When it was time for Elijah to be taken up, it was a sad scene.

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Elijah promised he would indeed give Elisha what he requested, and as Elijah was taken up in the whirlwind, it says that Elisha cried out.

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He saw Elijah go up, and Elisha said, my father, my father. And then the mantle that was on the shoulders of Elijah fell to the ground, and Elisha looks up.

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His master's gone, the disciple is alone. The student is now the teacher, and Elisha picks up the mantle, and it's his now.

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He's got to press on at that point. He's gotta press on in the ministry that God now gave to him.

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This is completely unlike what happened with King Saul and David. Saul often did not obey the precepts of the

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Lord in his reign and rule as king, and that sin, of course, carried over in how he interacted with David.

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After young David had killed Goliath and brought down the Philistine army, the people even sang in the streets.

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You know what they sang? They sang, Saul, Saul slayed his thousands, but David, David slayed his tens of thousands.

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So the people were rejoicing. Towards both of them, but they kept saying,

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David, the tens of thousands. And that got into Saul's mind, and he started to become envious and jealous of David.

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Hatred consumed King Saul. He didn't see a young man that he could elevate and use to the glory of God, but Saul saw competition.

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The Scriptures record that Saul looked at David with suspicion. He then put

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David in a dangerous situation for the hand of his daughter in hopes to get him killed. Then when that didn't work,

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Saul ordered David's execution, and then he chased him throughout the land, sought his life in many ways, even on multiple occasions.

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You might even remember these stories. David came to his tent in the middle of the night. David came to King Saul's tent, or Saul went to relieve himself in the cave, and David was hiding with all his men, and Saul's in this vulnerable position relieving himself, and David has to hold his guys back.

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He could have killed Saul, and the chase would be over, but he didn't. David continued to pay the king honor.

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He said, for as long as God has put King Saul in that place, I am to give him honor.

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He had a deep love for Saul. That was grace, honestly, when you read the story, that even despite all that Saul did, he even threw a spear at David, and it missed him right here and went into the wall, and despite all that,

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David still had a love for him. Saul knew, according to the prophet

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Samuel, that the kingdom would go to David and be stripped from him. He already knew that, but despite knowing that, he still sought to fight, not even against David, but Saul was fighting against the very will of God, and that's honestly what happens.

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When a man is jealous and suspicious and overly competitive with the rising student below him, he's fighting against God's law and will, and I hate to say it, but pastors do this all the time, and it needs to be repented of.

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They'll get possessive over their ministry, but that's the issue. They'll say, this is my ministry, though.

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That's the problem. It's not my ministry, it's Christ's ministry. I just get to be here,

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I get to steward it. Part of a pastor's job is to make sure the ministry continues on.

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Churches must keep going. They must continue until Christ returns.

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It's not to die with you. This isn't my legacy, this isn't other pastors' legacy, this is

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Christ's legacy, and that's what we ought to be concerned about. So what we're going to see in our passage today is an example of a man not clenching to his own fame or ministry.

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We're going to see a man who wants to be forgotten and Christ to be not only remembered but exalted.

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This is gonna turn from a humble man who doesn't want the attention, and this section of Scripture is gonna morph into a high

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Christological statement of the supremacy of Jesus. It's just amazing.

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So let's start in verses 22 through 26. First, consider 22.

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It says, after these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea, and there he was spending time with them baptizing.

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Now, I'm gonna continue to remind us of the motif we have seen since the prologue in John 1.

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I'm gonna say it again. From the beginning when Jesus started his ministry in John 2, we saw that he replaced, recreated, or fulfilled something with himself or with something pointing to himself.

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Water purification pots in John 2 for cleanness are then replaced by messianic kingdom wine.

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Jesus cleansed the temple, but ultimately shows he replaces the temple as now through him alone can man have access to God.

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Water and spirit prophecies of regeneration are fulfilled, and he shows that he is the true remedy, if you remember, of the one who will be lifted up on the wood staff, not the bronze serpent.

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And so now with that replacement, recreation, fulfillment mentality, we are to look at these passages as Jesus now replaces

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John the Baptist. That's what's happening. Jesus is replacing John the Baptist.

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He is the true fulfillment. He is the one people ought to be going to for cleansing and repentance in life.

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The verse says, after these things. We are just coming out of the discussion with Nicodemus and Jesus with what

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I showed you last week in verses 16 through 21 was a narrative reflection by the apostle

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John. We're coming out of that, coming out of the discussion with Nicodemus, and now we're on this section with John the

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Baptist. There is no indication of the amount of time that has elapsed since then, but they were in the city of Jerusalem during that conversation, if you remember.

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But now it says, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea. Land of Judea is pretty generic.

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We're not exactly sure where they are at at this point, but it likely means what we're supposed to get by this is that Jesus and the disciples have left the urban area of Jerusalem, and they've gone into the wilderness, and now they're in more rural areas outside of the city.

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That's probably what we're supposed to get by this. Verse 22 is the opening and introduction of the coming dilemma between John and his disciples.

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And it says Jesus was spending time with his disciples. It makes me think of how some pastors are so far removed from their people.

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They don't go to events. They don't visit people in their homes. They're just a talking head on Sunday.

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There's a lot of pastors like that in the world, but not even Jesus was like that.

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So humble, so available is Jesus. He was spending time with the disciples.

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At the very least, we're reminded that God is among us now.

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We don't know exactly what he said or what they did, and it's kind of neat to ponder what they were doing, just like, of course, the road to Emmaus conversation, or right now, what is

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Jesus doing hanging out with the guys? What are they saying? But God is with us.

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That's what we see now, okay? It says that Jesus was also baptizing.

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Some have been confused about this. In chapter four, there will be more baptism being performed by Jesus' disciples.

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We don't really see that in the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but we know this isn't the

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Christian baptism instituted after Christ's resurrection. It's not that time yet.

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John baptizes for God as sent by God. Jesus baptizes for God as he is

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God. We have no reason to say any of these water baptisms are different from the other.

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The whole point of this section isn't competing baptisms, as some have posited.

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Some have looked at this and gone, well, Jesus is baptizing, and John is baptizing, and what's the difference?

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And the point is, right now, in this ministry, there is no difference. John was sent by God.

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Jesus was sent by God as God. And so, we don't have any reason to believe there's a competition here.

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The fact is, the point of this, as I said before, and I'll say it again, will be a high

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Christology. It'll demonstrate the supremacy of Christ. We don't need to worry about the aspects of baptism.

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Despite physical water baptism, there has always been one true baptism, and it is performed by Jesus, and it involves the

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Spirit of God. The gospels make that clear, if you remember. Water is one thing, but Christ comes to baptize with the

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Spirit. That's the point. That will come after the cross. So this is some sort of disciple -making, repentance sort of baptism that both of them are doing.

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Now, if you look at verses 23 and 24, still on the same slide, John also was baptizing in Anon, near Salem, because there was much water there, and people were coming and were being baptized, for John had not yet been thrown into prison.

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So John was still baptizing at this point. This was likely on the western banks of the

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Jordan, at the northern border of the Judean territory, and it says there was much water there.

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More water, obviously, is better for baptizing. Hence, immersion.

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Bingo. Some people will get that. So the gospels show us that they're both baptizing right now.

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Even John's still baptizing. We saw in chapter one that he said, "'This is the Lamb of God "'who takes away the sin of the world,' and then

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John baptized Jesus, inaugurating his earthly ministry. But you see a transition is taking place.

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Not everyone knows fully about Jesus of Nazareth, the possible prophet or Messiah.

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Not everyone knows yet. He has been becoming more and more prominent and known in the land, so we see a necessary overlap.

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Plus, John is the forerunner. He testifies of the Christ, and even after Jesus came, he announced twice, remember, that he is the

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Lamb of God. What do you do? If Jesus comes and you're baptizing and you say this is the

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Lamb of God, what do you do but keep going? He keeps witnessing. He keeps testifying that Christ has come.

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Of course, there's no reason to stop. The apostle John adds to the fact that this was before John had been thrown into prison, verse 24.

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I think the purpose of that comment that John wasn't thrown into prison yet is to give the readers of John's gospel a better timeline and connection to the other gospels.

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The Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke highlight more of Jesus' ministry and works after John was arrested.

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This is before John was arrested. So, that would mean

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John two through four, which we've already gone through, John chapter two through four highlights things that were number one, not in the

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Synoptic Gospels, not in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and it shows us that these were things that took place prior to Jesus preaching the kingdom of God as seen when the

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Synoptic Gospels begin His earthly ministry. In other words,

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John the apostle knows most people are used to reading and hearing from Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

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They've seen it, they've heard it. At this point, I've argued this in the very first sermon, that John likely wrote his gospel last.

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Okay, that's the point. So, he knows people are familiar with those, and now he makes a connection point to that.

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Verse 25, it's still on there. Therefore, there arose a discussion on the part of John's disciples with a

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Jew about purification. So, a spirited or maybe possibly even aggressive, we're not sure, debate or discussion took place between John's disciples and a

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Jew about purification. Now, what I find fascinating, and you're gonna have to really think back in your memory to the prologue sermons that I gave, chapter one of Gospel According to John, that word arose in verse 25.

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Therefore, there arose a discussion. That word is egeneto.

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Egeneto, which means come into being. And if you remember from all the sermons in John chapter one, egeneto was used in opposition to Christ.

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That all things that were created were egeneto. That John the Baptist was egeneto.

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And the point of John chapter one in the beginning was that Jesus is not egeneto. He has not come into being.

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Jesus has always been. And if you remember, the word was ein. Ein, that Jesus was

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God. Jesus has always been God. That word in the Greek shows no point of reference in the eternity past.

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So all of a sudden, we've gone a couple chapters, and that word came into being is associated with John the

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Baptist again. And I don't think that's just coincidence. I think that's on purpose to show that contrast between John the

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Baptist and Jesus once again. That's the mindset we're supposed to take here. This will be the last time this gospel will write about John the

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Baptist. This is it. This is the last time this gospel will write about John the

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Baptist. So it makes sense that John the Apostle has created what's called an inclusio.

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That is, starting the Baptist's account with egeneto and then ending with it. That is a circle for John the

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Baptist in that sense. The point with this account concerning John the

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Baptist is that the gospel has always been about the works of God as seen in Jesus, and that John has simply been a witness to those works.

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In other words, it's not about John. Never was. It's never been about John.

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Now what the disciples of John and the Jew were arguing about regarding purification, we don't know.

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So many scholars have considered what were they arguing about, and we can only speculate.

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Here are a few of those speculations. It's possible the Jew put something in their heads like, well, which baptism purifies people more?

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John's or this Jesus? Maybe that's what the Jew told the disciples of John.

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Maybe it was, they were just talking about purification and somehow

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John's disciples thought of Jesus. Maybe it was just something that made them think of it.

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Like when you're in a discussion with someone and you just kind of get this random thought about something else.

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John did announce that Jesus can take away sins, that he can purify. Maybe they thought about that, or some have even thought that the disciples were saying in their mind, but only our master baptizes.

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Only John baptizes. Why is Jesus baptizing? It's possible that's what they thought.

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But no matter what was said, it was enough to bring the situation to John the

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Baptist. Verse 26, and they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, he who is with you beyond the

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Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, he is baptizing and all are coming to him.

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The point that they are doing is going back, pointing back.

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I'm sorry. John the Baptist, we're supposed to see associated with the end of chapter one.

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Remember, it's like teacher, you know the one who you called the lamb of God, the one that takes away the sins of the world.

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He is also baptizing people. All people are coming to him. It's kind of what's being said.

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Many scholars believe John's disciples are exaggerating here. Maybe they're concerned about their future ministry because, do you see that?

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It says all are coming to him. It's kind of an exaggeration of it.

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Because even at this point, there's people coming to John. There's people still coming to John to be baptized.

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So some see that as an exaggeration on the part of John's disciples.

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It's possible they were resentful following their argument with the Jew. Rabbi, what about your ministry?

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What about our ministry? What are we going to do? Are you seriously going to take a backseat now,

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Rabbi? You see, John was in solitude in the wilderness for some time.

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He was kind of like an Elijah out in the desert showing devotion to God. He was largely rejected by the elites of the culture.

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And now the people know him though. People know John, they know his name. Some would look at all those crowds as John's success, even if he wouldn't.

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Wow, look, John, you have many disciples. You have many followers now. People keep coming to you.

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Why would you give that up? The title Rabbi is only ever used for Jesus besides this one time.

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This is building up the tension in the text. John's disciples pay him honor, but he will show them the one who truly deserves their honor.

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So this is John's test. This is where he is tempted. Will he respond in jealousy and envy or will he respond righteously?

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And we already know. But let's see for ourselves. Go to verses 27 and 28.

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Verse 27, John answered and said, a man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.

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John's answer is that Jesus does these things and people come to him because that is the ordained will of God in heaven.

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John is appealing to God's sovereignty. These people and these things concerning Jesus could only happen if God allowed it and gave them over to this design.

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The people coming to Jesus could only become his if they had been given to him from heaven.

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That's what John is saying. What does Jesus say in John chapter six?

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He says, all that the Father gives to me comes to me and all who come to me

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I will surely not cast out. So the Father gives the

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Son a people and that's what John in a way is alluding to.

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Look, do you really think all those people coming to Jesus could come to him apart from the will and design of God?

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That's what he's saying. No, of course not. Maybe John's disciples are thinking,

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Rabbi, the one that you baptized, the one that you testified about, people are coming to him now.

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Isn't he just to be one of us? Why is he doing something different? And John is like, we need to be one of him.

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And if you think I did what I did and I've had this ministry because of something in me, you're wrong.

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I can receive nothing unless it was given to me by God in heaven. I was sent by God for the one who is

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God in the flesh. This whole ministry has not been about me, but about God.

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That's in essence what he's saying. And of course the principle, the application here is excellent.

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So many applications. We can't receive life. We can't even be born unless God gives us the breath of life.

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We can't be born again. We can't be born of water and spirit. We can't be saved and have eternal life apart from God giving it.

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He's got to even give us the faith, the righteousness, the grace, all things foreign to ourselves that need to be applied to us, only

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God can give. Paul puts it this way to the church at Corinth, for who regards you as superior?

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He asked this in almost a sarcastic way to the church. Paul goes, what do you have that you did not receive?

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And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you didn't receive it?

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You see, no matter what, life or life eternal, the ministries we have, the families we have, we can't boast as if it's something we didn't receive from God.

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All that we have, we've received from God. One of my previous pastors said, a man is in danger when he thinks that he is the reason for all he possesses.

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So true. Remember James said, every good and perfect gift comes from above, coming down from the father of lights.

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That breath that you just took, that's from God. That one too. That breath now, that's from God too.

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All of it's from God. D .A. Carson gave an excellent assessment on this test in response of John.

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He says this, 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.

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If the person he envied were the Messiah himself, he would be annulling the excellent ministry

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God had given him. Deep discontent over God's wise sovereign disposition of people and things would in that instance betray not only unbelief and faithfulness, but the worst form of perennial human sin.

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And this is it. D .A. Carson says, the sin is the arrogance that wants to be

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God and stand where God stands. If John did anything other than what we see in the text, he would have done a wicked, horrible thing, but he didn't.

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Look at verse 28 there. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said

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I am not the Christ, but I have been sent ahead of him. He's trying to make clear to his disciples, his ministry is coming to a point.

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It's coming to an end. Two other disciples already left

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John to follow Jesus, and now with what John has learned, that the Messiah is coming up into prominence, he's becoming more known, it's time for all of John's followers to do like the others and follow

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Jesus. John's statement that he wasn't the

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Christ or the prophet wasn't a form of false humility. He meant what he said.

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He wasn't sent beforehand to be known, but to make Christ known.

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John's mission was given by God, and so he knows he could do nothing else. And he knows

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God is most pleased in him living out his own mission and not coveting the mission of others.

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Just as John the Baptist is the witness of Christ, so these disciples of John are witness to him declaring that, and even in this moment, living it.

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I am not the Christ, he says. He restates what he told the delegation from Jerusalem in chapter one.

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I don't know if you held out hope that I was something greater than I am, but I told you that something was coming, and he came.

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I am the forerunner and nothing else. This is a sort of rebuke to his disciples.

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They know John testified about Jesus, so why are they still here? It seems they're confused about John's identity, but he makes it clear in the reduction of himself and the elevation of Jesus who he truly is.

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Look at that. Look at the quote. John said, I am not the Christ, and that's where it lies.

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John is the I am not, and Jesus is the I am. There's a big difference.

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Let's move to verses 29 and 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.

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So this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease.

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So John responds with an analogy or parable of some sorts.

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He is using Old Testament messianic imagery. John is equating the quote, all who are coming to Jesus as the bride.

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All who are coming to Jesus are the bride, and Jesus, he is saying in this illustration, is the bridegroom.

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If you remember, we saw that in chapter two, that Jesus was the true bridegroom at the wedding in Cana.

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The transition was inevitable. It was meant to happen. Eventually, John's time would be fully done.

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The bride will go to the bridegroom. The good shepherd's sheep will hear his voice and follow him.

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And so John is even defining what his role is in salvation history.

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Look at, he is simply the best man, the friend of the bridegroom. In the

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Hebrew, this would have been the shoshbin. The shoshbin was a serious role in the wedding of Jewish people.

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He would have been more important than the master of the banquet or master of ceremonies. The man in this role would be highly honored, not nearly though, as much as the bridegroom.

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Now, the friend of the bridegroom, or the best man, or the shoshbin, would make preparation for the bridegroom and go on before him.

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The friend of the groom would also assist to the needs of the bride, anything she needed. John has done this figuratively in his pre -wedding preparations of the people.

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He came baptizing in water, preparing and washing the bride so she could be adorned for her husband.

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There are many prophecies of God promising this glorious final marriage.

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By the way, there is no other marriage after this. When Christ brings his bride into the eternal state, we see

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Jesus says that there is no more giving in marriage. Marriage here on earth is to point to the final marriage of Christ and his bride.

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That will be, in essence, our eternal family, Christ and his church. But listen to this.

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There are many passages that point to this marriage. Hosea 2 .16 -20 is one of them.

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It says, it will come about in that day, declares the Lord, that you will call me my husband.

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And you will no longer call me Baali, for I will remove the names of the

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Baals from her mouth so they will be mentioned by their names no more. In that day,

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I will also make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds of the sky, and the creeping things of the ground, and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land and will make them lie down in safety.

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God says this, I will betroth you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in grace and in compassion, and I will betroth you to me in faithfulness.

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Then you will know the Lord. This is what Christ came to do.

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And John was sent to be the best man to help make preparations and alert the bride.

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The groom is coming, the groom is coming. Bride, be ready, be ready.

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John then is incidentally alluding to the fact that Jesus is the messianic king in this prophecy who's going to receive the faithful remnant as his bride.

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Jesus was possibly alluding to the same thing in Mark 2 .19 when he says the attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom is here.

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That sort of marriage analogy will continue more fully in the rest of the

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New Testament, especially in Ephesians chapter five, things like that.

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In this analogy then, John's disciples, if you think about it, if John's disciples are part of the bride who ought to come to Jesus, it'd be then like the bride going to the bridegroom and being like,

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I don't think the best man has enough status here. It'd be like the bride whispering to her future husband they're sitting there at the wedding ceremony and being like,

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I don't think the best man has been elevated enough. Jesus, I think

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John the Baptist should probably get more focus than you right now. That'd be kind of what his disciples would be arguing in this analogy.

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It just doesn't make sense. The bridegroom and the bride get the attention at the wedding.

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The best man, he gets a funny speech and that's about it. He gets to help out.

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But the focus, right, is on Christ, the bridegroom. Doesn't matter how funny the speech is.

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So John is trying to impart to them some sense. John serves a function and the highest calling he could have is to be used for that function and to be used to the fullest.

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He's a tool in the master builder's toolbox. By the way, you know what's interesting?

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In cultures of the Old Testament times, even surrounding cultures, there were laws that the best man couldn't take the bride of the groom.

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He couldn't steal her away from the bridegroom. It would be illegal.

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He could face fines or even death or different penalties if the best man tried to take the bride from the bridegroom.

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That was illegal. And so John obeys that calling here.

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He will not take the bride. He will not reserve a single person for himself. They are all

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Christ's. This isn't about me, he says.

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I've always pointed you to who this is really about. Honor the one at the altar, not me.

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He says he gets to stand and hear the bridegroom. Do you see that? He stands and he hears him and he rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.

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I get to stand near to Christ, he thinks. I get to hear the voice of the Christ. What could be better?

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I'm exactly where I need to be. I get to stand next to him. I get to hear the bridegroom. He gets to hear his words.

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When John saw Jesus that very first time in chapter one and heard his voice, he rejoiced greatly and he continued to rejoice even up until that point, even now.

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So even at the hearing, when John's disciples came to him and said, all are coming to Jesus now, you could imagine they're concerned, but when

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John hears all are coming to Jesus now, he smiles, he rejoices, he's pleased.

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He thinks that's what my job was here for. That's what I came to do.

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And he rejoices at the hearing of that. What could be better?

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This joy of mine has been made full. Exactly what he wanted to happen has happened.

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John testified that Jesus is the Messiah, the Lamb of God, the King, and as he waited for Jesus's ministry to take traction, he waited with eagerness and with hope and expectation, and this was a confirmation for John the

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Baptist. All that he had been hearing concerning Jesus, all the miracles and signs he's heard about, and now all the people that are coming to Jesus and hearing about this, his joy is full.

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It literally means in the Greek, his joy is complete. It's complete.

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Joy because his own ministry was a success. Jesus is rising in prominence and he's overwhelmed by that.

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But we would be wrong, church, if we simply thought that John the

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Baptist's joy was just being in the witness and forerunner and having that role fulfilled.

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What else would John the Baptist have joy in? His truest joy comes in knowing that the

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Messiah will save him too. In other words, the witness and forerunner has considered his own testimony, the one that he gave others.

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And he knows the Lamb of God will take away his sin. Even John has believed on this

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Messiah. And seeing this example of John, this humility, we have to ask ourselves, can we be joyful?

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Listen, can we be joyful not being the ones in the spotlight and just being used by God?

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Some of you are like, I'm all good with that. All day, every day, I don't wanna be in the spotlight.

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But for some of us, we've been operating in this life like, well, that's weird.

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Everything I've ever done has been about the spotlight. Or maybe you're thinking

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I've always tried to fight that mentality that what

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I do is about the spotlight. Will you and I be satisfied being used in the ways

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God wants, whether they're considered great or mundane, right?

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Because we often will take the role of a mother in the home and we'll whittle it down to nothing.

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This culture makes it nothing. It's trash, it's rubbish to them. And then they'll elevate someone else.

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But we're all part of the body. We all have functions in the body. And we ought to be used by God without wanting that spotlight.

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I've heard too many stories of men who were being used greatly by God, and their pastors saw them as a threat, pushed them out.

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I've heard it myself several times. Young men who were just excited to serve the

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Lord and continue to progress, maybe called by God for the pastorate.

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And as soon as they were learning more, their pastors saw them as a

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Saul to a David and wanted them out. That's shameful. That's sinful.

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That's wicked. Right? We ought to elevate those around us.

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We ought to want to see God use people around us in great ways because as God uses them, it benefits the whole body.

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I have to confess very early on for me in seminary, which

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I always think of that word seminary. It's so different in this context. Of course, seminary, when

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I say that is the master's level theological training, a school that I was a part of as an adult.

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And I would sometimes look at other men. I wouldn't even know them. And I would size myself up against them or size them up.

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Or I would wonder in my mind, I wonder who's the better preacher. I wonder what he does at his church.

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And I would do these evil things in my heart and my mind. Often as young men were zealous for the

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Lord, and maybe you'll go out witnessing and you'll look at other men and you'll think, well,

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I don't know if they're as good as me or maybe even ladies. You'll go to a women's group. And of course, sometimes women's groups can lack vulnerability, they can lack the truth and everyone's can be playing it off as if they're doing great.

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And so a woman can be sitting there going, I guess they got it all together.

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I guess I'm the only one. And so there's all this comparison, one way or the other way.

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And I would do this for a time. It's just horrible. We are supposed to rejoice in the successes of the brothers and sisters in Christ around us.

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We are to rejoice in their successes, even when it's not ministry related. Rejoice when your sister has overcome a sin and don't think, well, she still has work to do.

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Rejoice with her. When you see a young guy here and he's trying to know

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Christ and he's trying to serve Christ, don't push him out the door. We are to help that young man know

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Christ more. And if he wants to serve, we help him serve more. We don't think, well, he's taking away what

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I do. What I do gives me a certain pat on the back. We're not to think that way.

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If one member of the body suffers, we all suffer. If one member is honored, we can all rejoice.

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And so we need to examine ourselves and repent if we can't rejoice for others here.

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By the way, every time I found myself comparing myself to other men, I found that I was inferior.

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And that's often what we do. You will compare yourself to other people here or elsewhere, or you'll go to a conference and you'll compare and you'll find yourself typically always as inferior.

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And it's because we're not looking at Christ. I'm looking to other men.

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You're looking to other women. And when you do that, when you compare, you gotta take your eyes off of yourself, off of them and put them to Christ.

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Keep focusing on God and what He can do and not others. And that's how you're gonna live faithfully. And so at the crest and height of the ministry of John, it says in verse 30,

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Jesus must increase, but I must decrease. The world could never understand such humility and deference.

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Like Jesus said, there has been no one greater who has arisen from among men than John the

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Baptist. What a man, what a man. This word must has

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God's will in mind with it. If we look at the

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Greek word, if we go back through the rest of the chapter, just as one must be born again and the son of man must be lifted up, so must

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Jesus now increase and John decrease. The three musts of John three.

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And that decrease will end in the death of John the Baptist. And I know that God intended that.

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No man receives even death if it were not ordained by God. And that is a life to be celebrated.

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A life that points to Christ. Even his death is meant for people to look away from him and towards Jesus.

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John's decrease leads to death. Jesus's increase leads to death.

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But John's death will point to Christ and Jesus's death will make John's death temporary.

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Jesus's increase in status is for two reasons. Number one, to get the gospel out so that people will come unto him so that there will be more followers.

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And number two, Christ must increase because the crucifixion must occur.

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And after even Jesus's ascension, he will continue to increase. He has increased from that day, from the point this was said up until now, and Jesus will never stop increasing.

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Jesus will even increase for you in eternity. He will never grow old in status.

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You won't grow old of Jesus. Jesus won't lose fame at year three million in eternity.

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I don't even think we'll keep track. And that's the truth. He's gonna continue to increase.

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By the way, John doesn't need to concede because he was never in competition with Jesus in the first place.

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He happily steps aside as the predestined plan of God has progressed and now

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Jesus must increase. This in John's mind is victory.

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His decreasing is winning. Augustine said, for Jesus to increase means he becomes the one who gives and to decrease for the

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Baptist means he becomes the one who receives. So Jesus replaces and fulfills.

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Jesus is the better Baptist. He baptizes with the Spirit. Jesus is the better witness of God because he came from God, because he is

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God. Jesus is the better everything. The next few verses will tell us why he's the better everything.

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John the Apostle will once again in verses 31 through 36, insert his own reflective commentary.

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I'm just gonna go over this briefly. We've really gone over our full in John the Baptist, but I think these were meant to go together.

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And now just as I preached last week that verses 16 through 21 were not

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Jesus, that those were the words of John the Apostle giving reflective commentary and I gave you the reasons why.

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And of course, that doesn't mean that they're not Jesus' word. He's the Logos, he's God. But once again, I believe that John the

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Baptist stopped talking in verse 30 and there's been a transition and this is once again,

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John the Apostle's own writing, his own language. Language that is very similar to the prologue and other times that he's narrated.

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So John the Apostle gave narrative commentary to the

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Nicodemus Jesus conversation. Now Jesus is again gonna finish this chapter.

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I'm sorry, John the Apostle is gonna finish this chapter giving narrative commentary and reflection on what just happened with John the

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Baptist. So let's just read it, verses 31 through 36. He who comes from above is above all.

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He who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.

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What he has seen and heard of that he testifies and no one receives his testimony. He who has received his testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.

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For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the spirit without measure.

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The father loves the son and has given all things into his hand. 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.

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Just a few comments on this section. John chose to include that testimony of the

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Baptist to showcase the supremacy of Christ. Christ replaced the water pots,

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Christ replaced the temple, Christ replaced even the old way of regeneration.

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I'm sorry, of generation, now regeneration. Christ replaces that old bronze serpent and now

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Christ replaces in his supremacy, John the Baptist, that's the point. And so John will make that case too,

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John the Apostle. Jesus isn't simply above John the Baptist.

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As being from above and the one who made the above and the below, Jesus is above all things.

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Jesus is over everything. He is above humanity. Jesus is above demons.

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He is above angels. He's above any false deity that you can think of. Whether seen or unseen,

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John says Jesus is above all and his origin is from above.

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In the beginning, he was there, he was with God and he was God. Jesus then is in the prime position as the unique son to give the final word.

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All that he testifies should be observed and heeded. He makes the perfect witness of God since he is

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God. I said that. And not to receive the word of Jesus or his witness, not to receive him is to not receive

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God. That's what he's saying. If the Jews don't receive

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Jesus, then they don't receive Yahweh. But the person who accepts the

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Christ's testimony certifies, that's what it means, seal. He's set a seal to this, it means certify.

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He certifies the witness regarding God like an official seal certifying a document.

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John will later say in his epistle that whoever does not believe in God in this way makes

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God out to be a liar. But as those who have believed, we are in a way acknowledging the truth of this testimony.

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And verses 34 and 35, if you look, show that the Trinity is involved in this.

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All of the act of redemption involves each person of the triune Godhead.

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For God, whom sent the Son, gives him the Spirit without measure. His Spirit is upon Jesus.

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The Father loves the Son and has given him everything to accomplish his task. He has given everything due to him.

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Remember Psalm 2 said, ask for me and I will give the nations as your inheritance,

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I'll give the ends of the earth as your possession. And they will be given. And Jesus received them.

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All things have been given to him. All things have been given into his hand.

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And it says the love is there, the love of the Father. So the love within the

01:01:09

Trinity is unmatched. And now verse 36, that last verse is to be the climax of chapter three.

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Verse 36 is a summary, as if you missed something in verses one through 35,

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John is highlighting now verse 36. He who believes in the

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Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the

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Son will not have life, but the wrath of God abides on him. That is the summary of this text.

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One commentator states, if the Son is the love of God, to not receive the love of God is to receive his wrath.

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So if Jesus is the love of God and you won't receive Jesus, then you won't get love, you'll get wrath.

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Love or wrath, eternal life or perishing. He who believes in the

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Son has eternal life. And that word has is in the present tense. This is a reality right now.

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He who believes in Jesus has eternal life. It has been declared for you. It's now and not yet.

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It's now and in the future, you have eternal life. But the one who does not obey or believe the

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Son will not see that life. That's in the future tense in the Greek. But there's still a time to repent today.

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However, a day is coming in which these rejecters of God will see death in its fullest and the wrath of God abides on them.

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That's the reality. So what a glorious section of Scripture, church.

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Amen. So good. John chapter three has been amazing.

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We've learned so much in it. I really want us to leave here thinking of what

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John the Apostle and John the Baptist wanted us to consider in these texts.

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And that's the supremacy of Christ. That's what you should be left with now, that Christ is greater, that he must increase and we must decrease.

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It was John the Baptist's highest achievement to see Christ increase. I think about how

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John's final days were in prison. He was there for calling out the sin of Herod because Herod took his brother's wife.

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He took Philip's wife, Herodias. And John the Baptist called him out and said, it is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.

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And he was thrown into prison for that. And if you remember on a day when there was all these royals and all these fancy people at the palace at Herod's home, it says that Herodias' daughter did a dance for Herod.

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And it says that Herod is very pleased with the dance. And he says, ask me and I'll give you anything.

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Up to half of the kingdom. What a bootleg offer. The father says to the son, ask of me and I'll give you anything.

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And he really means it. Herod offers to Herodias' daughter, ask of me and I'll give you anything.

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You see the contrast there, but ultimately she asked for John the Baptist's head on a platter to be executed.

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And his execution was ordered, but you could imagine his joy was already made full.

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He's sitting in prison and his joy has already been made complete. He finished the mission, he ran the race.

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He was happy to live and die for Christ. My question for us is, what are we doing in our lives to decrease in effort that Jesus would increase?

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Do you decrease your desires and your wants when God shows that doing that would increase

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Jesus? How are you sacrificing so that Jesus would be known?

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Are you decreasing your sins so that Jesus would increase in you? You know, it'd be so much easier to not teach our children the

01:05:55

Bible. It'd be so much easier to not give the gospel to people around us.

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It'd be so much easier to keep myself in this position of pastor and untouchable.

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Just guard it, just shoo off any other man. It'd be a lot easier. It takes work to do these things.

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It takes work to obey God, but we haven't been called to complacency and endless comfort.

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Christ gave his life and so will you and I. We will give our lives. Can you find your joy complete in living for Christ, sacrificing for Christ, and possibly like John, one day dying for Christ?

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Knowing that you'll never fully get the spotlight that maybe you had originally wanted, that you won't be remembered, but you'll live and die knowing you did everything you could to give

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Jesus the spotlight and make his name remembered forever.

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And that's the true legacy, church. That's the true heritage. That's the life worth living.

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And so for all of us, may Jesus increase and we decrease.

01:07:19

Let's pray. Father in heaven, please bless the message that went out today for your name's sake.

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God, I pray so desperately, Lord, that this would be true for all of us.

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God, I'm afraid that sometimes we do things so that we would increase. I'm afraid,

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Lord, that sometimes we don't have this same heart that John the Baptist had, which of course really just comes from the example and humility of Christ.

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God, help us to be a people that rejoices for others. Help us to not see others as suspicious or as competition that would ruin us.

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Lord, let us see each other as so connected as one body so that if one of us is honored, then we're all honored.

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So that if one of us is elevated and if a man comes to this church and God, you're using him, then we would continue to elevate men like that.

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And we would use them to your glory so that Christ's name would increase.

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Lord, all that has come to us has been given to us from above. Let us never forget it.