John 3:26-30
26 So they came to John and told him, “Rabbi, the One you testified about, and who was with you across the Jordan, is baptizing—and everyone is flocking to Him.”
27 John responded, “No one can receive a single thing unless it’s given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the groom. But So this joy of mine is complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”
John the Baptist had a unique ministry. He was in the wilderness baptizing Israelites to prepare them for the coming messiah. The high point of his ministry was the baptism of Jesus. At this baptism John saw the Holy Spirit descend like a dove from heaven. John had been told this would be the sign, the Spirit would settle on the Savior. From this moment on John knew his ministry was winding down. He knew Jesus was the Lord and he had some tough choices to make moving forward. The way he handled this situation is both wonderfully mature and extremely helpful to all of us.
First, let’s turn to verse 27. John knows the source of his ministry and message had been the Father. Only God could have made the mission of John a success. Large crowds in the wilderness had accepted the message of a wild man with a crazy beard and animal skins for clothes, they had responded to it by being baptized in the river. No one had ever seen anything like this. It was a true movement directed from heaven. John had trusted the Lord and knew he must continue to trust the Father going forward. He wasn’t competing with anyone. He was waiting on the Lord.
When John says, “its given to him from heaven.” He means it. John isn’t going to split off from God and go into business for himself. He lets everyone know; he’s going to continue to depend on the Lord.
Next, in verse 28 John reminds them of something he has said many times. He’s not the messiah. A successful ministry can go to someone’s head. Sometimes those in power can start to think the ministry became large and successful because they are so wonderful. John doesn’t have this problem. He has been telling them all along that someone better is coming. He knows that person is Jesus. When John says, “I’ve been sent ahead of Him.” He acknowledges that his part was to set the table for a ministry to follow. John had always known his ministry was built to point to someone else. That person would come to do more than John could do.
The third thing we learn from John’s words are that he had a wonderful attitude about the future. In verse 29 He compares himself to the best friend of a groom. He’s been waiting for the groom to come for
his bride. John been helping as the wedding draws near, and he is excited to see the couple finally be together. When he says, “the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom’s voice.” John means it. He is truly happy that Jesus has come for His bride. John’s task wasn’t to be the groom himself. It was to help the groom to prepare for the wedding day and now that day was here.
Finally, John let’s us know his true-life goal. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (v30) John isn’t living to run a big ministry. John is living to serve the Lord. There isn’t even a whiff of arrogance in John. He isn’t doing what he’s doing to make a living. He isn’t impressed with the size of his ministry or how much money he’s made. He isn’t trying to keep followers or hold on to power.
All John wants to do is serve the purposes of heaven. The greatest purpose of heaven is clear to him, he must lift Jesus up as Lord.
Let me summarize these four verses to make plain what John is saying. It is some of the greatest and most concise wisdom in all of scripture. I don’t want you to miss this.
• The Lord is the director of all ministry work. (27)
• We are servants not saviors. (28)
• Serve Jesus with a joyful attitude. (29)
• Glorifying Jesus is the only goal. (30)
In Matthew 11:11, Jesus says there is no one greater than John. Except the most humble in the Kingdom.
The list of attributes we see in the statements from John show great humility. We can be humble as we serve Christ too. We can pray to ask the Lord for ministry direction, serve others instead of thinking we need to save them and lead them to Jesus with a joyful attitude, because He alone is the Savior.
I don’t know if you have a life goal. But I would suggest if you want to be great that your goal should be the same as John’s.
Seek Jesus every day.
If you were encouraged by this devotional, head over to our website and track along with our current series as we study the Gospel of John. Every week I will be posting a devotional here that relates to the passage we are in.
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