He Must Become Greater

John 3:22-36

Key Verse: 3:30

“He must become greater; I must become less.”

John the Baptist’s final words are here; this is the epilogue of his ministry. We will learn from him about Jesus’ greatness and of the joy in making him greater and ourselves less.

1. Read verses 22-26. 

ANSWER:

Jn 3:22-26  After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.  23  Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized.  24  (This was before John was put in prison.)  25  An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.  26  They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan -- the one you testified about -- well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him."

What was Jesus doing in the Judean countryside?

ANSWER:

Jn 3:22  After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.

Jn 4:2  although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.

He was spending some time with his disciples.

Why do you think Jesus ‘spent’ time with His disciples there? 

ANSWER:

Jesus wanted quality time with his new batch of disciples. He turned his attention from the general care of the public to a disciple-focused ministry by securing more time with them.

According to 4:1-2, Jesus’ disciples were already producing other disciples (multiplication) and actively baptizing people.

Where was John the Baptist and what was he doing?

ANSWER:

Jn 3:23  Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized.

John was nearby; he was in the vicinity of Jesus’ ministry. He was at “Aenon near Salim” located on the west side of the Jordan River.

John was doing the same thing as Jesus: He was baptizing.

Prior to this only John the Baptist was baptizing.  Even Jesus came to be baptized by John.  But since then, Jesus also began to baptize (actually, his disciples were doing the baptizing).

We can learn John’s faithful obedience to God’s calling and mission in his life. At this point, John could have either retired or had a sabbatical year because he had done his job done as a herald or forerunner to make the road straight for Jesus. Even two of his own disciples became followers of Jesus and no longer followed John. But he did not stop. 

The words, “This was before John was put in prison,” (24) remind us that John kept preaching until God chose, in his perfect time, to have him ‘retired’ (i.e. imprisoned and eventual beheaded) so that he could retire to the kingdom of God.

For further reference about his mission see Isa 40:3, Luk 1:16-17, 3:4-6, and for reference about his lifestyle see Mar 1:6.

What argument developed between John's disciples and a certain Jew? (25)

ANSWER:

Jn 3:25  An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.

It was an argument over ceremonial washing. We see in verse 26 that the argument was related to Jesus. And since Jesus’ ministry was nearby, perhaps the “certain Jew” involved in this dispute was one whom Jesus’ disciples had baptized. The argument may, therefore, have been over whether the baptism of John or that of Christ was the most effectual towards purifying.

Notice that the term “ceremonial washing” appears here and in 2:6. One point of this Gospel, as stated in 1:17, is to show how Jesus fulfills and supersedes Judaism which is here represented by the water baptism of John, the last and greatest of the OT prophets. 

Why were John's disciples envious of Jesus and his disciples? (26)

ANSWER:

Jn 3:26  They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan -- the one you testified about -- well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him."

John the Baptist's disciples did not leave and follow Jesus when John told them, “Look, the Lamb of God...” (Jn 1:29) They were spiritually blind.

John's disciples were mad because all the people were going to Jesus. They were concerned about themselves and their own future.

2. Read verses 27-30. 

ANSWER:

Jn 3:27-30  To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.  28  You yourselves can testify that I said, `I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.'  29  The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.  30  He must become greater; I must become less.

Describe three things that John said in order to help his disciples to overcome their jealousy. (27-29a)

ANSWER:

Jn 3:27-29  To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.  28  You yourselves can testify that I said, `I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.'  29  The bride belongs to the bridegroom.

John the Baptist helped them view the situation from God's perspective (27). God is sovereign; he is in control of what anyone receives (Jas 1:17; Dan 4:35; Lam 3:38).

John the Baptist reminded them that he was not the Christ (1:20) but the forerunner of Christ (28). He was sent ahead of Christ, the King, to get the people ready for the King. The focus was not John but Jesus, the King.

John drew the line in terms of what he could do and what he had to do and he did not cross that line. What made him humble himself? It was because he found himself in the word of God. And he never forgot it. He was also never shaky about God’s calling based on Isaiah 40:3-5a, “A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.  4  Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.  5  And the glory of the LORD will be revealed...” He humbly received what God had given him and was thankful.

John the Baptist revealed Christ as the one to whom the believer's adoration and devotion were irresistibly drawn. He characterized Christ as the glorious bridegroom and characterized those who were going to him as his bride. John characterized himself as the friend of the bridegroom, the equivalent of a 'best man', whose job was to bring the bride to the groom.

Throughout the NT, the church is characterized as the bride of Jesus (Mat 9:15, 25:6; 2Co 11:2; Eph 5:25-27; Rev 19:7).

What joy did John the Baptist have?

ANSWER:

Jn 3:29  The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.

His joy was in serving his mission as the 'best man' to bring to Jesus the people whom John had prepared as a bride for him.

John the Baptist might seem to have been a somber guy who never smiled and always had a serious face, telling people to repent. He lived an ascetic life out in the desert without an iPhone and wore the same drab camel's hair clothing every day and ate the same food every meal: locusts and wild honey (Mat 3:4). But here we learn that there was real joy in his life!

Joy is an acronym for 'Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last.'

What made it complete? (29b) 

ANSWER:

Jn 3:29  The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.

Seeing people being saved and united with Jesus brought him complete joy. Seeing people leave his own ministry and go to Jesus was the very thing John the Baptist had labored to attain. It meant that his mission was a great success.

What did John mean by saying, "He must become greater; I must become less"? (30)

ANSWER:

Jn 3:30  He must become greater; I must become less.

This statement was the summary of his life. It was his life philosophy. He lived for the glory of God. He was truly a man of mission. He was willing to humble himself. He never entertained any negative thoughts about having his ministry diminish in number or popularity. Rather he denied himself completely. Often times we insist that Jesus should become greater and that we also must become greater. But John was wholeheartedly Jesus-centered.

Notice that the word “must” is repeated twice in the key verse. "Must" is must; it is totally different from ‘may’. It shows John the Baptist's clear and absolute attitude before God. This enabled him to be consistent in terms of his message and his practice (and thereby avoid any malpractice by attempting steal the bride from Jesus).

In chapter three, we see the word ‘must’ four times (Jesus used it twice and John twice):

The Sinner's must: "You must be born again" (7).

The Savior's must: "so the Son of Man must be lifted up" (14).

The Sovereign's must: "He must become greater" (30a).

The Servant's must: "I must become less" (30b).

3. Read verses 31-34.  

ANSWER:

Jn 3:31-34  "The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.  32  He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.  33  The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful.  34  For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.

Who is the one who is from above? 

ANSWER:

Jn 3:31  "The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.

Jesus. Jesus came from above and John was of the earth and belonged to the earth.

Why is the testimony of the one from above valid?

ANSWER:

Because Jesus came from heaven, his testimony is valid. He does not testify about theories but about that which he knows with certainty because he has actually seen and heard of these things in the Father's presence (8:38, 8:14).

Because Jesus is God himself (1:1-2), his testimony is valid.

How did the people respond to Jesus?

ANSWER:

Jn 3:32  He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.

“no one accepts his testimony.” (This is a rhetorical statement, of course, as the next verse shows.) There were some (such as Jesus' disciples) who accepted his testimony but the numbers were very few.

What does the man who accepts His testimony certify? (33-34)

ANSWER:

Jn 3:33-34  The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful.  34  For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.

He testifies that God is truthful. Jesus' testimony is actually the very words of God (34). So, those who accept his testimony discover the fact that God himself is truthful.

Holding Jesus’ testimony (teaching) is the way to know the truth. Jn 8:31-32 reads, “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  32  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."”

John the Baptist knew that his own understanding was limited to the things of the earth and so he urged his own disciples to be disciples of Jesus for their benefit and to fulfill their desire to know the truth by knowing Jesus, the source of truth.

Why are Jesus’ words trustworthy? (34)

ANSWER:

Jn 3:34  For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.

Jesus gives the perfect truth of God and speaks the very words of God because God’s Spirit is upon him "without limit". In contrast, the Old Testament prophets had the Spirit only for limited times and for limited purposes.

4. Read verse 35-36.

ANSWER:

Jn 3:35-36  The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.  36  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

What does the Father put into the Son’s hands?

ANSWER:

Jn 3:35  The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.

Everything (Jn 13:3, 16:15, 17:10; Mat 11:27, 28:18; 1Co 15:27).

Everything includes salvation (36; Jn 5:22; Rev 1:18). 

Why? (35)

ANSWER:

Jn 3:35  The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.

Because the Father loves the Son. 

What are the consequences of either believing in the Son or rejecting him?

ANSWER:

Jn 3:36  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

Eternal life is the present possession of those who believe in the Son.

The word "has" is present tense; it means that those who believe experience presently a foretaste of the life in the world to come.

The word "believe" here means: "to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), that is, credit; by implication to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well being to Christ): - believe (-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with."

God’s everlasting wrath (Mat 25:46) remains on those who reject him -- who choose darkness rather than light, who hate the light, and do not come into it (20). His wrath "remains" on them because they continue under the condemnation in which they already stood (18).

In Conclusion:

We can learn from John in that he helped others know Jesus personally as follows:

1. Jesus came from heaven

2. Jesus is above all

3. Jesus’ testimony is VALID

4. Jesus speaks the words (commands) of God

5. Jesus has the Spirit always

6. Jesus has everything.

7. Jesus gives eternal life 

We can learn John the Baptist’s clear attitude as a man of mission from the beginning to the end. It is easy to start our mission but it’s not easy to be faithful to the end with the same attitude of complete humility. But when we have a Jesus-centered heart (like John) we can serve Jesus joyfully to the end, making him greater and ourselves less.

The end.

 "“The friend who attends the bridegroom” was an important person. He was responsible for many of the details of the wedding. and in particular it was he who brought the bride to the bridegroom. But when he had done this, his task was over." (Leon Morris, The Gospel according to John, Pg 213)

 Source: James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, 1890.