Jesus > Me

Amen. You may be seated. Children in the room, you are excused to your King's Kids class.

! And if you would open up your Bibles to John chapter 3, we're going to be looking at John

John 3 · chapter mention

! Chapter 3, verses 22 through 36. You know, when we brought Pastor Zach Melgren onto the

pastoral staff a few years ago, what became quickly evident was among a number of different

strengths of his was a pronounced administrative gift. And so 18 months ago, I handed the reins.

He's denying it. So 18 months ago, I handed the reins of our staff meeting over to Zach,

and he has been rocking it ever since. And so he is well organized. He leads us so well.

But what that meant is I had to come to terms with who I was and who I was not. I was going to either

resist him or I was going to rejoice in him. Do you know who you are? And do you know who you're not?

There are these moments in our lives when we realize that someone else is better qualified

for the job that we have. It's not always easy handing over the reins to someone else. And the

reason why is because you can feel like someone's moving in on your turf, or maybe you feel threatened

by someone who's more qualified. You know why that can be so hard? It's because you've got to admit

that someone is better qualified than you. You're either going to resist it or you're going to rejoice

in it. But to resist is to live in denial, isn't it? But to rejoice means you have to relinquish control.

This morning in John 3, 22-36, Jesus and his disciples, well, they show up and start baptizing at the same

place where John the Baptist, JTB, and his disciples are baptizing. John the Baptist's disciples respond

with some resistance. Who is this guy across the river? But John the Baptist rejoices because he knows

who just came on the scene. In fact, this passage has a great verse in it that summarizes everything.

It's verse 30 where John the Baptist says, he must increase but I must decrease.

He's saying that Jesus is greater than me.

When you become a Christian,

Jesus comes onto the scene of your life.

And oftentimes, he'll come bringing peace. Other times, he'll come as a great disruptor.

But when he comes,

he's not coming for just part of your life. He's coming for all of your life.

And then you will be faced with the daily decision of

unbelief or faith.

The unbelief of resisting him

or faith that rejoices in him.

And so, there are two moves to this passage that we're about to read.

In verses 22 through 26,

Jesus comes on the scene.

He's met with some resistance.

And then verses 27 through 36,

John the Baptist rejoices

because he knows that Jesus is greater than him.

He must increase

but I must decrease.

So, let me read

John chapter 3, 22 through 36.

John 3 · chapter mention

After this,

Jesus and his disciples

went into the Judean countryside

and he remained there with them

and was baptizing.

John also was baptizing at Anon

near Salim

because water was plentiful there

and people were coming and being baptized

for John had not yet been put in prison.

Now, a discussion arose

between some of John's disciples

and a Jew over purification.

And they came to John

and said to him,

Rabbi,

he who is with you across the Jordan

to whom you bore witness,

look!

He's baptizing!

And all are going to him!

John answered,

a person cannot receive even one thing

unless it is given to him from heaven.

You yourselves bear me witness

that I said,

I am not the Christ

but I have been sent before him.

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.

He must increase

but I must decrease.

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.

He bears witness

to what he has seen and heard

yet no one receives his testimony.

Whoever receives his testimony

sets his seal to this

that God is true.

For he whom God has sent

utters the words of God

for he gives the spirit

without measure.

The Father loves the Son

and has given all things

into his hand.

Whoever believes in the Son

is eternal life.

Whoever does not obey the Son

shall not see life

but the wrath of God

remains on him.

May God bless the hearing

of his words.

So two scenes.

Let's look at scene one

when Jesus shows up.

In verses 22 through 24

the scene is set.

It takes place

in the Judean countryside

at a place

along the Jordan River

between the Sea of Galilee

and the Dead Sea.

It's at a place

called Anon by Selim

and this place

was known for having

a number of natural springs

and so there was

an abundance of water

ideal for baptizing.

And so in verse 22

Jesus and his disciples

arrive on the scene

and begin baptizing.

Quick note.

If you look at down

at chapter 4 verse 2

John the writer

of this gospel

wants us to know something.

Although Jesus himself

did not baptize

but only his disciples.

So what you need to know

is that Jesus himself

is not baptizing

his disciples are

and that's what's going on

here in Anon

but we're not told

much of anything else

just that they were baptizing.

Well in verse 23

things get a little more interesting.

We learn that

John the Baptist

and his disciples

were already there

baptizing.

So we have

two baptism services

going on

on both sides

of the Jordan.

Now isn't that interesting?

In verse 24

we're told by

John the gospel writer

that this took place

before John the Baptist

was put in prison.

It's a time stamp.

It's letting us know

that what is happening here

is happening early

in Jesus' ministry.

Let me ask you a question.

Have you ever been

to a battle of the bands?

No?

Yes.

Let's say that

there's this battle

of the bands

this coming summer

and it's up at the

Milwaukee Summerfest grounds.

Multiple bands

rocking out

same time

multiple stages.

The battle would come in

in terms of

how

what kind of crowd

each band

would gather

around it

and so the bigger

the crowd

that band

wins.

what we have

going on

in Anon

here

appears to be

not a battle

of the bands

but a battle

of the baptisms.

Which baptism

service

will draw

more people?

Will it be

John the Baptist

baptism

or will it be

Jesus?

The Jesus baptism

with team Jesus.

Which baptism

will draw more?

So the scene

is set.

Jesus and his

disciples

are baptizing

on the other

side of the river

of John the Baptist

and his disciples.

So there's already

some tension here

right?

But if you would

now look

at verses 25

and 26

this account

moves from

description

to dialogue.

It's kind of

slowing down.

And what we have

here

if it was

a movie scene

is the camera

now zooms

in

on a heated

discussion.

Verse 25

Now a discussion

arose between

some of John's

disciples

and a Jew

over purification.

In the original

language that word

discussion

is actually

a dispute

a heated

discussion.

So we have this

heated discussion

going on between

John the Baptist

disciples

and a particular

Jew.

Now we're not

told what exactly

they're saying

other than it's

over purification.

How is one

made pure

in God's

sight?

And given

that this

was a

heated

discussion

I'm guessing

that this

Jew

is making

some kind

of case

I'm guessing

that this

Jew

is making

some kind

of case

for purification

according to

the law

of Moses.

But what we

have here

is more

tension.

In verse 25

there's already

this kind

of

more of this

tense

kind of

situation

happening at

the baptismal

waters

of Anon.

And then

in verse 26

it's a

rather abrupt

move.

The disciples

of John the

Baptist

move from

this heated

dispute

now to

taking issue

with Jesus.

And the

disciples

Jesus'

disciples

baptizing

on the

other side

of the

Jordan

and so

they turn

to John

the Baptist

and address

him as

rabbi

in verse 26

and they're

just looking

to him

hey what

do we

do?

So look

at verse 26

and they

John the

Baptist

disciples

came to

John

and said

to him

rabbi

teacher

leader

he who

was with

you

across

the

Jordan

to whom

you

you bore

witness

look

he's

baptizing

and all

are going

to him

it's like

that they're

saying

hey

this

this

guy

of yours

JTB

whom

you

witnessed

about

he and

his crew

are baptizing

on the

other side

of the

Jordan

and everybody's

going to him

we're losing

the battle

of the

baptisms

if you

were

part of

John's

crew

this may

have been

very discouraging

to you

to see

people

not coming

to your

site

to be

baptized

and going

to another

site

to be

baptized

and if

you're

in the

room

and you're

like

I can't

relate

with that

you

actually

can

relate

with that

because

I'm

guessing

at some

point

in time

you've

wondered

why are

these

people

going to

that

church

and not

coming

to our

church

you've

felt

that

before

what we

see going

on here

is that

Jesus

is a

wonderful

disruptor

he

comes

on to

the

scene

at

Anon

and

he

essentially

puts

John

the

Baptist

and

his

disciples

out of

the

baptism

business

he

disrupts

Is he

disrupting

your life?

Are you

wondering

why your

life is

the way

it is?

John

the Baptist

knows

something

that his

disciples

hadn't yet

fully

understood

he

knows

that this

one

on the

other

side

of the

river

this

guy

kind of

overseeing

the

other

baptism

he

knows

who

he

is

he's

already

said

of this

one

on the

other

side

of the

river

he

who

comes

after

me

is

greater

than

me

because

he

was

before

me

he's

talking

about

the

pre

existent

nature

of the

second

person

of the

trinity

that

he's

always

been

the

one

on the

other

side

of the

river

is

the

one

whose

sandal

straps

John

the

Baptist

would

not

untie

he's

speaking

about

status

the

one

who

is

on

the

other

side

of

the

river

he

wouldn't

baptize

with

water

and

that's

why

I'm

not

guessing

he

wasn't

baptizing

with

water

there

he

baptizes

with

the

Holy

Spirit

he's

a

game

changer

this

one

on the

other

side

of

the

river

John

the

Baptist

knew

he

cried

out

he

said

behold

the

lamb

of

God

who

comes

to

take

away

the

sin

of

the

world

he's

the

savior

of

the

world

that's

who

John

knows

is

on

the

side

of

the

river

but

his

disciples

didn't

seem

to

understand

that

and

now

Jesus

is

disrupting

their

lives

maybe

your

life

has

been

disrupted

in

some

way

and

if

you

don't

know

this

God

of

the

Bible

who

is

disrupting

your

life

chances

are

you'll

resist

him

chances

are

you'll

want

to

blame

him

why

are

you

making

my

life

this

hard

but

what

if

the

one

across

the

river

is

the

one

disrupting

your

life

for

your

good

will

you

resist

him

in

unbelief

or

will

you

rejoice

in

him

by

faith

what

we

see

going

on

here

is

John

the

Baptist

disciples

seem

to be

a little

standoff

and

resistant

to

Jesus

and

what

he's

doing

but

John

the

Baptist

response

and

what

we're

about

to

see

is

the

complete

opposite

and

so

would

you

turn

with

me

now

we'll

move

to

the

second

move

and

I'm

just

going to

summarize

he must

increase

but

I

must

decrease

verses

27

36

what

was

taking

place

in

Anon

was

not

a

battle

of

the

baptisms

but

a

passing

of

the

baton

this

is

what

he

was

sent

John

the

Baptist

was

sent

for

this

was

the

necessary

fulfillment

of

the

coming

of

Jesus

to

take

over

John

the

Baptist

knew

that

God

would

not

establish

his

kingdom

in

the

name

of

John

the

Baptist

but

in

the

name

of

Jesus

Christ

John

knew

who

he

was

in

relationship

to

Jesus

and

knew

who

he

wasn't

so

in

verses

27

through

35

what

we're

given

here

is

our

four

reasons

essentially

of

why

we

must

confess

he

must

increase

but

I

must

decrease

so

let's

look at

each

reason

one

at

a

time

reason

number

one

for

why

he

must

increase

and

we

must

decrease

Jesus

is

our

king

we

see

this

in

verses

27

to

28

remember

John

the

Baptist

knew

who

he

was

and

knew

who

he

was

not

and

in

verse

28

he's

responding

to

his

disciples

are

like

what

do

we

do

and

in

verse

27

and

28

John

answered

them

a

person

cannot

receive

even

one

thing

unless

it

is

given

him

from

heaven

that's

an

interesting

thing

to

say

but

in

verse

28

he

says

you

yourself

bear

witness

that

I

said

I

am

not

the

Christ

John

knows

who

he's

not

I'm

not

the

Christ

now

if

you

don't

know

Christ

that

word

is

another

way

of

saying

Messiah

Messiah

and

if

you

don't

know

what

the

word

Messiah

means

it

means

the

anointed

king

so

when

you

say

Jesus

Christ

you're

actually

saying

Jesus

the

Messiah

now

this

anointed

king

of

God

was

spoken

of

throughout

the

Old

Testament

highly

anticipated

this

king

would

would

be

descended

from

King

David

and

would

sit

on

David's

throne

over

a

forever

kingdom

now

one

of

my

favorite

passages

to

talk

about

the

kingship

of

Jesus

is

something

that

we

often

talk

about

around

Christmas

time

but

it

is

something

we

can

talk

about

all

the

time

and

this

comes

from

Isaiah

Isaiah 9:6

chapter

9

verses

6

and

7

it's

on

page

680

and 681

of your

Bibles

this

Christ

is

a

king

listen

to these

words

for to

us

a

child

is

born

to

us

a

son

is

given

and

the

government

shall

be

upon

his

shoulder

it's

it's

the

government

of

a

king

and

his

name

shall

be

called

wonderful

counselor

mighty

god

everlasting

!

father

prince

of

peace

of

the

increase

of

his

government

of

peace

there

will

be

no

end

on

the

throne

of

David

and

over

his

kingdom

to

establish

it

and

to

uphold

it

with

justice

and

with

righteousness

from

this

time

forth

and

forevermore

the

zeal

of

the

lord

of

hosts

will

do

this

what

John

the

Baptist

is

saying

is

that

I'm

not

him

I'm

not

that

guy

I'm

not

the

wonderful

counselor

mighty

god

everlasting

father

prince

of

peace

this

same

king

was

pictured

in

Daniel

7

as

the

son

of

man

the

son

of

man

comes

to

the

ancient

of

days

and

the

ancient

of

days

gives

the

son

of

man

dominion

and

glory

in

a

kingdom

that

all

peoples

nations

and

languages

should

serve

him

goes

on

to

say

his

dominion

is

an

everlasting

dominion

which

shall

not

pass

away

and

his

kingdom

one

that

shall

not

be

destroyed

John

knows

that

the

one

across

the

river

is

that

king

who's

bringing

with him

a

kingdom

that

can

never

end

and

that's

why

verse

27

is so

interesting

a

person

cannot

receive

one

thing

unless

it

is

given

to

him

from

heaven

what

John

is

saying

there

is

that

one

can

only

recognize

Jesus

as

this

king

as

a

revelation

given

from

heaven

it's

given

to

you

that's

why

his

disciples

don't

fully

recognize

Jesus

as

the

king

but

John

the

Baptist

does

just

to make

that point

more

let me

turn you

to

Matthew

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

chapter

16

16

verses

16

through

17

and

this

is

where

Jesus

is

asking

his

disciples

do

you

know

who

I

am

who

are

people

saying

that

I

am

so

this

is

Matthew

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

chapter

16

Jesus

asks

in

verse

13

who

do

people

say

that

the

son

of

man

is

and

they

said

some

say

John

the

Baptist

others

say

Elijah

and

others

Jeremiah

one

of the

prophets

and he

said

to

them

but

who

do

you

say

that

I

am

Simon

Peter

replied

you

are

the

Christ

the

son

of

the

living

God

and

Jesus

answered

him

blessed

are

you

Simon

Barjona

for

flesh

and

blood

has

not

revealed

this

to

you

but

my

father

who

is

in

heaven

to

see

Jesus

as

he

is

means

God

must

reveal

him

to

you

so

that

you

can

see

him

John

the

Baptist

he

is

I'm

not

the

king

but

I

was

sent

before

him

verse

28

his

role

was

to

go

before

the

Lord

and

make

straight

his

paths

here's

what

that

means

for

us

none

of

us

in

the

room

is

the

anointed

king

of

God

none

of

us

in

the

room

has

a

kingdom

everlasting

kingdom

but

many

of

us

in

the

room

have

been

by

God's

grace

brought

into

the

kingdom

of

this

king

and

we

now

have

a

new

motto

in

this

kingdom

he

must

increase

and

I

must

decrease

because

he

is

worthy

so

John

the

Baptist

first

reason

why

he

must

Jesus

must

increase

and

we

must

decrease

is

that

Jesus

Christ

is

the

king

and

we're

not

do I

have

an

amen

reason

number

two

Jesus

is

the

groom

verse

29

I

find

it

really

interesting

that

John

the

Baptist

starts

talking

about

Jesus

here

as a

bridegroom

bridegroom

it's

just

another

way

saying

groom

you

know

like

when

we

have

weddings

here

the

groom

is

standing

right

here

and

then

the

bride

comes

down

in

her

splendor

and

meets

the

groom

and

it's

a

wonderful

thing

but

what

John

the

Baptist

again

is

saying

he

knows

who

he

is

and

he

knows

who

he's

not

he

says

in

verse

21

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

what

John

the

Baptist

is

saying

he's

like

I

am

not

the

groom

!

I'm

the

best

man

and

when

the

bride

comes

down

to

the

groom

and

they

take

hands

the

best

man

rejoices

woohoo

this

is

good

did

you

know

that

one

of

the

ways

that

God

speaks

about

his

covenant

people

throughout

the

Bible

is

to

call

his

people

his

bride

we

see

it

in

Ezekiel

16

which

is

a

very

weighty

passage

full

of

strong

language

we

see

in

the

book

of

Hosea

where

God

likens

Israel

to

his

bride

we

see

it

in

Revelation

21

where

the

new

Jerusalem

comes

down

and

God

says

this

is

the