He Must Increase, I Must Decrease

Well, with all that's been going on in our world lately with COVID-19,

there was a part of me that wondered whether we should continue in the series that we've been doing as a church

through the Gospel of John, or if we should focus on some scriptures which speak directly to the present state of things

going on in our world with this whole pandemic.

As I've thought and prayed about that, there are many Christian brothers out there who are writing articles

and blog posts and preaching sermons that pertain to COVID-19 directly,

and I've tried to share some of those resources online and through email with some of you.

I think one of the questions on all of our minds is, when will this all be over?

How long will it be before things finally get back to normal?

Some of us are probably feeling a little bit worn out with just thinking and hearing about this pandemic

and are eager to hear something else from God's Word.

And so as I prayed and thought about this, I think we're going to continue on through our series in the Gospel of John.

When we started this series, what we saw very early on was that this is about Jesus.

John said in the first chapter of this Gospel, we saw His glory.

That's what we've set out to do in this series.

It's to see more of the glory of Jesus.

We want to know Him more.

Not only that, but we believe that the good news about Jesus is what people around us need to hear

in order to be saved, in order to have the life that God offers to people.

And so we want to also be familiar with this story.

We want to know it well.

And so these are at least two good reasons we have to continue on through the story of Jesus as told by John.

And so that's what we're going to do in the weeks ahead.

We picked the story up this morning in John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

If you have a Bible, I encourage you to grab it.

Pause the video if you need to.

But get your Bible.

Open it up to John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

And we're going to be reading starting in verse 22.

Now what we're about to read comes what's happened up until now.

Jesus has gone up to Jerusalem and He celebrated the Passover there with His disciples.

There was that week of feasting or festival, the festival of unleavened bread.

Jesus had that conversation with Nicodemus about being born again.

And if you haven't heard any of that, the sermon audio for those messages is available on our church website.

So this kind of comes after all that.

Sometime after Jesus was up in Jerusalem, this is what we read in verse 22 of chapter 3.

After this, Jesus and His disciples went out into the Judean countryside.

Where Jesus spent some time with them and baptized.

Now John also, this is John the Baptist, John also was baptizing at Anon near Salim.

Because there was plenty of water.

And people were coming and being baptized.

This was before John was put in prison.

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

They, referring to John's disciples, 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,

look, he is baptizing and everyone is going to him.

So John sets the scene for us here.

After Jesus' time up in Jerusalem, he and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside.

Where Jesus spent some time with them.

And what were they doing out in the countryside?

John tells us that Jesus was baptizing.

He also tells us that John the baptizer at the same time was baptizing people in a different place.

And so you have people going to Jesus to hear his teaching, to see these signs that he's doing.

And you have people going to John the baptizer.

And somewhere in the middle of all of this, verse 25, an argument develops.

There's a dispute between some of John's disciples and a certain unnamed Jewish man.

And interestingly enough, we're not really told what the argument was really about.

I mean, John tells us it's over the matter of ceremonial washing, but we don't really know the details.

What we do see, though, is that out of this argument, John's disciples, John the baptizer's disciples, end up coming to him.

And they say this.

They kind of give him a bit of a report on what's going on.

Rabbi, verse 26, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, the one you testified about, look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.

So this is an interesting moment in the story of Jesus.

And I don't want to read into it too much.

But at the very least, I think we see here that John the baptizer's disciples are deeply concerned.

They're worried.

There's the appearance here of some rivalry, of some competition between Jesus and John the baptizer.

And I don't want to, again, read too much into it.

But I think at the very least, we might say that there's some deep concern here.

Some maybe even just mild form of rivalry.

We notice, first of all, that this all sparked out of a dispute or an argument.

Second, we notice that John's disciples, even the language that they choose seems to be kind of really showing what's going on in their thoughts.

They say, look, or behold, that man is baptizing, referring to Jesus, and everyone is going to him.

Not just some, everyone is going to him.

You can almost hear a tone of lament, or at the very least, deep concern, if not more.

Everyone is going to him.

You can imagine for a moment that you were the owner of the A&W that's just south of town here in Davidson.

Business is going well enough.

You're selling lots of hamburgers and french fries.

Life is good.

You're the only fast food joint on the south side of town that's visible from the highway.

And then suddenly, one day, out of nowhere, someone decides to start selling hamburgers right across the street.

And Dairy Queen just pops out of nowhere.

Now, I wasn't here before the Dairy Queen was built,

but I imagine that the people over at A&W had some pretty slow days just after it first opened.

Now there's competition for every potential customer that comes rolling through town.

And suddenly, here at the A&W, you know, the service that we've been offering people just doesn't feel like it's as appreciated.

Everyone is going over there now.

I imagine that this captures at least something of what John's disciples are feeling.

Look, John, he is baptizing now, and everyone is going to him.

Well, how does John the baptizer respond to this?

We read his response in verse 27.

To this, John replied,

A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.

You yourselves can testify that I said,

I am not the Messiah, but am sent ahead of him.

So, what is John's response?

As John hears this report about Jesus baptizing and everyone is going to him,

the first thing that he says is this,

A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.

In other words,

this is part of God's sovereign plan.

It's heaven that has decided how things should go.

God.

And then,

after this,

he clarifies again.

And I love the words that he uses.

You yourselves testify to me

that I said.

He calls them as witnesses.

You heard what I have clearly said.

And we saw this back in John chapter 1,

John 1 · chapter mention

when the Jewish religious leaders sent delegates

to ask John the baptizer who he was.

He made it crystal clear.

I am not the Messiah.

I am not the Messiah.

He calls his disciples as witnesses again here

and reminds them,

I said,

I am not the Messiah.

I am not the Messiah.

But,

don't miss the but,

but I am sent ahead of him.

From here,

John goes into this analogy of a wedding.

Let's read it together in verse 29.

I am not the Messiah,

but,

but I'm sent ahead of him.

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.

He must become greater.

I must become less.

So,

to kind of give an explanation

of what's going on in this situation,

the way that John sees it,

how he's reacting to all of this,

he gives the analogy of a wedding

and we don't know exactly

or have the clearest picture

of exactly how a wedding,

what a wedding was like

in the first century Jewish culture.

So,

I'm going to try to just translate it

into our culture

for us

and,

and maintain some of the,

the elements that

are here in his analogy.

The bride belongs to the bridegroom

is the first thing

that John says.

And he compares himself

to the friend

who attends

the bridegroom.

So,

we might think of groomsmen

or think of the best man.

So,

imagine

here you are,

you've,

you've come for a wedding

and

you have an important question

to ask,

maybe where to put your gift

or something like that.

You've,

you've showed up nice and early.

The bride and the bridegroom

are not even in the building yet

that you know of.

And,

you can see the,

the,

the bridesmaids

and

the groomsmen,

they're,

they're kind of doing set up.

They're kind of

attending to those last

minute details.

And you can see

one of them is kind of

giving orders

or instructions

to

some of the other guys

and they're moving things around

and carrying things here

and there.

So,

who are you going to ask

about where to put

the gift that you have brought?

Well,

probably that guy.

And,

perhaps,

he's,

he's the best man.

And,

for the time being,

he's

kind of

in charge.

Um,

helping make sure

that everything gets

in its place.

He's been here for the rehearsal.

He knows what's going on.

He's the best friend

of

the groom.

So,

who better to ask

than him?

At the moment,

um,

he,

he's kind of

has

the attention

of people.

They're,

they're looking to him

for guidance

and for instruction.

We get,

we got to get all these last

things taken care of

before,

uh,

the wedding starts.

We need these chairs

set up over here.

We need this table

moved over there.

Now,

fast forward a little bit

to just before,

uh,

just as the wedding

is starting.

Um,

suddenly,

and I don't know

what your experience

has been at weddings,

but I know that

at a number of weddings

I have been to,

um,

the groomsmen

have been kind of

the first

to come into the room

or come onto the stage

and,

and sometimes

even without the groom.

Um,

so they'll walk out

from the side

and

in that moment,

up until then,

during the setup

and,

and up until that moment,

um,

your attention is on

the groomsmen.

Your attention's on

the best man.

You're looking at them

and how sharply

dressed they are.

But then all of a sudden

there's a massive shift

as the groom

comes

walking

out onto the stage

and takes his place

in the center

beside his

groomsmen.

And in that moment,

everybody's attention

just shifts

all at once

from

the groomsmen

to the groom.

It's,

it's his wedding.

It's his day.

He's the one

that we've come to see

get married.

And,

and from that moment on,

the groomsmen

just kind of

fade into the background

a little bit.

They kind of go into

our peripheral vision.

And if we look at them again,

it's,

it's just to see

what's their reaction

for a brief moment

to what's happening

here in the room.

I've had the opportunity

to,

um,

to serve

as a groomsman

on a couple

different occasions.

and,

there's been a couple

moments

where I've been there

up on the stage

and I,

I distinctly remember

that

I was,

I was overcome.

In fact,

I,

I was almost

at the point

of tears.

Tears of joy.

because,

in that moment,

one of my best friends

was about to get married

to a wonderful

young lady.

And I still remember

some of those moments.

Here I am,

standing in my place,

and the bride

appears

at the back

of the aisle.

And eye contact

is made

between her

and between

one of my best friends.

And I just,

I'm just drinking

in that moment.

What is this like

for my best friend here?

I look over at him

and I can just,

I can see,

I can feel

the emotion

just welling up

inside of him.

The joy,

the,

the,

the awe

at just how beautiful

she is in that moment.

Dressed in white.

Precious moments.

Moments that

I was overwhelmed

with joy in.

Because

my best friend

is getting married

to a wonderful

young lady.

And so,

I think that's

the kind of

thing that John

is trying to get us

to,

to,

to see,

to feel with him

as he helps us

understand what's

going on here

between Jesus and him.

It's,

it's like a wedding.

And Jesus

is the bridegroom.

And the people,

they're,

they're the bride.

He's the one

who should have

their attention.

John,

he's,

he's just like

the groomsman,

the,

the best man,

the friend

who attends

the groom.

He's been working

to get things

ready,

to,

to,

to make

preparations,

but now this

moment has come

and it's good.

It's right.

I am happy

that I am

fading into

the background

and that the

attention is now

on him.

He's the one.

It's,

it's his day.

This is what

I've been working

towards.

John's disciples

give this report

of what's

going on

and it comes

across as

negative.

It comes

across as,

there's some,

we've got some

competition here.

We've got some

rivalry.

And in stark

contrast to that,

John's reaction

is the opposite.

It's,

yes,

I am so happy.

My joy

is now

complete

because everyone

is going

to him.

that's what

I've wanted

to see.

That's my role.

That's what's

been given

to me

from heaven,

from God.

My job

has been

to point

the spotlight,

to make

preparation

and now

the moment

is here.

So look

at him.

Everyone

is going

to him

and I

couldn't be

more

happy.

He

must become

greater.

I must

become less.

The spotlight

needs to get

bigger on him

and it needs

to get

smaller on me.

He needs

to have,

he must have

more of

people's attention

and I must

have less.

This is good.

This is right.

This is how

it's supposed

to go.

So what

are we

to take

from this

interaction?

Well,

I think

that one

of the

natural

places

for us

to go

is to

think of

this

as

John

is giving

us an

example

of

humility

and I

think this

is here.

We

naturally

understand

the feeling

of rivalry.

we

understand

that feeling

of seeing

someone else

succeeding

or of

someone else

getting the

attention

when we

had it

before.

I think

we do get

a bit of a

snapshot of

the mentality

of our

world or

of the

just that

desire that

we have

in our

sinful human

nature.

we love

the attention

of others.

We love

the praise

of other

people.

We want

others to

think much

of us.

And John

the baptizer

stands in

stark contrast

to that.

Here he is

and he is

just,

he is a

wonderful

example of

godly

humility.

He knows

his place

in all of

this.

He knows

his place

before Jesus.

He knows

his place

before God.

He knows

his place

as it

pertains

to other

people.

A person

or a man

can only

receive what

is given

them from

heaven.

I am

not the

Messiah,

but I am

sent ahead

of him.

I'm just

a voice.

I've come

to prepare

the way.

I'm just

the friend

who attends

to the

groom.

But the

bride belongs

to the

groom.

The attention

is rightfully

his.

There's

quite a

contrast

here.

It's all

too easy

to seek

our praise

from people,

but it's

God's

commendation

that we

should be

seeking.

So I

think

John the

baptizer is

a great

example of

humility

in contrast

to the

desire of

our flesh

to be

exalted

in the

eyes of

others.

And one

of the

places

that it's

easiest to

see this

right now

perhaps,

I mean,

we're in

social distancing

mode,

is in our

relationships

with our

family members.

We've been

spending a lot

more time

with them

because of

COVID-19.

some of

you parents

are with

your kids

a lot

more than

you were

before now

that sports

have been

cancelled,

now that

classes have

been suspended.

As you

consider your

relationships

with the

people in

your house,

does it

bother you

when those

you live

with don't

notice the

ways that

you serve

them around

the house?

Do you

feel the

need to

inform them

of all that

you did

today for

them so

that you

can get

your thanks

and praise?

Or,

on the

flip side,

do you

see some

of the

work of

your home

and your

family as

beneath you?

Oh,

that job

is,

you know,

are you

happy to

leave that

undesired

work to

your spouse?

Kids,

do you

think it's

mom and

dad's

job to

clean up

all the

mess that

you have

made so

far today?

Because you've

got more

important things

to do.

John is a

wonderful example

here of a

humble attitude,

of a desire

to serve,

and of how we

can have joy

in serving one

another.

And so I want

to encourage you

this week,

how can you

joyfully serve

your wife,

your husband,

your kids,

those you live

with in the

week ahead?

God.

While we do

get this

wonderful example

from John,

it's not

the main

point that I

think we're

to take from

all of this.

It's a

meaningful thing,

it's a

wonderful example,

but I think

more than

anything,

what we need

to take from

this is what

John,

the baptizer,

wants us to

take from

his words.

What is he

saying here?

If we

listen in

again to

these words,

I hope that

we hear it

and that we

don't miss

it.

In verse

28,

you yourselves

can testify

that I

said,

I am

not the

Messiah,

but am

sent ahead

of him.

Him

referring to

the one

who was

with you,

who you

testified about

before.

Do you

hear what

John is

saying?

I am

not the

Messiah,

I'm sent

ahead of

him.

John is

happy to

see people

not coming

to him

and instead

going to

Jesus,

because Jesus

is the

Messiah.

He's

here,

he has

come.

God's

chosen

king,

the one

foretold

by the

prophets

long ago,

he's

here.

I'm

not him.

I'm

happy that

they're

going to

him,

because he

has come.

I should

have less

and less

of people's

attention,

and he

should have

more and

more.

He is

the Christ,

the one that

we've all

been waiting

for.

God's

God's

disciples are

really

listening to

him,

then there's

only one

thing for

them to

do,

and it

may not

happen

right away,

but sometime

soon they

need to be

packing their

bags and

leaving John,

the baptizer,

and going to

follow the one

who is greater,

the Messiah,

Jesus.

The bride

belongs to

the bridegroom.

All of our

attention,

all of our

loyalty belongs

to him,

because he

is the

Christ,

he is the

Messiah.

And so,

I want to

ask you,

as you

listen to

this,

does Jesus

have your

attention?

Does Jesus

have your

loyalty?

if he

doesn't,

then what

or who

does?

Even in

the midst

of this

pandemic,

let me

encourage you

not to

give it

more

attention

than it

deserves.

I'm not

saying that

we should

be ignorant,

that we

shouldn't

read the

news,

that we

should,

there's

nothing wrong

with being

informed,

but one

greater than

all of

this has

come,

and he

is worthy

of our

attention

over and

above and

through all

of this.

Perhaps it's

not COVID-19

so much for

you,

maybe it's

just your

smartphone,

or your

television,

or Netflix.

Let me

encourage you

not to give

those things

more attention

than they

deserve either.

And I'm

speaking to

myself here

as well,

because I

know how

easy it

is to

just get

swallowed

up in

the glow

of the

screen,

in the

palm of

your hand,

or on

the wall,

or on

your television

cart in

my case.

And there's

that desire

to just go

back to it

again and

again and

again,

to pull

that phone

out.

But do

you know

that one

greater than

Google is

here?

my oldest

daughter,

five years

old,

and she's

already telling

me that if

I don't know

something,

I should just

ask Siri.

I should just

search it up

online.

And so I

don't think I

communicated it

the best way

to her,

but I

tried to

remind her

this week

that Google

is not

God.

YouTube

is not

the definitive

source for

wisdom on

the planet.

The

World Wide

Web is a

vast treasure

trove of

information,

but at

best,

it's a

collection of

human wisdom,

and at

worst,

it's a

pooling of

human

ignorance.

No,

we have

something

better,

one greater

than Google,

has come,

and his

knowledge and

his understanding

are truly

out of this

world.

They are

from heaven,

because he

is from

heaven.

And so we

should listen

very carefully

to his

words.

He is

worthy of

our attention.

And so my

question this

week is,

does he

have yours?

It doesn't

matter what's

going on.

The things

that are going

on are

important.

They're

significant.

But whatever

is going on,

Jesus is

still worthy

of our

attention and

of our

loyalty.

Does he

have your

attention?

Does he

have your

loyalty?

Does he

have your

love?

love?

Let's

pray.

Father in

heaven, thank

you for

these words.

Would you

seal them in

our hearts?

And would you

remind us again

of just how

wonderful a

gift your

son is that

you have sent

him into our

world?

Draw each

one listening.

Draw me

into your

presence again

and remind

us of the

truth.

Help us to

see the

glory of

Jesus.

We ask

this in

Christ's

name.

Amen.

Amen.