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After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. For John had not yet been thrown into prison. Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"
John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been 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.' 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. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true; For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
- John 3:22-36
Yesterday, we read that there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."
After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. For John had not yet been thrown into prison. Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!" My study bible points out that further on in this Gospel, John explains that Jesus did not baptize, but rather it was His disciples who did so. See John 4:2. Here we see the growing popularity of Jesus' ministry, even as John's ministry continued.
John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been 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.' 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. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled." My study bible says that John the Baptist "is called the friend (the 'best man'), while Christ Himself is the bridegroom. The bride is the Church, the people of God. John confesses his role in the coming of the Messiah -- that he is witness to the wedding of Christ and His people, and thus he rejoices in that celebration."
"He must increase, but I must decrease." Here a note reads: "John expresses a humility that serves as an example for all believers. He renounces all earthly glory and reputation for the sake of Christ. By allowing Christ to increase in him, John himself finds true glory. This statement further indicates the end of the old covenant. As the law vanishes, the grace of Jesus Christ abounds." My study bible points out that John's declaration is revealed in the date of his feast day for many Christian denominations. It occurs at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky (June 24), while Christ's birth is celebrated sun begins to increase (Dec. 25).
"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true; For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." My study bible points out that here John echoes the teaching of Christ Himself, from verse 18 in this chapter. John Chrysostom notes, however, that "we do not from this assert that faith alone is sufficient for salvation; the directions for living that are given in many places in the Gospels show this." See also James 2:14-24.
Jesus comes into the field of vision in Israel, with His ministry increasing, His disciples baptizing in the same places where John the Baptist and his disciples are practicing their ministry of baptism. In some ways, John the Baptist is the senior, so to speak. His ministry was very popular, so much so that we are told in the Gospels that all were coming to Him to be baptized, even many from the religious leadership in the Jerusalem. John, mirroring the words Jesus will also say, was scathing to the leadership who came for baptism: Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? So in today's reading, we see John mirroring Jesus' teaching about faith, and about the Son. John's vision sets things in order, he sees things are they truly are, as befits a great prophet. A friend of the Bridegroom is how he describes himself. His ministry is not to honor himself, but to honor God, and the true Son whom God has sent. "He must increase but I must decrease." John's words are those of one who is clearly a holy man, and yet perhaps the greatest virtue characterizing his statements is that of true humility, one who can truly see what is what, and be true to the purpose of his own ministry. He is the herald, the bearer of good news, the forerunner, the one who seeks to prepare the way of the Lord and exhorts the people to make His paths straight. John has his priorities right; he knows what he is doing, what he must be about. And there we come back to the statement about faith. This faith puts Christ first, front and center. Humility teaches us about that relationship to Christ in our hearts, and that through that relationship we take on our own roles, opportunities, understandings for the people we are to be. Faith presents us with service, with the sort of works that Christ would give to each one of us, in our own type of ministry, in our own service as a friend of the Bridegroom. With that priority in mind, that vision of good order in your interior life, how do you find who you are -- and what your faith asks you to be about?
