He must increase, but I must decrease

 

 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 

 

In yesterday's reading, we were told 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 Man 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!"  In the following chapter of John's Gospel we are told that Jesus' disciples were baptizing -- "though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples" (John 4:2).  

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 explains that John the Baptist is called the friend (or "best man"), while Christ 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 is rejoicing in that celebration.  

"He must increase, but I must decrease."  John here expresses a deeply characteristic humility, which my study Bible says serves as an example for all believers.  He is renouncing all earthly glory and reputation for the sake of Christ.  As he allows Christ to increase in him, there John finds his own true glory.  Moreover, my study Bible explains, this statement is an indication of the end of the old covenant.  As the law vanishes, the grace of Jesus Christ abounds.  This declaration by John is also reflected in the Church calendar.  Across several denominations, John's birth is celebrated at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky (June 24), and Christ's birth is celebrated when the sun begins to increase (December 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."  Here John echoes the teaching of Christ Himself (see John 3:18).  My study Bible asks us to note the absence of the word "alone" in the final verse here ("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").  St. John Chrysostom writes, "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.

"He must increase, but I must decrease" is considered to be a classic statement of humility, especially forming a model for monastic life.  John expresses a classic sense of what it is to serve Christ, and it is applicable to each one of us when we consider what salvation is and means.  If it is true that God became human (Incarnate as Jesus Christ), so that human beings could become God-like, then we must understand that this statement really could be said prayerfully by each one of us.  St. Paul makes a similar allusion to the sentiment expressed here when he declared, "I die daily" (see 1 Corinthians 15:30-31); in a passage vigorously proclaiming the resurrection, he was affirming the value and meaning of sacrifice and struggle in the faith.   It is interesting to note also that regarding the final verse in today's passage, St. Chrysostom comments that "faith alone" is not sufficient for salvation.  What he is saying is that it is the life lived in faith that matters; our lives must be expressions of that faith and love.  Our faith, in following Jesus Christ, is also deeply "incarnate" if you will.  Our faith is meant to be expressed in what has been called "love in action," even as imitation of how Christ lived.   Perhaps the most profound illustration we have is the parable of judgment given to us by Christ, and its examples of compassion (Matthew 25:31-46).  Our baptism, as we have read emphasized in yesterday's reading, above, is with water and the Spirit -- so that we are not simply left to our own devices but are born again "from above," the beginning of the Christian life.  Therefore, He must increase, but I must decrease, becomes our own model for salvation, a lifetime trajectory, a sense of how Christ is indeed, always with us.  St. Paul speaks eloquently of the fruits of the Spirit; that is, the things born in us from this rebirth "from above" with water and the Spirit ("love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control").  And they are clearly meant as things we see through time, effects which manifest throughout our lifetime.  He contrasts these fruits of the Spirit with what he calls the works of the flesh (see Galatians 5:19-23).   But without an attitude of humility, so well-exemplified in the words of St. John the Baptist, how will we come to those fruits and the flowering of our baptism?  How will we realize the things we need to discard, and the ways in which we need to grow, and make room for Christ to increase in us?  Let us consider this great model that has served and inspired so many throughout the history of the Church, and do likewise.