“He Must Become Greater,I Must Become Less." - John 3:22-30

There were two groups administering the baptism of repentance, those following the Lord Jesus and the disciples of John the Baptist. (V22-23)

Now, the rub came in that John’s ministry was being eclipsed by the ministry of Jesus, and the loyal disciples of John were jealous. (V25-26)

John’s response to his angered disciples is a great lesson for us, as our competitive society is structured to compel us to measure our achievements against those of others.

The story unfolds in a most interesting way.

1) The Baptist, Displays a Proper Philosophy of Life and a Contentment with God’s Purpose (V 27-28)

Do we believe that God orders the path of our lives? Is the Lord responsible for our gifts and abilities? Does he ordain us to a purpose in life and direct our way? Icertainly believe the Bible teaches that this is true. Proverbs 16:9 - The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

It is apparent that the Baptist believed this and this text reveals that he was very content and even found great joy in God’s appointed purpose for his life.

Some of his disciples did not see it that way. There is a clear tension here in these verses. It is clearly not between John and Jesus. The loyal disciples of John feel that his ministry is being eclipsed and they are filled with envy. They come to him about it with an air of flattery. They address him as Rabbi, (V26). John was not a Rabbi. It seems that they had heard Jesus addressed by that title, so in an attempt to demonstrate John’s equality with Jesus they attach the title to him.

There is a great lesson for us here. In life and even in Christian service and ministry there are these kinds of tensions. The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence. Others are getting ahead while we seem to be lagging behind. Another church is growing at a more rapid rate than ours, or the other Sunday School class is bigger. See it? Feel it?

Many of us are not content with our position in life, or our gifts. We crave the gifts of others. The end result is envy and strife.

It is not a new situation. This was one of the major areas of contention in the Corinthian church. Joshua struggled with this jealousy - Numbers 11:26-29

In the camp of Israel there were two men upon whom the spirit of prophecy had come, Eldad - Medad. They were prophesying in the camp NOT at the Tent of Meeting.

“Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, "My lord Moses, stop them." (Numbers 11:26-28)

Joshua was filled with envy!

Notice the response of Moses: But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!" (Numbers 11:29)

John had the same contented humility as Moses did.

His response displays his proper attitude toward his life purpose, “A man can have nothing except what is given him from heaven.” (V27)

Do you understand what he is saying? John was saying in essence, “I am perfectly at ease with the providence of God, for what I am, is what God has made me. In the role God has given to me I find my joy, in fact my fullness, my satisfaction, my contentment, comes in resting in the providence of God.

Paul captured this idea when he wrote to the Corinthians. “What makes you better than anyone else? What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if all you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own?” ( I Corinthians 4:7, NLT)

Here is a wonderfully practical illustration from William Law. “If someone is leaving you behind and you are becoming jealous or embittered, keep praying that he may have success in the very matter where he is awakening your envy’ and whether he is helped or not, one thing is sure, that your own soul will be cleansed and ennobled, that you will grow a little nearer to the stature of the Baptist.”

It is impossible to harbor resentment toward one for whom we are praying.

John grounded his philosophy of life and ministry in contentment with the providential plan and working of God.

2) The Baptist Displays a Proper Attitude in His Role (v29)

John portrays his feelings toward the ministry of Jesus in a rich illustration - the Hebrew wedding

William Barclay brings great light to this:

“The friend of the bridegroom, the shosben, had a unique place at a Jewish wedding. He acted as a liaison between the bride and the bridegroom; he arranged the wedding, he took out the invitations, he presided over the wedding feast, He brought the bride and the bridegroom together. And he had one special duty. It was his duty to guard the bridal chamber and to let no false lover in. He would only open the door when in the dark he heard the bridegrooms voiced and recognized it. When he heard the bridegroom’s voice he was glad and let him in and he went his way rejoicing for his task had been completed.”

John the Baptist found his joy as the shosben for Jesus. Not once did he desire to be the groom, he was overwhelmingly joyous - as he saw his role as the friend!

3) The Baptist Displays the Proper Conduct (V30)

The word “must” here is rendered in the imperative tense in the Greek. Literally translated it means, “It has to be.” It is a must!

Jesus is to go on growing, becoming greater and greater, while I go on decreasing, becoming less and less.

Do you hear the surrender of will in John? There is no other way to live the Christian life!

William Carey, was dying. Near death he turned to a friend and said, “ When I am gone don’t talk about William Carey: talk about William Carey’s Savior. I desire that Christ alone might be magnified.”

This captures the spirit of John the Baptist!

This involves an eclipse of life. How do we do this?

First, following the example of John the Baptist, we always point to Christ and give him full credit, (v27) realizing that we have absolutely nothing unless it is given to us from heaven.

Second, we must realize that no Christian assignment truly belongs to us. It is not ours, we are but stewards of it.

All of this was so marvelously fleshed out in the life of Dr. F.B. Meyer. His motto for life was: “Make the most of me that can be made for Thy glory.""

Dr. Meyer preached at Christ Church in London at the same time that Charles Spurgeon was preaching at the great Metropolitan Tabernacle. His church was running a few hundred at that time.

Meyer would stand on the steps of his church and watch the carriages flow by to Spurgeon’s church. It was difficult for him, but he did it.

Later in his life, he was preaching in America at the invitation of DL Moody. At that same time Dr. G. Campbell Morgan was preaching. Again, the larger crowds were going to here Morgan, but very small crowds coming to hear Meyer.

Later he was heard saying to people, “Have you heard Campbell Morgan preach? Did you hear his message this morning? God is upon that man.

During his long and fruitful life, he preached more than 16,000 sermons.

Said one author: "The phrasing of [Meyer's] sermons was simple and direct; his speech was pastoral....In his day, great wars raged. Those who went to hear him forgot the battles."

It is amazingly ironic, that Spurgeon would later write regarding FB Meyer - "Meyer preaches as a man who has seen God face to face."

Oh, truly He must increase, I must decrease… it has to be!