“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 Aenon 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 was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.’ John answered, ‘A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given 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 has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

John’s gospel starts by firmly declaring the deity of Christ, and the nature of His position as the Light of the world. Once this is stated and affirmed, he next tells us of John the Baptist and we’re given an example in him and his ministry to how we ought to react to the truth and message of the Lamb of God. Looking at Matthew 3:2 and 4:17, we see that the message of both John the Baptist’s and Jesus’s ministries was the same, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” But John the Baptist is also clear that his purpose and the aim of his ministry is to prepare the way for the coming Christ. We saw in John 1 where John the Baptist was given an opportunity to claim glory or status for himself, when those sent by the Pharisees asked him if he was the Christ, Elijah returned or the Prophet. But he denied all these things firmly, clarifying his position of obedience and submission, and explaining that his role was fulfilling the prophecy from Isaiah 40:3, a voice crying out in the wilderness to make straight the way of the Lord. We see in looking at today’s section that as Jesus began His ministry, John the Baptist’s continued as well, with both continuing their messages. Interestingly, if the maps I’ve found are accurate, it seems that the two have swapped areas of operation, with Jesus working in the region of Judea and John the Baptist working in Aenon near Salim, which seems to be north of Samaria*.

(*I learned during my pastor’s sermon on this section that Aenon near Salim was not north of Samaria, but actually in Samaria. This is fitting, as John the Baptist is the forerunner and preparer of the way for Jesus, and in Chapter four we see Jesus and His disciples move into Samaria.)

 We see that people are still coming to John to be baptized and given the chronological context that all this is occurring before he is imprisoned. Next, we see that a discussion takes place between the Baptizer’s disciples and a Jew over purification. We see throughout John’s gospel that he uses “Jews” as a blanket statement to refer to the religious rulers, and not to refer to all Jewish people. In Matthew 3:11 John the Baptist says,

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

This gives us a differentiation between the traditional baptism used for ritual purification, the purifying baptism of repentance that is a central theme of John the Baptist’s ministry, and the baptism in the Spirit that Jesus will ultimately provide, which points ahead to Acts 2 and 10 where we see the Holy Spirit descend like tongues of fire upon believers. Putting all these pieces together, it seems that a religious ruler is disputing the purpose and nature of the baptism being performed with the Baptizer’s disciples, similar to what we saw in John 1. While we don’t see Jesus mentioned in the discussion between the Jew and the disciples, it’s the standing of Jesus’s ministry that they address to John the Baptist immediately following the discussion. While there are still some that are coming to be baptized by John, the lion’s share, are going to Jesus, meaning their ministry is diminishing. It’s interesting because it would make sense for them to expect this. They cite Jesus as “he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness.” John the Baptist’s witness concerning Jesus was that He is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” that Jesus “ranks before me, because He was before me.” This testimony makes it clear that Jesus’s ministry is to supersede his own, so it would make sense for his disciples to see this shift coming. But while not explicitly stated, there is a tone of concern that could be inferred from their report to John the Baptist and a comforting quality in his response. He doesn’t rebuke his disciples, but ultimately offers them words of explanation.

“John answered, ‘A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”

Adam and Eve were placed into the garden. Noah was given mercy and instruction, blessed to survive the destruction of the world. Lot was taken and walked out of Sodom by angels before it was destroyed. Abraham was given a covenant with the Living God and the promise of being a nation set apart. Joseph was blessed and given rule over Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. The Pharaoh for his part, was given dominion over Egypt and used to create an environment for God’s people to multiply and thrive. Under a new Pharaoh, a man given rule by God just as the previous Pharaoh had been, the environment grew hostile to God’s people, and in this oppression, God blessed and raised up Moses to deliver the law to His people. Saul was given the role of king over Israel, anointed by God, and had this position stripped from him for his disobedience, and the kingdom given to David. In the progress of Israel through history, we see God bless them with prosperity and destroy them for their inequity, but we also see other nations that God uses as He did Egypt. There are the people groups that occupied the promised land that were not fully driven out that God sometimes delivers up to His people and other times uses to break or rebuke them. There was the great Assyrian presence that threatened Israel, Babylon, which destroyed Israel and in the time of Jesus, Alexander the Great, who swept through and conquered so much of the known world, spreading Hellenist culture and finally Rome, which fully occupied and had final rule over the Israelites. But none of these empires rose or fell by the works of men but were subject to the hand of God. We see a piece of this in 2 Kings 5:1,

“Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria.”

It’s plain here that Naaman had not gained victory by the strength or skill of his own hand, but because God had given him his triumph.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:44-45,

“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

James writes in James 1:16-18,

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

Jesus’s words give us a picture of God’s common grace on the fallen world, while James’s writing point clearly to the source of all blessings. Ecclesiastes 1:14 says,

“I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.”

“Vanity” which could also be translated as “smoke” or “vapor” is the pursuits of men for their own sake, striving after wind for our own gain and not aiming up in our actions at God. John the Baptist’s declaration, that “a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven” coincides with all this to show that the success of his ministry was not by his own hand but was given from heaven. Likewise, Jesus’s ministry growing is not to be attributed to any work of men, but blessings given from the Father.

“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.”

John the Baptist continues to refine his disciple’s perspectives, reminding them of what they just acknowledged, his admission from the beginning that he is not the Christ. He then presents an analogy that gives us a deeper sense of context through a comparison to a wedding. Who is the focal point of the ceremony and celebration of a wedding? First and foremost, it should be God, but in terms of the human participants, everything is centered around the bride and groom, and the covenant they’re establishing with God. It is the joy of the friends and family in attendance to share in the celebration, but they’re not the point of attention, it’s not about them. John the Baptist also alludes here to what is recorded in Luke 1:39-44,

“In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.’”

This shows the depth of John the Baptist’s joy in Christ’s coming, in that while they were both unborn babies there was a physical and Spiritual response to Jesus’s presence.

“Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

I always cringe a little whenever someone definitively states that any one verse is “the most important in the Bible.” I do however understand people having favorite verses and I will concede that there are single verses or passages that carry more weight than others. So while it may not be the most important verse in all of Scripture, I will boldly state that John 3:30 is among the most important and pivotal. If John 3:16 is considered the gospel in miniature, the good news of redemption offered through Christ, then John 3:30 is a guide for development once saved. What brings joy that is complete, lacking in nothing? How do you love the Lord you God with all your heart? How do you love your neighbor as yourself? How do you suffer the persecution of a world that hates God and will therein hate you too? Christ must increase, and you must decrease. Deuteronomy 6:5-9 says,

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

The greatest commandment and the truth of God’s righteousness (for this commandment is the most important because of the profound, incomprehensible degree of God’s righteousness and His worthiness to be praised above all else), is not present in the sinful will of man, but we are steered away from wickedness in observation of God’s commandments. To be bound as a sign on the hand tells us the need for observance of this in all our actions, a frontlet between our eyes shows us that it is to be seen at all times, all things viewed not by our own interpretations but through this lens.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 says,

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

To be clear, this “heart of flesh” is not a heart that is sin stained, but one that is not hardened and unfeeling, but tender and receptive to God’s mercy. Here again we see the need for renewal through God, for His will to supersede our own that we may live in righteousness.

Paul wrote in Philippians 3:7-11,

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

This reinforces this way of thinking and looking at the world, acknowledging that worldly gain is nothing in the Spirit and nothing by comparison to the gift of redemption in Christ. Jesus Himself displays this submission to the Father throughout His ministry. This is shown in the extreme as He prays before His crucifixion, sweating blood and anticipating the wrath of God being poured out on Him, in Luke 22:41-42,

“And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’”

In all these things, the words of John the Baptist are reflected, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

My primary Bible, which is in the ESV translation shows the end of John the Baptist speaking after verse 30, but with a notation that “some interpreters hold that this quotation continues through verse 36.” This seems to be the case in the KJV, ASV and the NLT at the very least, where the dialog continues through as John the Baptist speaking. The NIV has an almost identical notation to the ESV and the GNT has them separated with no notation as to what is in other translations. While I always find the small, nuanced differences between the translations, or more specifically, the reasons behind the differences fascinating, I say all that to say, it doesn’t really matter. We’re either reading the words of John the Baptist, written by John the Apostle, or we’re reading the words of John the Apostle, written by his own hand. Either way, it fits the testimony of either men. If this is John the Baptist speaking then he went directly from, “He must increase, but I must decrease” to extolling the divine nature of Jesus, which is in keeping with his previous declarations and the nature of what he is relaying to his disciples. If we’re reading John the Apostle’s words, then this is in step with what he has written from the beginning of his gospel account, attesting to the deity of Jesus and His origination from heaven. Personally, I think the wording seems to fit that of John the Apostle a little more fluidly than John the Baptist, but to attribute the words to either isn’t out of character or inappropriate. What is important is to sidestep the stumbling block of pinning down which Biblical figure provided the words and remember that this is the Word of God – God is the originator, the truth and power of verses 31-36 can ultimately not be credited wholly to either man when they were inspired, guided, and breathed by the Father.

“He who comes from above is above all.”

This echoes the sentiment that John starts his gospel with in John 1:3-5,

“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

This speaks to the ultimate superiority and supremacy that is found in Christ, which is also expressed in Isaiah 9:6-7,

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and 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.”

Jesus Himself offers this fact as a comfort and reassurance in John 16:33,

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Jesus, God in human flesh, who comes from heaven, is greater and above all else in His perfection.

“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.”

There are echoes here of what Jesus told Nicodemus in the first section of chapter three, but the contrast in shown more deeply between Jesus, perfect in the Spirit and the countered nature of the world in John 8:43-47,

“Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

There is a contrast shown again and again throughout the entire Bible, between the Spirt and the flesh, between the righteousness of God and sin. While humanity as a whole sins and suffers for it, there is an extra measure of disappointment when, in the Old Testament for example, the nation of Israel openly defies God. They have been given His law, He has delivered and set them apart as His people – they’re supposed to know better. We see Jesus’s teachings contrasted against the perversions of the Pharisees and other teachers of the law, and it’s shown in deeper clarity: the flesh cannot understand the Spirit. The love, the purity, the truth, it all goes against the grain of the sin we carry. And so we, our flesh, our human desires and understandings, the things we want for our own gain must decrease and in the diminishing of worthless things, Christ must grow in our lives. He is not called “Teacher” and “Counselor” without reason, it is by Him that we gain wisdom and understanding. Proverbs 3:5-8 says,

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”

This is not a cop out to observation and deduction, but an acknowledgement that in our flesh we truly know nothing. We make guesses in the dark, we look for reassurance with dim eyes on shaky legs – nothing is certain or stable. The fear of God, the wisdom of the Spirit, the Truth that is manifested in Christ – these are the things we can take heart from and rest assured in.

“For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.”

The words of Jesus are clarity and understanding given to the convoluted laws and teachings of the day, and a perfect lens through which to view the world now. He is our path to understanding and wisdom, but more crucially, He is our path to God. Paul wrote in Romans 3:22-26,

“… For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

It is through Christ, His teachings, and His sacrifice that we may receive the Spirit and understanding, that we may come to know the Father through the Son.

“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.”

Psalm 110:1, which is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 22:44 says,

“The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’”

This single verse, used by Jesus to rebuke the misdirection of the Pharisees also coincides with the statement that God, for the love of Jesus has given all things into His hand, co-equal and eternal.

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Revelation 21:5-8,

“And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.’”

To accept Christ is to receive the Spirit, to be washed clean of sin and to be made holy, so that you might have an intimate relationship with God, who made and loves you to measures your mind can’t comprehend. To reject Christ is to embrace the flesh, to cling to the stain of sin, to chose death and remain in a state of judgement and separation from God and His love for eternity. Choosing Christ isn’t a matter of being afraid of hell and running to God out of fear – God is worthy to be loved and worshiped without scare tactics or games of carrot and stick. But the reality is one of two paths: Christ, who leads to the Father, or everything else.

Pastor Chris’s sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMQPsN44mtg