This is John’s last public testimony. People came to him looking for the Messiah, and he turned them to the Lord. John was fulfilling his role and finding that following Jesus gets hard at times. What he did is the way we should live.
John 3: 22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. 23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. 24 For John was not yet cast into prison. 25 Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. 26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. 27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
We have an instance here that informs us what John was doing after he baptized Jesus. After Jesus began his public ministry, after John declared him the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world, John continued his mission of opening the way for the Christ. He let people know that the Savior was on earth. People were committing themselves to Jesus and being baptized. Others tried to hang onto John. He perceived there was a problem when some came to him with a question. They were putting their trust in John. He stepped back but not before he pointed them to Jesus. Before Jesus was baptized John was the messenger with the mission to point others to Jesus. That should be our mission.
I have a couple of questions for you. Before you think they are crazy, think about it. (1) Do you have any disciples? Are people looking to you more than Jesus? We all should be examples, but we must be careful that the faith of others is in Jesus not us. John said he must decrease, and Jesus must increase. (2) Are you a disciple of another Christian? If one of your fellow Christians moved or died, would you quit coming to church, reading your Bible, and praying? Is your life hinged on someone else? If a family member, friend, or a preacher was out of the picture, would you quit?
Your Christian brothers and sisters are your helpers, not your Savior, and you are not anyone else’s disciple. We are helpers of one another in Christ. I’ve seen it time and again. Whole families quit serving the Lord when one family member died. Their faith was in that person not in the Lord. John didn’t want that. Our purpose is to help others to Jesus not to ourselves. Don’t take credit for what God does. The focus of our life should be Jesus. Adjust the lens if needed and get the focus where it should be. John came right out and said ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. We should be helpers and examples in every way we can, but people should not be dependent on us. Teach others to stand on their own feet and keep Jesus as the leader.
John saw he needed to shut his ministry down. He realized he must decrease and Jesus must increase. Without Jesus we’d fall. To convey that to others, regardless of what happens to us, will fulfill God’s mission for us. John declared Jesus to be the Christ and sent the people to him. John was limited. Jesus was not. He turned himself down and turned Jesus up. We need to know our place. John said he was not the bridegroom. He was the best man who rejoiced at hearing the groom’s voice.
Others cannot be anchored in us. Something will eventually happen to us because we are human. Make sure that others are anchored in Jesus. We can’t split our following. Man is flawed. We all come short. We all need the help of others, and we need to help others. If we look solely to others, a flaw will discourage us and we’ll get out of church. I had no hand in saving anyone who was saved while I was preaching. All I do is try to help people. Jesus does the saving.
Is your Christian testimony about you or Jesus? We can always turn ourselves down a little more and turn Jesus up. John said the Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. We need each other. If everybody died, would you come to church? You should. Jesus will be here, and he’s the one we should be coming for. The time will come when others can’t help us. The time will come when others can’t be with us. David said though I walk through the valley of shadow death. He didn’t say “we.” He said “I.” The old song says you gotta walk that lonesome valley; you gotta walk it by yourself. No one else can go with us into that valley, but if our trust is in the Lord, he will be there. He will bring us all together forever.
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. I want to help as many as I can. Let’s help each other keep our eyes on Jesus by living our lives with the attitude of more of him and less of me.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 