4. (b) Jesus is the
Christ, vss. 27-30
For John, the Baptist, the
success of Jesus' ministry signaled the end of his own. His part had
been to proclain the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven, and now it was
beginning to happen! Now John was a unique man; he was an Old
Testament style of prophet; he was welcomed by the common people and
distrusted by the spiritual elite in Judaism, and he was responsible
for ushering-in the fulfillment of all the former prophecies, but he
was not the Messiah. Jesus was, and John knew it. The fact is, God
was blessing, and John had come to promote Christ, not take the glory
from Him; for Him, Jesus' success was just as natural as the locusts
he had had for lunch!
Verse 29 tells us that
John was only the best man at the occasion of this event, not the
Bridegroom, which is Jesus' rightful place from the time of creation.
And once the best man's job is completed, he expects to fade from
the picture. He had an important role, but he was not to have a
place at the center of this new age of faith. And he didn't intend
to be the cause of controversy either, so he made it clear that the
news his disciples had brought him was not bad news, but rather and
most certainly, Good News! For John, the beginning of this age of
grace was reason for rejoicing, not complaining!
What about us, today? Do
we need a reason for rejoicing? If you do, then do as John did and
give Jesus the preeminence in your life. Maybe it's time for you to
decrease and allow Jesus to increase in your life experience. It's
never the part of the servant to get ahead of his Master, and most
certainly not to become jealous or insecure or bitter over the Master's successes. John knew, much better than we seem to know,
that these things are all a part of God's sovereign plan and purpose.
We mustn't forget our servant status; we mustn't get stuck on our
own position, or our own pleasure, and get our priorities ahead of
God's. His priorities are our priorities...His plan, His purposes
and His preeminence.
Finally, we have the
testimony that...
(c) Jesus is in
control! vss. 31-36
John had experienced these
things first-hand from God Himself. Jesus had come from above, not
the earth, as normal men do. In fact, the earth had come from Him!
He is above all things, and God had given all authority to Him. Why
do you think Jesus had come to the earth? Why, to speak the true
words of God! We often don't know these days, what is truth and what
is not, what with all that we see, read and hear in the run of a day.
After all, is Ivory soap really 100% pure?! Does the Eveready bunny
never really stop hopping? Does Dr. Atkins really have the diet to
end all diets? We simply can't say for sure, because those
testimonies, as we can call them, are based on pride and on profit,
rather than on principle. But Jesus speaks the truth, no matter how
hard it may be to hear, and it is up to me and it is up to you, to
either accept, or reject it (vs. 32). You see, Jesus came to stir us
up; to get inside our heads and our hearts so that we have to make a
decision about Him. That's exactly what the people in this chapter
were being forced to do.
Have you ever considered
that Jesus is the One upon Whom the destiny of every human being
rests? Well, John certainly did, and his entire testimony reveals
his attitude toward the King of Creation! Just consider...
..."I am not the
Christ"
..."I have been sent
before Him...as the friend of the Bridegroom"
..."He must increase
but I must decrease..."
..."He comes from
above"
..."He is above all"
..."The Father loves
Him...
..."and has placed
all things in His hand"
... and finally..."He is
the Son"!
Jesus is above all!
The existence and the consistence and the eternity of all things is
in His hand! And..."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" (vs. 36)!
So the question
remains...do I act on the convictions of my belief, or do I stand
convicted because of my unbelief? Well, the fact of the
matter is, I must decrease...that is, set all self-importance and
self-interest aside, and allow Jesus to increase, as Lord of
my life, as Shepard of my soul and as the very Bridegroom of my very
existence! Let's just get to the truth as God intends it for
us...the grander He grows, the the easier obedience comes.
The very real wrath of God
seems far too great a punishment, but that is exactly what He has
promised for those who "believe not...". It's unthinkable
that He would do such a thing, but these are, in fact, the true
sayings of God! (see vs. 18)
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