“The next day, again, John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked by and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.”
In this passage we see what John means when he says that he must decrease so that Jesus can increase. He has two of his own disciples with him who were presumably not there the day before because he says the same thing to them that he said the day before which is, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” We can see that this is John’s message now that he sees Jesus. It is not just a one-time statement; he continues to point people who come around him to Jesus. The example we receive here of John’s decreasing and Jesus’ increasing is the migration of two of John’s disciples from following John to following Jesus.
John again leads the way for what will become basic Christian practice. He does not hold onto his disciples as would be the manner of many teachers. Instead, he wants them to be able to go on their own to follow Jesus. This is the same reaction Christian leaders need today as the disciples are not their disciples but Jesus’ disciples. John is also continuing the same message pointing people to Jesus as should be the same example used today to measure the success of a Christian leader.
For Christians, this is John the author reiterating our own focus, which is on the gospel, to proclaim the Lamb of God so that others might be able to behold Him. Sometimes we can get caught up in what we are doing in our Christian Walk and lose sight of the basics, which is the gospel. To keep grounded in the gospel we must continue to steep in it when we can. This is a call to show people to Jesus continually through the reading of the word and prayer. Speak God’s Words whenever possible and pray with those who need it to reflect Jesus to them. They will not know Jesus by us just being “good.” They will know Him through the good news that only Christ makes us able to be good.
For those who are not Christians, the reason you do not understand might be because you do not follow. John the Baptist’s followers recognized the greater teacher who had come, Jesus. For you to recognize the greatest teacher and savior is Jesus, run to Him and He will not disappoint.


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