“28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 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. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”
In the previous passage we read how the disciples of John reacted when Jesus and His disciples were baptizing and everyone was going to them. There is a sense of jealousy with their reaction. This was attributed to the fact that they were still disciples of John instead of disciples of Jesus. This shows they did not go to the One who had life, to whom John was pointing. In response, John says in the passage Jesus can only receive this power from heaven. From here this passage shows the end of what John is talking about and explains as well as the last time we will hear from John the Baptist in the gospel before he dies. In this small section, will be revealed one of the most important aspects of being a Christian.
The first verse shows that John does not claim to be Jesus the Messiah. He is telling his disciples that they are witnesses to what he has said and that he was sent before Jesus. As he said in chapter one of the gospel of John, he is making a way for Jesus Christ and calling people to repentance. Now that Jesus is here there is not as much need for the one who comes before.
There is no bitterness with John, though, as we see in verse twenty-nine. John the Baptist describes himself as a friend of the bridegroom who rejoices when he hears the bridegroom speak to the bride. He is happy seeing people go to Jesus because the people are the bride in this analogy and Jesus is the bridegroom. This is also John rebuking his disciples and pointing them to Jesus that they should go to the bridegroom or, like him, rejoice at the works that Jesus is doing. We also see in this verse a sense of completion at the work that John has done. He is not much older than Jesus but already understands that his time is coming to an end.
The last verse is straightforward but is a hard concept to truly live but we see John is living it in this passage. He knows there are only going to be so many people who come and that they should come to Jesus, the source of life, instead of just one of those who points to Jesus. John knows the very fact that Jesus is there means that the one pointing to Him must decrease.
Christians, are we bitter when we think that our ministries for Jesus are small? We need to change our perspective to the way John sees it. As we point people to the gospel, they should need us less and need Jesus more. In this way our own ministries in people’s lives might decrease but it is only so Jesus can increase.
Non-Christians, do not stand on the outside like John’s disciples. Instead, follow John the Baptist and come to Jesus. Those who you admire who are Christians are only pale reflections of the truth which is found in Jesus. Jesus is calling you to be His and to receive not only His saving grace but also His joy.
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