The Word This Week
John 3:22…
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
No truer words have ever been spoken by man about Jesus.
In truth, these are the words of a ministry servant, intent on serving Jesus. This applies to every man, and it is an absolute necessity for every servant of Christ.
Far too often in this age of flash and promotion, it is apparent the promotion is of the self and not of Christ.
John the Baptist had every reason to hold on to everything God had produced in his ministry life. It certainly appeared to his disciples that was the case. They apparently had some degree of jealousy toward Jesus’ growing popularity which was obviously appearing to have the potential to draw followers of John to Jesus instead.
They present this news to John the Baptist as if it is an emergency to be dealt with immediately. “Jesus is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”
Understandably, John’s disciples had great affection for him, and their intent was to awaken John to the possibility Jesus’ emerging ministry was drawing away potential followers of John. In their minds, if this was allowed to continue John’s ministry could be brought to an end.
They saw this as a great tragedy. John saw it as a necessity.
There must never be any competition between those who are serving Christ, in any capacity. John and Jesus are not competitors; they are allied in one common purpose – to point people to eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. John understood his ministry calling was very specific in this regard: to point people to Christ.
If that meant everyone would flee his ministry and follow Christ instead, John viewed this as the ultimate accomplishment of all God had called him to do. In John’s heart, his decrease WAS his increase.
Pastor Bill
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
No truer words have ever been spoken by man about Jesus.
In truth, these are the words of a ministry servant, intent on serving Jesus. This applies to every man, and it is an absolute necessity for every servant of Christ.
Far too often in this age of flash and promotion, it is apparent the promotion is of the self and not of Christ.
John the Baptist had every reason to hold on to everything God had produced in his ministry life. It certainly appeared to his disciples that was the case. They apparently had some degree of jealousy toward Jesus’ growing popularity which was obviously appearing to have the potential to draw followers of John to Jesus instead.
They present this news to John the Baptist as if it is an emergency to be dealt with immediately. “Jesus is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”
Understandably, John’s disciples had great affection for him, and their intent was to awaken John to the possibility Jesus’ emerging ministry was drawing away potential followers of John. In their minds, if this was allowed to continue John’s ministry could be brought to an end.
They saw this as a great tragedy. John saw it as a necessity.
There must never be any competition between those who are serving Christ, in any capacity. John and Jesus are not competitors; they are allied in one common purpose – to point people to eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. John understood his ministry calling was very specific in this regard: to point people to Christ.
If that meant everyone would flee his ministry and follow Christ instead, John viewed this as the ultimate accomplishment of all God had called him to do. In John’s heart, his decrease WAS his increase.
Pastor Bill