Making Less of Me - Finding Jesus Part 7

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for John had not yet been put in prison)..

Ok so some very practical things here. They were looking for enough water to baptize people in.

Now you know me, I want to give us a visual of what is going on. So let me show you a few pictures so you can better understand where this story is taking place. This first picture is where Aenon would have been located.

Next this is what it looks like today.

I know this is not what it looked like in Jesus' day. I am sure it was not dammed up. However, it's just cool to see. Let's keep reading.

25 Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.”

Now why would they have said the issue that arose was purification?

Well look at the verse 26 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.

Don’t you love tattle tales.

They were clearly concerned that this new figure showing up might not be leading people correctly. That this new individual was not able to purify people in the same way that their teacher John was. However, John responds in the same way that he did when he originally came out of the wilderness in chapter 1. Remember when John said in John 1:36-37, “Behold the Lamb of God. The two disciples heard him say this and they followed Jesus.”

Now as we read we see John respond in a similar way. Listen to the words of John.

27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 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.”

John immediately acknowledges the authority of Jesus. John teaches us 3 very important lessons in these verses.

1. True blessings and power come from above.

John states a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. That means your job, your talent, your money, your kids, your wife, your salvation, the air you breathe was given to you by God. There is not one thing that you have that you cannot credit to God. When we look at Christ in this perspective of who we really are and who God is, it centers our priorities. Suddenly we remember that our relationship with Jesus is far more important than anything we can gain on this earth.

James 1:17 says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

My favorite example of this point is a story from a man named C.S. Lewis, where he shares, “It is like a small child going to its father and saying, 'Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present.' Of course, the father does, and he is pleased with the child's present. It is all very nice and proper, but only an idiot would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction. When a man has made these two discoveries, God can really get to work. It is after this that real life begins. The man is awake now.”

The irony that the small child would use the father's money to buy the father a gift when the father could have used his own money to get what he truly wanted. But what the father truly wanted was his son's heart. Our relationship with the father is no different. Everything we have is God's, and when we give it back to God, he is pleased with us. God has the liberty to take from you anything he has given you, but he chooses to bless you instead. This is why you ultimately cannot outgive God.

The next thing John teaches us is

2. True believers rejoice when Jesus is loved.

John refers to himself as the bridegroom. Now if you remember, John had two of his disciples leave him and follow Jesus previously. But John is not looking to build his own Kingdom. He is in the business of making Jesus famous. As should we be. We should rejoice when Jesus is glorified. It has never been about us getting credit which leads me to my third point.

3. True believers aside and let Christ be seen.

The beautiful phrase from John, that I must decrease so that he can increase. Are we truly willing to play the background? Do you look for others to notice you or notice your savior? Do you most often talk about you or your savior?

When we embrace these 3 lessons from John we can impact our Christian walk in an extraordinary way. When we apply this perspective to our lives we can say with confidence the same words as John, I must decrease so that he can increase. But how many of us are still trying to build our own kingdom? Many of us truly do not want to decrease; we are too concerned about being seen to make Jesus famous. There is a greater weight of John's words that reveal themselves in contrast to his initial meaning. That as long as we grow in fame, Jesus cannot. So who do you really want to make famous? Jesus or you?

Let's keep reading.

31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.

The words that John is implicating here is putting Jesus into the ultimate authority. This is clearly the danger of a religion that does not recognize Jesus as God. How can a little god be above all? The answer is a little god is not above all. Because John knows that Jesus is the one true God in form of man. He goes on and elaborates in vs 32

32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.

What a claim. Jesus brings the true testimony and carries the seal of God. Why would the Bible say that whoever receives Jesus gives claim to God is true? There is only one reason this statement would not be a fallacy, and that is if Jesus was God. Why is this so important? Because there are hundreds of beliefs that claim Jesus is a good man, Jesus is a prophet, Jesus is a historical figure, but if you do not believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, then you are denying the one true God.

Let's keep reading

34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.

Jesus is the word of God. Remember John 1:1? The word was God and the word was with God. The deity of Christ is written all over this. Then, I love the phrase without measure. It means God held nothing back from his son. No authority, no title, no amount of wisdom. It goes on and says,

35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.

There is nothing that the Father would not give to his son. I think about my son; I want him to have everything that he wants. I cannot imagine a love as pure as God's between his son and him. My love for my son has been tainted by my imperfection, but God's love is perfect. The immensity that God's love must be for his son is incomprehensible to our minds.

But yet God sent his son into the world as the lamb of God. Look at vs

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

How can there not be wrath of God for someone who denies this type of perfect love? How can there not be wrath of God for someone who denies his son? Would you not have wrath if someone denied your child after your child gave up everything to give them what he had? The question is not why does God have wrath? The question is how can we deny such a perfect love?

So do you choose to believe Jesus is who he says he is, or do you choose to build your own kingdom? Because make no mistake, we cannot choose both.