PM Home Bible Study Group; April 25, 2012

John 3:22-36

Theme: This passage contains John the Baptist’s words of testimony to the ministry of Jesus.

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

This passage gives us information that is remarkable in several ways. For one thing, it is remarkable in that it tells us a story about John the Baptist that is not contained in any of the other Gospel accounts. It gives us insight into the things that John taught his own disciples. Another reason that it is remarkable is because it gives us information about something that happened before any of the other recorded events of Jesus’ public ministry spoken of in the other Gospels. It’s certainly very remarkable in that it lets us know that one of the things that happened before the other recorded events of Jesus’ ministry is that He was engaged in the work of baptism—just as John did (although, as John 4:2 makes it clear, "Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples"). It even let’s us know that there was a growing tension between the disciples of John (who were jealous for their master’s esteem) and the ministry of Jesus. This tension is one of the subjects brought up in the teaching containied in this evening’s passage—because it’s clear that there was no such tension in the heart of John himself.

But what is most remarkable of all about this passage is that it gives us a wonderfully clear picture of John’s understanding of who Jesus was. We often have the mistaken idea that John didn’t really understand who Jesus was. We might be inclined to think that way because of the fact that—after he was thrown into prison—John once sent some of his disciples to Jesus to ask, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" (Matthew 11:3). But however little John may have understood at first, or however much he may have struggled with his faith during the time of his imprisonment, this passage makes it very clear to us that he had a very clear understanding of who Jesus truly was.

This Gospel is intended to prove to us that Jesus is the Christ—all so that, believing on Him, we might have life in His name (John 20:31). A vital element in that proof would be the testimony of John the Baptist—the promised "messenger" who would "prepare the way" before the Messiah (Malachi 3:1). How important, then, that we learn what John said concerning Jesus!

I. THE CONTEXT OF JOHN’S WORDS CONCERNING JESUS (vv. 22-26).

A. The passage that preceded this one concerned the testimony of Jesus Himself to Nicodemus—a ruler of the Jews (vv. 1-21). That conversation occurred in Jerusalem— where Jesus had gone with His disciples to observe the Passover (see 2:13). It was then that the apostle John tells us, "After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized" (v. 22). As the apostle John writes, "Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim . . ." (v. 23a). The exact location of the place where John was baptizing is not certain; but it appears to be near the Jordan about halfway between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. It would be at a location well-suited for baptizing, "because there was much water there" (v. 23b). But the reason the record of these different locations is significant is because, formerly, John had been baptizing "in Bethabara beyond the Jordan" (John 1:28); which would have been another name for Bethany in the regions of Judah. But now, it appears that John had moved north in his baptizing ministry, and Jesus had begun baptizing in the place that John had formerly baptized. In other words, Jesus is no baptizing in a place that was formerly dominated by the ministry of John. This would, no doubt, have contributed to the tensions that John’s disciples might have felt. But it also illustrates to us that Jesus’ ministry was growing in public attention, while John’s ministry was fading in the background.

B. Why might it have been that Jesus was baptizing while John’s ministry was still active? It may be, in part, because John’s ministry was consistent with—but primarily preparatory to—what Jesus would do. Jesus, you’ll remember, took up the very message that John himself had been preaching after John was imprisoned. John had been proclaiming the message, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (Matthew 3:2). But after he was cast into prison, we’re told that Jesus came to Galilee and began preaching, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15). What’s more, John himself even admitted to Jesus, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" (Matthew 3:14). The apostle John tells us, "And they came and were baptized. For John had not yet been thrown into prison" (vv. 23c-24). Because of what it says in verse 26, we might understand the "they" to be referring to people who were going to Jesus and His disciples to be baptized rather than to John—a point of tension for John’s disciples, because John’s ministry was still an active one.

C. We see this "tension" described the verses that follow. We’re told, "Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification" (v. 25). This is not a tension that was initially between Jesus’ baptizing ministry and John’s; because the debate seemed to be with the Jews regarding purification. The first century historian Josephus gave an interesting report concerning John the Baptist: that he was "a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness" (see Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 18.117). There appears to have been much debate in those days among the Jews concerning daily washings; and it may be that Josephus’ words represented how some understood John’s ministry. At any rate, it appears that the debates that were already going on concerning "purifications" (see John 2:6) may have contributed to the reason why John’s disciples approached him about what appeared to them to be a diminishing of his own ministry. John the apostle writes, "And they came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!’” (v. 26).

II. JOHN’S HUMBLING OF HIMSELF (vv. 27-30).

A. John’s disciples may have thought that there was a reason to be concerned for the reputation and the success of their master’s ministry. Everyone had been, after all, talking about John—who he was, and why he was ministering (see John 1:19-28). We were told that "Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him . . ." (Matthew 3:5-6a). Now, however, it seemed that Jesus was baptizing in the place where John had been; and that John had moved away into a territory to the north that saw less of a turn-out; and that everyone was now going to Jesus. But John the Baptist makes it clear that everything was going exactly as it should. John the apostle writes, "John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him’" (vv. 27-28). John had already made it clear to them that he was not the One that they were looking for; but had been sent by God to be the messenger who proclaimed that One’s coming. He made it clear that he was—as in the words of Isaiah 40:3—"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Make straight the way of the LORD’" (John 1:23). He had received no other ministry from heaven than that. And so, it was no surprise that Jesus’ ministry would begin to take the forefront.

B. John further humbled himself in relation to Jesus when he went on to say, "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice (v. 29a). John was simply the friend of the divine Bridegroom—who was Jesus. The bride belonged to Jesus; not John. The friend of the bridegroom doesn’t get angry that the bride does not turn to him. In fact, it would be utterly inappropriate if the bride did so! The job of the friend of the bridegroom is to see to it that the wedding goes off as planned; and that the spotlight is shined on the bridegroom (in those days, the bridegroom was the focus of attention in a wedding—not as in our day, when the bride is the center of attention); and that the bride is given to the bridegroom. He rejoices to go with the bridegroom to the bride, and to hear him call for her to come with him to the home he has prepared for her. The friend of the bridegroom actually rejoices when the bridegroom receives the glory, and when the bride turns to him. That’s why John could say, "Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled" (v. 29b). It must have startled the disciples of John when they came to him to report on the way the attention was turning increasingly upon Jesus; but as John makes clear, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (v. 30).

C. In doing this, John was showing not only who he himself was—that is, the promised messenger of the Messiah; but also that Jesus was that Messiah that John had come to proclaim. And what a great example John sets for us! As Paul said of himself and his co-workers, "Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Corinthians 4:1). It’s not our role, as servants and stewards, to draw the attention to ourselves; but rather to direct people’s attention to the Savior. In that respect, may He increase, but may we decrease!

III. JOHN’S EXALTATION OF JESUS (vv. 31-36).

A. It’s in this context, then, that John bursts forth in a wonderful exaltation of Jesus—this One who he came to declare, and Whose ministry was even then increasing. As John had declared earlier to those who had come to him for baptism—perhaps with, at the time, only a partial understanding; but now with much greater spiritual clarity—“I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire" (Luke 3:16-17). And now, in response to the concern of his own disciples, he declares the divine origin of Jesus—and because of His divine origin, His supremacy: "He who comes from above is above all . . ." (v. 31a). As it says in John 3:13, "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven." As the first few verses of this Gospel has told us, Jesus is the eternal "Word" who "was God" (1:1), and who was "in the beginning with God" (v. 2). This word, we’re told, "became flesh and dwelt among us" (v. 14). Thus, in these words, John is showing his disciples that he recognized Jesus as the eternal Word come down from heaven, and who is above all. This highlighted Jesus’ role as "Priest"—the Mediator between God and man" (see 1 Timothy 2:5).

B. John the Baptist also recognized the authority of what Jesus declared. Many came to hear John’s preaching. But now they were turning to Jesus. But John shows the superiority of Jesus’ teaching over that of any man. John says that "he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth" (v. 31a). John was not, of course, diminishing his own prophetic ministry; because it too was from God. But John was declaring that this was not a matter of one man’s humanly-developed teaching taking an unfair superiority over another man’s humanly-developed teaching. An earthly man can only speak what is earthly; but "He who comes from heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies . . ." (vv. 31b-32a). Jesus Himself said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me" (John 7:16). John also recognized the spiritual destiny of people will be determined by their response to the things that Jesus declared. He said, ". . . and no one receives His testimony" (v. 32b). John was not speaking in an absolute sense—because clearly some did receive it. But as we will read on in the chapters that will follow, the leaders of the Jewish people rejected him. These words from John, then, most likely reflect what was said at the beginning of this Gospel; that "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name . . ." (John 1:11-12). As John went on to say, "He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true" (v. 33). As Jesus would later say of His own teaching in John 7:17-18; "If anyone wills to do His [that is, God's] will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him." This One to whom John was pointing was One in whom all the fullness of the Holy Spirit dwelt. The Spirit’s ministry through Him was not partial—but complete. Therefore, the same Holy Spirit would work to testify in the hearts of those who heard and believed; and they would be able to certify—as Jesus’ own disciples did—"You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ the Son of the living God" (John 6:68-69). "For", as John the Baptist went on to say, "He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure" (v. 34). This highlights Jesus’ ministry as “Prophet”.

C. Finally, John recognizes the authority of Jesus to save. He acknowledged Jesus to be the Son of God; and said, "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand" (v. 35). This One not only comes from God to man; and He not only speaks to humankind the message of God; but all things belong to Him and have been given to Him by the Father. This even includes those that the Father had given Him for salvation. As Jesus would later say, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand" (John 10:27-29). And as John adds, "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (v. 36). As F.F. Bruce has well written, "Since those who will not obey the Son cut themselves off from the benefits of his sin-removing work, their persistent impertinence leaves them exposed to the wrath of God—to the retribution which is integral to his moral universe. The eternal life which believers receive involves their being accepted by God as righteous in Christ; apart from the divinely appointed way of righteousness men remain liable to the judgment of heaven—in the language of verse 18, they are ‘condemned already’" (F.F. Bruce, The Gospel of John [Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1983], p. 98). This highlights Jesus’ ministry as “King”.

* * * * * * * * * *

We’re told in the first few verses of this Gospel, "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He as not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light" (John 1:6-8).

Praise God for John—the faithful "witness" of our Bridegroom!