A Meditation on John 3: 25-30

Kevin J Youngblood
 

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.” 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 3:25-30)

Why must everything be a competition? It must be human nature, or at least fallen human nature, to view life always as a zero-sum game, a win-lose proposition. I feel the impulse within myself to promote my brand, to insist on the superiority of my denomination, to seek the growth of my congregation even at the expense of the growth of the kingdom. Ultimately, it all boils down to my desire for recognition. I want so badly to achieve personal greatness that my ambition threatens to eclipse my calling to live to God’s glory alone.

Somehow, John the Baptizer managed to escape this trap. Even when his disciples approached him and egged him on to compete with Jesus, he absolutely refused. John’s loyal disciples felt the sting as Jesus’ ministry began to eclipse John’s. After all, John was there first. He even gave Jesus his start! How dare he upstage John when John had received him so warmly! I sometimes try to imagine if I were John how I might have responded to his disciples’ attempts to take over his PR strategy, to launch a new marketing campaign. I fear that the combination of my people pleasing tendencies with my hungry and fragile ego would conspire to lull me into this foolish competition, causing me to lose all sight of my true purpose and mission.

How did John manage to overcome this temptation? Well, first he recognized that his ministry was not some entrepreneurial endeavor. It had been given to him by God. God had called John to run this particular leg of the kingdom relay and then to hand the baton off to Jesus, the anchor of the race, who would win the race for us all. John’s ministry and Jesus’ ministry were one and the same kingdom endeavor, not competing enterprises. Unfortunately, capitalism has had a far greater influence on our Christianity than Christianity has had on our capitalism! I grew up in a denomination that viewed itself in a fierce competition with all other denominations, insisting on its superiority and ever suspicious of anything that did not bear our brand. So infectious and aggressive was this deadly spiritual disease, that it soon turned even congregations within my denomination into competitors. Preacher against preacher, one denominational school against another, on and on, descending deeper and deeper into a sectarian, demonic worldliness completely impotent of divine power and therefore helpless to impact a world that it was reflecting instead of rebuking, conforming to instead of converting. Needless to say, this disposition has not served me well.

Second, John did NOT suffer from a messiah complex. He knew that the world already had a savior and it was not him. Because John was free of such an inflated sense of self-importance and delusions of grandeur, he was perfectly content to play the role God had given him and then graciously exit when it was completed. How I hope that when my time comes to get out of the way and let God raise up his next human agent for my current role in his kingdom I will do so graciously and joyfully throwing all of my support behind my successor.

Finally, John had a remarkable ability to see the big picture. John had kingdom vision that recognized the difference between Jesus’ role in the divine economy and his own. He understood how he fit into the divine purpose and was simply overjoyed to be included. Unlike James and John, he was not jockeying for promotion – seeking upward mobility in the kingdom. Greatness in the kingdom is a matter of downward mobility, not upward mobility. It is a matter of decreasing one’s ego and ambition, not increasing it. But you have to have kingdom vision and see the big picture to recognize this. Far too often I am microscopically preoccupied with my own fame, my own significance, my own little fiefdom.

Father,

Forgive me for my tendency to turn everything into a competition, even your kingdom. Thank you for your patience with me as I slowly learn to decrease and let your purposes and plans increase. Lord Jesus, thank you for honoring John’s role in your ministry and then providing the ultimate antidote for our competitive spirit – your crucifixion. Holy Spirit, enable me to join my Lord on his cross, to choose crucifixion over competition, since it is the only way to gain true significance, glory, and life.

AMEN

 
 

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