John 3 - Jesus, Greater than John
These pulpit notes are provided unedited and will thus contain some grammatical or typographical errors.
Good morning, everyone, you can open your Bibles to the third chapter of the gospel of John. We will be focusing upon verse 22 to the end of the chapter.
Happy New Year!
New Year’s Day is interesting, isn’t it? I mean, in the grand scheme of things, it is a day like any other day, isn’t it? There is nothing inherently different or new about today. Yet, because we’ve reached the end of our calendar year, we mark it as a day of significance. So significant in fact that we like to mark it as a day of new starts, or new beginnings. We like to think of it as the beginning of a new era. A new era of self-discipline! A new era of diet! A new era of new habits, etc., etc.
And so, last night you may have gathered with friends to bid goodbye to the past year, and to celebrate the beginning of a new one. For some of you, the last year has been a tough one and you welcome this new beginning. For others, you look forward to the new year because you have big plans or big expectations.
Although the focus on New Year’s day may seem a bit contrived or arbitrary, the fact is, God has actually designed time to cycle in such a way as to provide us with such new beginnings. He has designed day and night, to provide us with a new beginning every morning. A new beginning every week, every month, and yes, every year. He has wired us to need and appreciate such fresh starts. He has made us to look forward with hope to new beginnings.
Well, in our passage this morning we witness just such a transition. We see the setting of one era and the dawning of a new era. We see a tremendous shift take place within redemptive history as the era of Old Testament prophets comes to a final close, and the age of fulfillment begins to dawn.
These two eras are represented in our text by two key figures, John the Baptist, the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, and Jesus Christ, the fulfillment to which all the prophets pointed.
In our text, John the Baptist himself testifies to his own disciples that a new day was dawning, that the time had come for him to fade into the distance and for Jesus to take center stage. Look at verse 30:
John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease."
Now let’s read the entire text:
John 3:22-36 ¶ 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). 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." 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." 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. 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. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 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.
After Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus in Jerusalem, he and his disciples went into the countryside of Judea. Jesus’ fame and notoriety increased after his miracles in Cana and Jerusalem and after his cleansing of the temple, and so men and women streamed to him, believing that he was the Christ and being baptized in his name.
It says in verse 23 that Jesus was baptizing but we know from the next chapter that it was Jesus’ disciples who were baptizing others, on Jesus’ behalf (4:2).
Jesus and his disciples were not the only ones baptizing and making disciples however. Look in verse 23:
John 3:23-24 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).
At this point in time, the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus were overlapping. Although John had previously testified that Jesus was the lamb of God and that his disciples ought to believe in and follow him, John continued to preach and continued to make disciples.
This only makes sense. Word did not travel the way it does today. Jesus could only be in one place at one time during his earthly ministry and so John served an important function. He preached a message of repentance and called men and women to prepare their hearts for the Messiah, and to be baptized as evidence of that repentance. He paved the way for Jesus, by preparing the hearts of people to receive him.
John served as one to continually point others to Jesus.
However, the relationship between John’s ministry and Jesus’ ministry was not entirely understood by even John’s disciples. Look in verse 25:
John 3:25-26 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."
An unnamed Jew approached some of John’s disciples and questioned them regarding purification. He, like the Pharisees mentioned in chapter 1, probably had questions regarding why John was baptizing and how his baptism compared to other Jewish rites of purification. Apparently, as part of the conversation it was pointed out that Jesus was also baptizing. Not only was he baptizing, but he was baptizing even more disciples than John.
John’s disciples were not happy to hear this. They did not fully grasp the identity of Jesus or the significance of his ministry. In their minds, the increase in his influence was hurting John’s influence. They bring their concern to John and say “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness--look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him."
Well, how will John the Baptist respond to this? Will he share the jealous, rivalrous attitude of his disciples? Will he see Jesus and his ministry as competition for his own? Will he try to hold on to his disciples out of fear of losing them to Jesus? Of course not.
What follows from John the Baptist and later from John the Apostle, are the reasons why Jesus is far superior to John and why all men should follow him. What John will reveal is that his era, the era of the prophets, was beginning to see its end and the new era, the era of the Messiah was dawning.
What John is going to show is us that Jesus is the exclusive, Spirit-filled Son of God, entrusted with all authority to testify of, and carry out the Father's plan to save his chosen people from their sin, so that if any would have eternal life, they must believe in and obey Jesus.
We will divide this text into 4 points, focusing upon the superiority of Jesus to John and any other prophet who came before him.
- Jesus is the one espoused to the chosen bride.
John 3:27-30 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 responds to his disciples concerns by assuring them that Jesus’ authority, and growing notoriety is God-given. This ministry has been given to Jesus “from heaven”, that is from God.
Besides this, John says, “I told you that I am not the Messiah.” “I am not the Christ.” “I’ve simply been sent before him, to prepare people to receive him.” Then John says something interesting. He uses an analogy of sorts, or tells a mini-parable:
John 3:29-30 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 likens himself to the friend of a groom. Like a best man. In doing so, he presents Jesus as the groom, and those who believe in Jesus as the bride.
In a first century Jewish wedding, it was the job of the best man, or the friend of the groom, to be busy making preparations for the wedding and acting as a servant to the groom. The friend of the groom would work hard to make things happen as smoothly as possible for the groom in the run up to the wedding ceremony.
Well, if all of the friends work and effort was put into making the wedding day go smoothly for the groom, then when that day came and things went as planned, that best man would be very happy, wouldn’t he? After all, this was the day he was waiting for. This was the day he was working towards. To see the groom take his bride, would be a source of joy.
It's perverse to think that the best man would be jealous of the groom. It’s the height of selfishness for the best man to want the spotlight on the groom’s wedding day. It reveals a complete misunderstanding of the best man’s job if he makes himself the focus of the wedding.
So John says, like a best man who has worked so hard making preparations for an excellent wedding day, he now rejoices to see the groom take his bride. He rejoices to see Jesus step into the spotlight and for his chosen bride to come to him.
Now John was a prophet. He was very familiar with the Old Testament and was surely familiar with how other prophets had employed the imagery of a wedding in looking forward to the Christ. He would have been familiar with the prophecy of Isaiah in Isaiah 62.
In this text, Isaiah tells of a future time when God would save and restore a remnant of believing Jews. He would transform them from a forsaken and desolated people into a loved and cherished bride.
Isaiah 62:4-5 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
The day is coming, Isaiah says, when God would rejoice over a saved remnant of Jews just as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride on their wedding day.
John the Baptist understands the success of Jesus’ ministry to be inauguration of such a restoration. Those who are coming to Jesus, and being baptized in his name, are part of this chosen remnant whom the Father has chosen as a bride for his Son.
John was aware of Isaiah’s use of wedding imagery in describing coming salvation through the Messiah, just as he would have been familiar with other such prophecies in Jeremiah (2:2); and Hosea (2:16-20). John sees in Jesus’ ministry, and so many streaming to him to be baptized, a fulfillment of the prophecies of a coming wedding day. A wedding day for which John’s ministry was preparing.
So, John tells his disciples, I am not the groom, Jesus is the groom. I’m just the best man; I’m just the friend of the bridegroom. The time has come for the groom to receive his bride, which means the time has come for me to take a back seat and simply rejoice in this new era.
By the way, if you are a Christian this morning, that is, if you have believed in Jesus as the Son of God who died in your place, and are trusting him alone for salvation, then you are part of that bride.
- The Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians regarding their apparent unfaithfulness to Christ:
2 Corinthians 11:2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
- The Apostle John later in the book of Revelation presents the New Jerusalem, populated by all those who have believed in Jesus as “bride adorned for her husband.” (Rev 21:2)
- Jesus himself told a parable in which he described his second coming as a groom, after a time of delay, returning to take his bride to be with himself.
In this way, the church, believers – you and I, are the bride of Jesus. He is the perfect, loving husband. As Paul said to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
This is powerful imagery, isn’t it? Especially when you consider that the church is made up of sinners. The church is comprised of men and women who have defiled themselves in all sorts of ways. Men and women who have lived in years of unfaithfulness to God. Yet, it is just such people whom the Father has chosen as a bride for his Son. It is these who the Son not only receives, but dies for. Not only dies for, but purifies. Not only purifies, but one day will present to himself in splendor, without a spot of sin or an unholy blemish.
Jesus is the groom to his bride, the church. And he is the only one. John the Baptist knew he was not the groom, he was simply best man. He assures his disciples, “I am not jealous. Instead, ‘this joy of mine is now complete.”
Look at what he concludes in verse 30:
John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease."
The time has come for John to fade into the background. The sun is setting on the age of the Old Testament prophets and the age of fulfillment is dawning. The era of the Old Covenant is passing, and the era of the New Covenant as arrived.
The work of the friend of the bridegroom is complete, and how the spotlight must shine exclusively upon Jesus because Jesus is the one espoused to the chosen bride.
Now what happens next in our passage is that it appears that John the Apostle, the writer of the gospel of John finishes the chapter with additional commentary on the superiority of Jesus, in line with what John the Baptist has begun.
In addition to presenting Jesus as the one espoused to the chosen bride, John adds that:
- Jesus it the one endowed with heavenly knowledge.
John 3:31-33 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. 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.
Whereas John is merely the friend of the groom, Jesus is the groom. Whereas John is merely an earthly prophet, Jesus is of heavenly origin. Whereas John spoke in an earthly way, Jesus testified of what he had seen and heard in heaven itself.
Here John alludes to what Jesus told Nicodemus just a few verses earlier:
John 3:11-13 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
Jesus exclusively is one who has descended from heaven. As such, he speaks with authority regarding the divine plan. Jesus alone can testify regarding the fullness of God’s plan of salvation. What Jesus says must be received as authoritative truth. He is a first-hand witness to the Father’s plan of salvation for the world.
So, Jesus can say authoritatively:
John 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
And later:
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
And because he is the one sent from Heaven, by the Father, testifying to the Father’s plan of salvation, those who receive his testimony, that salvation is through him and him alone, are also affirming that what God has testified about salvation is true. This is why John says in verse 3:33:
John 3:33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.
To receive the words of Jesus is to receive the words of God. To accept Jesus’ words as truth is to agree with God that Jesus is God’s Messiah. To believe what Jesus says is to receive Jesus as what God has declared him to be – his only Son, come from Heaven, to save the world.
1 John 5:9-13 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 ¶ Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
It is Jesus and Jesus alone who has come from heaven, declaring a heavenly message as a first-hand witness, regarding the Father’s plan of salvation. Salvation is through him and him alone. If one is to be true to God, he must receive Jesus’ testimony regarding how one must be saved – through him alone.
So, we’ve learned that:
- Jesus as the one espoused to the chosen bride.
- Jesus it the one endowed with heavenly knowledge.
Next, John sets for the superiority of Jesus, but stating that:
- Jesus is the one empowered by the Holy Spirit.
John 3:34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
Although prophets of the past spoke as the Holy Spirit moved them, Jesus is different and far superior. Jesus the Messiah possesses the Spirit without measure. An absolute fullness of the Holy Spirit’s power.
It was John the Baptist who testified earlier in chapter 1:
John 1:32 And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.
Unlike John the Baptist or any other prophet, the Spirit of God not only descended upon but remained on Jesus. His words, his behaviour, his miracles, all empowered by the Spirit of God (Mat 12:28). Jesus, in his incarnation, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and as a man was empowered by the Spirit – and that with no limit.
Jesus, unlike John the Baptist or any other prophet, was filled with the absolute fullness of the Spirit.
600 years earlier, Isaiah foretold that God’s chosen one would come with such Spirit fullness.
Isaiah 11:1-2 ¶ There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
Isaiah 42:1 ¶ Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.
And then there’s that text which Jesus himself read in the synagogue, kicking off his ministry:
Isaiah 61:1 ¶ The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Jesus concluded his reading of this text in the synagogue by saying “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. (Luke 4:21)"
A new era has dawned, the era of the New Covenant has come. A new era has dawned, an era of fulfillment has come. John must decrease, and Jesus must increase. Why? Because Jesus is the one come from heaven, full of the Spirit of God, testifying as a first-hand witness regarding God’s plan to save humanity.
In the power of the Spirit, Jesus has come to speak words of divine wisdom, divine counsel, and divine might. In the power of the Spirit, Jesus has come to bring the gospel to the poor; to heal the broken-hearted; to break men and women out of the prison of their sin.
This is a magnitude of spiritual power the likes of which was entirely unknown to John the Baptist or any previous prophet. Jesus is superior as is the dawning messianic age because Jesus is the one empowered by the Holy Spirit.
John’s case for the superiority of Christ is not finished however. He continues and sort of summarizes in verse 35 by stating that.
- Jesus is the one entrusted with absolute authority
John 3:35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.
God the Father has entrusted all authority to the Son. The Son has complete authority to save and to judge. He has authority to grant eternal life to whomever he chooses. He even has authority to lay down his life and take it again. For the purpose of carrying out God’s plan of salvation for the world, the Son has been given absolute authority.
As we will see, this handing over of absolute authority to the Son has far-reaching consequence for you and I.
John 5:22-23 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
Because Jesus and Jesus alone has been entrusted with absolute authority in terms of salvation, any who would be saved must honor the Son just as they would honor the Father. That is, there is no relationship with the Father, except through the Son. There is no, “I believe in God, but I reject Jesus”. If one refuses to give the same honour to Jesus that is due the Father, then the Father is not honoured at all.
This text is an explicit statement of the divinity of Jesus Christ. If Jesus is not entirely equal with the Father, then this statement by Jesus is blasphemous.
If the Father deserves reverence, then the Son deserves reverence. If the Father deserves obedience, then the Son deserves obedience. If the Father deserves worship, then the Son deserves worship.
Beyond this, if one would revere, or obey, or worship the Father, he must do so via reverence, and obedience and worship of the Son.
Why? Because all things have been given into his hand. Jesus is the one entrusted with absolute authority
So now considering that:
- Jesus is the one espoused to the chosen bride.
- Jesus is the one endowed with heavenly knowledge.
- Jesus is the one empowered by the Spirit.
- Jesus is the one entrusted with absolute authority.
What does that mean for us and how we can be saved? What does it mean insofar as how we should respond to Jesus? That brings us to our last point:
- Jesus is the one in whom we must believe.
John 3:36 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.
As a consequence of everything we’ve just seen regarding the superiority of the Son, the natural conclusion is that whoever believes this testimony regarding the Son, has eternal life.
But, notice what John offers as the alternative to believing in the Son. He says:
John 3:36 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.
This tells us something very interesting about the Bible’s use of the word belief in regard to Jesus. Instead of saying “whoever believes” and “whoever does not believe”, John says “whoever believes” and “whoever does not obey.” The indication being that the opposite of belief, is disobedience. In other words, the type of belief which we are to render to Jesus, which results in eternal life is a belief which features obedience.
This makes sense when you consider the testimony we’ve just read concerning Jesus. He is the exclusive, Spirit-filled Son of God, entrusted with all authority to testify of, and carry out the Father's plan to save his chosen people from their sin.
Jesus’ call to salvation is a call to repentance. It is a call to follow him. It is a call to submit to his authority. It is a call to embrace him as one’s Lord and Master. Jesus call to believe in him, is a call to obey him.
When the Apostle Paul sought to encourage the church in Thessalonica which was suffering under persecution, he said this:
2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 ¶ This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering-- 6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.
Punishment, eternal destruction, flaming fire, vengeance, why? Because God the Father has invested all his power, and authority in his Son. To refuse to believe in Jesus is to refuse to believe all that the Father has testified regarding his Son. There is no escaping the fact that to refuse to believe in Jesus is to disobey the Father. Therefore, if one rejects the one whom the Father has sent, that one will suffer judgment from the Father – a judgment which, in an act of divine irony, the Father has also entrusted to the Son. Those who rebel against God, by rejecting his Son, will suffer God’s judgment at the hand of his Son.
For the one who rejects the Son, the wrath of God is not removed from him, but remains on him.
CONCLUSION
John the Baptist’s disciples did not grasp the magnitude of the shift which was happening in redemptive history when Jesus came on the scene. They saw Jesus’ success as a threat to John’s ministry. John explained to them that this transition was not only necessary but the object of his great joy. John the Baptist got to see a new era dawn. He had the privilege of paving the way for the ushering in of the New Covenant. He got to witness the groom begin to collect his bride. He got to see the one with exclusive, heavenly knowledge begin to testify of God’s plan of salvation. He got to see the one to whom Isaiah pointed, who would be entirely filled with the power of the Spirit. He got to see the one who was trusted with absolute authority. John rejoiced to see all of this fulfilled in Jesus and was then entirely satisfied to say “he must increase, but I must decrease.”
This morning, will you believe that Jesus is the exclusive, Spirit-filled Son of God, entrusted with all authority to testify of, and carry out the Father's plan to save his chosen people from their sin, so that if any would have eternal life, they must believe in and obey him?
If you would, then today would mark far more than a New Year for you, it would mark the beginning of a new spiritual life!