John 3:26-36 “The Exaltation of Jesus by John the
Baptist”
John 3:26 And they came unto John, and said unto
him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness,
behold, the same baptizeth, and all [men]
come to him.
John’s disciples, having
been in a heated debate with the Jews over purification, came to John with a
concern. They considered John to be an
important person. They called him
“Rabbi”. This is a term used by the Jews
for a master or teacher. They also
recognized him to be a man of God not unlike Samuel or Elisha. He was to be revered and held in high
regard. Even Jesus said: (Mat
Notice also that they did
not call Jesus by name. They said “he”
and then they further identified him as to the place were they had seen him
with John and by the words which John had used to describe him to them. These men had been saved but seem to have
little knowledge of Jesus. They had
spent their time following the ministry of John and had not chosen to follow
instead the ministry of Jesus.
John 3:27 John answered and said, A man can
receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
John begins to explain to his disciples how things are
suppose to be. He will, with his words,
explain the error in their thinking. Men
are given all things from heaven. God
has provided all good things for men. A
man does not receive salvation unless God gives it to him. A man does not become a prophet unless God
gives him that authority and calling.
Men do not deserve any good gift from God. God gives us the privilege of serving Him
and it must be always understood that it is a privilege to serve God. John has been given the great privilege of
being the forerunner of the Christ. John
will not allow pride to enter in and ruin this privileged calling. He keeps his position in proper perspective. God had dealt graciously with John. John had done nothing to deserve this
blessing and knowing this he would strive to execute his office as God
directed.
John 3:28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I
said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
John never presumed to be something he was not. He had always said that he was not the
Christ. He had told everyone plainly
that he was but the forerunner of the Christ.
He was but a voice of one crying in the wilderness. These men knew that
John was not the Christ. They had heard
him say that one greater than he was coming whose shoe laces he was not worthy
to stoop down and unloose. These men had
been saved under the preaching of John the Baptist and they were loyal to him
because of what he had done for them.
But all John had done for them was to tell them about Jesus. It was Jesus who saved them. Jesus is the savior. I appreciate my parents for leading me to a
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ but it is Jesus Christ that I follow not my
earthly father. Brother Boots Madden
once said that when he got to heaven and he went up to his mother to greet her
that he expected that she would brush him aside saying son don’t bother me look
at Jesus isn’t He wonderful.
John 3:29 He that hath the bride is the
bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth
and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my
joy therefore is fulfilled.
The best man at a wedding is not sad because he is not the
groom is he? John is saying to his
disciples that he is happy and more than content he is overjoyed to be a part
of the coming of the Christ. They need
not be concerned for the feelings of John thinking that fewer followers would
be discouraging to him. Fewer followers is what he wanted provided they abandoned him to follow
Jesus.
There a some who take verse 29 and make more of it than is
right. There is no lesson taught here
that the church is the literal bride of Christ.
The Church has a bridal relationship in a figurative sense. In
Revelation chapter 21 the glory bride of Christ is described. Those who are written in the Lambs book of
life are a part of the Glory bride of Christ.
Church membership is important it offers it’s
members not only a place to serve God in accordance with His holy will but also
protection from Satan and his desire to devour the children of God. Don’t take church membership lightly. It is vital for every child of God to be a
member of one of His churches.
John 3:30 He must increase, but I [must] decrease.
John now tells them that things are going according to the
master’s plan. Jesus must increase and
John must decrease. John will soon be
killed by Harod.
John will be obedient to God’s calling even unto death. Every child of God should decrease and in
turn exalt Jesus Christ. Don’t allow men
to follow and praise you above Jesus.
Point them always to Jesus. Give
all glory and praise to the lamb that was slain who has born all our sins and
has cleansed every stain.
John
Jesus has come from heaven above and has authority over
every one and every thing. He is God
almighty. John on the other hand is but
and earthen vessel. He is just a clay
pot. He is dust and will return to dust. All he knows is what he has learned on the
earth. He has not seen heaven and will
not see heaven until the day which would see the end of his short life. He can only speak for heaven he can not speak
from heaven. Jesus is God and equal in
all ways to the God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
John
John
Jesus is greater than John for Jesus comes testifying of
heavenly things. He comes teaching
Kingdom lessons in parables. The words
He speaks are the words of the Father.
Verse 32 says that no man receiveth his testimony. Yet in the next verse he says that some do
receive his testimony. The explanation
of this is fairly simple. In verse 32 he
is saying that most men do not receive His testimony. David Corresh came
to
John
John says in this verse that God had sent Jesus into the
World. He did this because of His great
love for man. Jesus came speaking the
words of the Father. The father did not
give to the son the Spirit by measure.
He had one hundred percent of the Spirit of God upon Him. He did not give to Him limited revelation as
He had done to the prophets of old. The
Apostle Paul said 1Co
John 3:35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath
given all things into his hand.
John
John concludes his words of comfort to his disciples with
these wonderful words. The Father Loves the Son. God the Father demonstrated His love for the
Son by giving all things into His hand.
God the Father is pleased with the Son and when He saw the travail of
His Soul He was satisfied. He that believeth on the Son as the savior of men
has everlasting life. He will always
have everlasting life because he has believed on the Son. Those who refuse to repent of sin and turn to
Jesus Christ for Salvation shall not see life but the wrath of God rests upon
him. There are only 2 kinds of people; Those who have everlasting life and those who have hanging
over their heads the wrath of God. Which
group do you belong to? Take your sin to
Jesus in prayer and ask Him to forgive you and to save your soul. Ask Jesus to have mercy on you. Jesus will replace the wrath of God with
everlasting life. You will not come into
condemnation but will pass from death unto life. Make that decision today.