John the Baptist Part 3: His Disciples
God's timing is so perfect.
My kids and I read some stories out of their kids' Bible every morning. Wouldn't you know it; today's story was one about John the Baptist. In it he was wearing this hilarious hairy coat and a leather belt. There was a picture of some honey comb and insects, referring to the honey and locusts. And though Jesus is always drawn clean-shaven in this Bible, John the Baptist had a scraggly beard. (I guess they figured that a guy who lives off the land and makes coats out of camel hair wouldn't take the time to shave :)
Anyway, today we look hard at John's disciples.
John knew his calling and lived it every single day. He prepared people for the Lord by calling them to repent. But there was a little gap between when John began his public ministry and when Jesus appeared on the scene. In that time, John had become quite popular with a group of men who wanted to know what he had to say and watch how he lived. They were his disciples.
[Jesus wasn't the only one with disciples. Any good teacher back then had a group who professed to be disciples (learners) of that Rabbi (teacher).]
So there came a point where John's disciples realized that Jesus was "stealing" some followers. And that wasn't all: Jesus was baptizing people! That was John's gig! And, like any good disciple, they told on Him:
"Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan--the one you testified about--well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him," (John 3:26, NIV, italics mine).
I wish so bad that I could have seen John's face when they said this. I mean, the disciples even admitted, "It's the one you told us was coming! The reason we repented! The Messiah we've been waiting for! HE'S COPYING YOU!" Classic.
You see, these disciples of John had done the right thing: they had listened to John's message. They had repented. But they missed the whole point: Jesus.
[We, too, miss the point if we miss Jesus. No amount of church, worship, mission trips, campus mission groups, or praise band practice can replace what a relationship with Jesus is supposed to be.]
John's life was lived in such a way that he pointed to Jesus. Every message he taught, every baptism he performed, and every weird thing he did was meant to prepare people for Jesus. If they listened to John and missed Jesus, the message was pointless.
But John knew how to respond. He reminded them, "I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him. The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete," (John 3:28-29).
Translation: I'm not the star here. I'm the buddy of the groom, and he's the one we've all been waiting for. I'm more than excited just to have Him here; this is the point of my whole life.
John lived his life to point to Jesus. He wasn't upset that Jesus was now getting the glory. He wasn't jealous about the disciple-swapping that was going on. In fact, he was thrilled to hear Jesus' voice in person.
And he followed up that little speech with this little nugget of wonder: "He must become greater; I must become less," (John 3:30, NIV).
Other translations put it this way:
"He must increase, but I must increase," (HCSB).
"He must grow more prominent. I must grow less so," (AMP).
"He must grow greater and greater and I less and less," (PHILLIPS).
"This is the assigned moment for him to move into the center, while I slip off to the sidelines," (MSG).
More Jesus. Less John.
More Jesus. Less me.
More Jesus. Less you.
It's not just John's motto and pursuit; it should be ours.
Regardless of the specific call on your life, you should be living like John, with the intention of making everything you do point to Jesus. Giving Him the attention. The honor. The fame. The glory.
Your words, your smiles, your hugs, your class participation, your driving skills, your brain, your career, your hair, your shoes, your hobbies, your willingness forgive and help and love and literally everything you do have the potential to point to Jesus. I'm not kidding. Anything can be the start of a conversation. Every conversation can be the start of a relationship. Every relationship can glorify Christ.
This happens when our lives stand out. When we're weird enough to attract a crowd; not just because we're weird but because we're genuinely and totally sold-out to Jesus, which nobody does these days. (Right?)
So at the end of the day, we can take the words of John 3:30 to analyze if we lived well:
Did I make Jesus greater and me less?
PLEASE subscribe if you haven't! Put your email address at the top right, then respond to the email you get.
@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
My kids and I read some stories out of their kids' Bible every morning. Wouldn't you know it; today's story was one about John the Baptist. In it he was wearing this hilarious hairy coat and a leather belt. There was a picture of some honey comb and insects, referring to the honey and locusts. And though Jesus is always drawn clean-shaven in this Bible, John the Baptist had a scraggly beard. (I guess they figured that a guy who lives off the land and makes coats out of camel hair wouldn't take the time to shave :)
Anyway, today we look hard at John's disciples.
John knew his calling and lived it every single day. He prepared people for the Lord by calling them to repent. But there was a little gap between when John began his public ministry and when Jesus appeared on the scene. In that time, John had become quite popular with a group of men who wanted to know what he had to say and watch how he lived. They were his disciples.
[Jesus wasn't the only one with disciples. Any good teacher back then had a group who professed to be disciples (learners) of that Rabbi (teacher).]
So there came a point where John's disciples realized that Jesus was "stealing" some followers. And that wasn't all: Jesus was baptizing people! That was John's gig! And, like any good disciple, they told on Him:
"Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan--the one you testified about--well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him," (John 3:26, NIV, italics mine).
I wish so bad that I could have seen John's face when they said this. I mean, the disciples even admitted, "It's the one you told us was coming! The reason we repented! The Messiah we've been waiting for! HE'S COPYING YOU!" Classic.
You see, these disciples of John had done the right thing: they had listened to John's message. They had repented. But they missed the whole point: Jesus.
[We, too, miss the point if we miss Jesus. No amount of church, worship, mission trips, campus mission groups, or praise band practice can replace what a relationship with Jesus is supposed to be.]
John's life was lived in such a way that he pointed to Jesus. Every message he taught, every baptism he performed, and every weird thing he did was meant to prepare people for Jesus. If they listened to John and missed Jesus, the message was pointless.
But John knew how to respond. He reminded them, "I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him. The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete," (John 3:28-29).
Translation: I'm not the star here. I'm the buddy of the groom, and he's the one we've all been waiting for. I'm more than excited just to have Him here; this is the point of my whole life.
John lived his life to point to Jesus. He wasn't upset that Jesus was now getting the glory. He wasn't jealous about the disciple-swapping that was going on. In fact, he was thrilled to hear Jesus' voice in person.
And he followed up that little speech with this little nugget of wonder: "He must become greater; I must become less," (John 3:30, NIV).
Other translations put it this way:
"He must increase, but I must increase," (HCSB).
"He must grow more prominent. I must grow less so," (AMP).
"He must grow greater and greater and I less and less," (PHILLIPS).
"This is the assigned moment for him to move into the center, while I slip off to the sidelines," (MSG).
More Jesus. Less John.
More Jesus. Less me.
More Jesus. Less you.
It's not just John's motto and pursuit; it should be ours.
Regardless of the specific call on your life, you should be living like John, with the intention of making everything you do point to Jesus. Giving Him the attention. The honor. The fame. The glory.
Your words, your smiles, your hugs, your class participation, your driving skills, your brain, your career, your hair, your shoes, your hobbies, your willingness forgive and help and love and literally everything you do have the potential to point to Jesus. I'm not kidding. Anything can be the start of a conversation. Every conversation can be the start of a relationship. Every relationship can glorify Christ.
This happens when our lives stand out. When we're weird enough to attract a crowd; not just because we're weird but because we're genuinely and totally sold-out to Jesus, which nobody does these days. (Right?)
So at the end of the day, we can take the words of John 3:30 to analyze if we lived well:
Did I make Jesus greater and me less?
PLEASE subscribe if you haven't! Put your email address at the top right, then respond to the email you get.
@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
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