By: Eu Hong Seng.
John 3:30
John the Baptist caused quite a stir in his time, and developed quite a following. His preaching was startling, convicting and passionate. Even Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist” (Matt 11:11).
Yet since John’s mission was to go before Jesus and prepare the way for Him (Mk 1:2-3), the time came when John needed to take the back seat and allow Jesus to come to the fore. It is with much grace and humility that John says, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). What can we learn from this statement?
First, “permanent inferiority” is OK!
John was always no where near to Jesus—and he was perfectly comfortable with this! John never deviated from this simple message: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt 3:11). John had no pretensions of greater glory than the coming Christ.
The Pharisees sent a list of questions to John—whether he was the prophet, or the Christ, or Elijah resurrected—and John never agreed to any inaccurate designation (Jn 1:19-26). John knew who he was—and that he was “inferior” to Jesus—and that didn’t bother him. Instead, “He must increase, but I must decrease” reflects a mindset of complete humility in the face of one greater.
Yes, we too need to learn that it is alright for us to not be first, most popular, best looking, most intelligent, or most notable – even permanently! Decrease means that we do not lust after preeminence, like Diotrephes (3 John 9). It means that when we come to the place of realization that if nobody cares about our opinion and neither does God, we are perfectly at peace. Only let Jesus Christ be glorified.
Secondly, John shows us that passing the torch is natural but it requires humility. “He must increase, but I must decrease” is the thought of each passing generation of God’s leaders who are looking to the future of Christ’s cause.
It was the thought of Moses in preparing Joshua, and David preparing Solomon, and Paul preparing Timothy and Titus.
We should never think that when the new generation takes the reins of leadership, it is easy for those relinquishing the reins, especially for the generation accustomed to them! We desperately need the humility to say that we are not as important as the fate of a local church, or the development of leaders in worship and preaching and teaching. Let us promote and encourage younger leaders, acknowledging that they must increase, and I must decrease.
Consider what might have happened had John not stepped aside for Jesus—a power struggle, competing teachers and disciples, and a prevention of many disciples from coming to Jesus. Yet John ceding to Jesus allowed Jesus to say, “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matt 11:11). The gospel can make us greater than we could ever be on our own—and John’s stepping aside allowed that gospel to come in its full power. We may advance the gospel, or detract from its advance. We must guard against an inflated sense of self in spiritual matters!
Christ increasing in our lives and us decreasing, result in us being less quick to correct everyone, less touchy, less easily offended, less rude and less insistent.
“He must increase, but I must decrease” is a outworking of a humble heart. Are we pursuing this humility?