“You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ He must increase, but I must decrease.” – John the Baptist, John 3:28, 30
You know who is kind of a big deal? John the Baptist.
All four gospels either start with John the Baptist, or start to explain Jesus’ ministry by starting with John’s ministry. Considering that there aren’t that many things outside of the Passion narrative that appear in all four gospels (the feeding of the 5000 and the cleansing of the temple are the others), that makes John the Baptist a big deal.
And the gospels continue to refer to John. He is even referred to in Acts, when Paul finds Apollos and several disciples in Ephesus – hundreds of miles from Israel, and a decade or more after John’s death – still ordering their lives on the things taught by John the Baptist.
Sinners come to him repentant. Tax-collectors, Roman soldiers, Pharisees, and even freakin’ King Herod are fascinated by him and want to hear what he has to say. He has a large group of committed disciples. People wonder aloud if he is the second coming of Elijah, and even ask him breathlessly if he is the Messiah.
Remind you of anyone?
In Luke’s gospel his going ahead of Christ starts in a prenatal state, as his parents receive an angelic birth announcement in an old-school “barren woman conceives” scenario. Eventually, love him or hate him, everyone in Israel is talking about him. People compare him and Jesus early on, and even after his horrific death “what do you think about John the Baptist” is a sort of spiritual litmus test Jesus gives to his opponents.
I like to think of him as the Last Old Testament Prophet. He plays a central role in the gospels, and yet, we Christian types really don’t talk about him all that much. Why?
Because he did his job, and he did it well.
His job, even before he was born, was to fulfill the prophecy and be the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord.” To turn the hearts of Israel back to toward their God. To prepare for the One Who Is To Come. To be the forerunner. And then – when the real Messiah stands up – to stand back. The last prophet of the Old Covenant turns it all over to the Living Word of the New Covenant. To prepare the way, and then get out of the way.
It makes sense. But it could not have been easy. I can only speak for myself, but one of the hardest things for me to do as a minister is to stand back and get out of Jesus’ way. To yield the stage, the attention, the ability to influence – to Jesus.
I like attention. I like it when people laugh at my jokes. I like it when people think I am deep, spiritually discerning, and wise. If someone asked me, like they did John the Baptist, “Are you the second-coming of Elijah?” I’m pretty sure I’d be humble enough to laugh and say no, but I’m not sure I’d be humble enough not to let that affect my perception of myself for the rest of my life.
I fantasize about being famous. About being the next Rob Bell, or the next (insert your favorite famous Christian pastor here), or get a VERY big mural with the stuff from Revelation on it and be the next John Hagee, but a moderate version.
Or, if not a famous pastor, I fantasize about writing the children’s book that lives in my head and being the next J.K. Rowling. (I mostly fantasize about the fame, but the money would be nice too.)
Part of that fantasy is the culture that we live in that continually tells us that your worth is based on your name recognition, but a bigger part of that is that I like attention and, most of time, would like to have more of it.
And that’s where John 3:30 comes in. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John the Baptist was famous, not just in Israel but all over the ancient world. He was talked about with awe, so when he said he wasn’t worthy to tie the shoes of the Messiah, people were REALLY in awe of the Messiah. He was famous, and so when he said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!,” everyone turned around to look at Jesus – and then didn’t turn back. John handed it over to the one who was all the things he was not. Messiah, Savior, Lord, Son of God, and worthy of worship. We don’t talk about John the Baptist because he did what he was supposed to do – pointed people to Jesus, and then got out of the way.
I apologize in advance for the very, very nerdy example, but I think of the scene in the Fellowship of the Ring. Frodo offers the ring of power to Galadriel, the Elven Queen. She is surprised that he offers it freely, and she gets sort of excited. You can tell she is excited because she starts glowing, talking in a very deep voice, and saying things like, “All shall love me and DESPAIR!!!!”
Then she stops moving toward the ring, stops glowing, catches her breath, gets her normal voice back, and says, mostly to herself, “I pass the test. I shall diminish, and remain Galadriel.”
John the Baptist passes the test. He will diminish, and remain the forerunner.
Another verse that freaks me out about John the Baptist is Jesus' tribute to him, in Luke 7:28: “I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
Let’s break that down:
1)John the Baptist, according to Jesus, was the greatest human being ever born
2)But the one who is lowest on the totem pole in God’s kingdom surpasses him
Interpretation by your friend and mine, F.F. Bruce – being part of the kingdom of God is exponentially more important and more valuable than being great (or famous).
And when it comes down to it my job is pretty similar to John's. To point to Jesus and say, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” – and then get out of the way.
I think we can say with great certainty that the greatest Christians who ever lived are unknown to us. That they made sure to decrease, so that Christ would increase, to the point that they are anonymous, unknown, and forgotten….except to the One who sees what is done in secret.
1 comment:
Great post Patrick...
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