“He must increase, but I must
decrease. [He must grow more prominent; I must grow less so.]” (John 3:30
AMP)
We
have heard this again and again as different pastors preached about Jesus and
His cousin John the Baptist. John knew
what God called him to do. Did he go off
and have great rallies and conferences?
Was he a great orator, impressing people with an amazing turn-of-phrase? No. He
was a simple man who dressed in a simple man’s clothes. What he did do was speak the truth. He was a voice crying in the wilderness of
sin and a righteous starved mankind flocked to hear him to have their sins
washed away in the river Jordan. This was John’s purpose and calling; yet he
knew that it was not his final calling.
He knew that he was the forerunner of the One Who would bring permanent
righteousness to spiritually starving mankind.
He knew that for man to reach out for what they needed that he would
need to become less important so that they would see the One who could fully
satisfy their hunger.
“He, the groom, must take center
stage; and I, the best man, must step to His side.” (John 3:30
The Voice)
How
many of you have been to a wedding? I
imagine most of us have, either to their own wedding or to a friend’s
wedding. Who did you watch? Just before the start of the music you saw
the groom well-dressed with eager anticipation waiting for the appearance of
his bride with the best man standing by his side. The music swelled and you turned toward the
back of the room and watched the flower girl and ring boy come forward, then
each bride’s maid escorted by the friends of the groom, followed by the bride
with her hand on her father’s arm.
Throughout the rest of the wedding your eyes were on the bride and the
groom. What happened to the best
man? He still stands close by the groom
with a smile on his face because he knows his best friend is finally obtaining
a long awaited joy.
“It is the bridegroom who possesses
the bride, yet the bridegroom’s friend who merely stands and listens to him can
be overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That is why my happiness is now
complete. He must grow greater and greater and I less and less.” (John 3:30
J.B. Phillips Translation)
I
like the J.B. Phillips translation for this verse because I can see how John
felt about Jesus. John’s disciples came
to him and pointed out that Jesus was baptizing and everybody was flocking to
Him (John 3:26). This gave John the
chance to explain his own purpose and calling (John 3:25-30). As I read this the thought struck me that I
need to be more like John. I need to
decrease while speaking so those listening to me can see Jesus instead. One thing my pastor prays right before
delivering the sermon on Sundays is, “Master, get Charlie Clark out of the way
and let Your Word have its say.” We
should all have the attitude of John; we need to get out of the way so Jesus
can have His say through our witnessing and lives. We must decrease so He can increase.
“Be ashamed and be confounded while
you lay hold on Christ, for the more He does for you, the less you must think
of yourself.” -C.H. Spurgeon
