John 20:30 - Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
3 areas in our life in which Jesus must increase so that our joy may be full
I. Our Allegiance to Jesus (v. 22-30)
A. Prideful allegiance to any earthly person/thing results in confused jealousy
“Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man...It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)
B. Allegiance to “heaven,” Jesus, results in exceeding joy
“For John the Baptist to have wished he were someone else, called to serve in a way many would judge more prominent, would simply be covetousness by another name; if the person he envied were the Messiah himself, he would be annulling the excellent ministry God had given him. Deep discontent over God’s wise, sovereign disposition of people and things would in that instance betray not only unbelief and faithlessness, but the worst form of the perennial human sin, the arrogance that wants to be God and stand where God stands…The rising prominence of Jesus, as upsetting as it may have been to some of John’s disciples, floods John himself with surpassing joy, because that was exactly what he himself had worked for.” (D.A. Carson. The Gospel according to John, 211)
Matthew 11:11 - Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!
II. Our Knowledge of Who Jesus Is (vv. 31-35)
“I am not a Christian because God changed my life: I am a Christian because of my convictions about who Jesus Christ is.” - Josh McDowell
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)
A. Jesus is divine - “from above/heaven” (v. 31)
John 3:31 - He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
B. Jesus is the witness of heaven - “What He has seen and heard” (v. 32)
John 3:32 - What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.
C. Jesus has the full measure of God’s Spirit (v. 34)
John 3:34 - For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.
D. Jesus has supreme authority - “above all” (v. 31 & 35)
III. Our Decisiveness About Jesus
A. “Set your seal” (v. 33)
John 3:33 - He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.
B. This is a matter of eternal life or abiding wrath (v. 36)
John 3:36 - He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
One of the defining attributes of modern western society is for an individual to find their fulfillment in knowing who they are and attempting to be true to that.
The goal of one’s life is to search for their innermost desires of what they want and to live that out.
The ultimate sin is not found in some deficiency regarding a standard of righteousness but a deficiency of not being true to yourself.
This is a characteristic of our popular culture
List to the plot of Frozen 2: Elsa the Snow Queen has an extraordinary gift -- the power to create ice and snow. But no matter how happy she is to be surrounded by the people of Arendelle, Elsa finds herself strangely unsettled. After hearing a mysterious voice call out to her, Elsa travels to the enchanted forests and dark seas beyond her kingdom -- an adventure that soon turns into a journey of self-discovery.
If you saw the movie the Greatest Showman—a very loose dramatization of the showman PT Barnum— you know the bearded lady’s song, “This is me” was one of the climatic moments of that show.
Listen to part of “This is me” lyrics
And I know that I deserve your love
(Oh-oh-oh-oh) There's nothing I'm not worthy of
(Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh, oh)
When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown 'em out
This is brave, this is bruised
This is who I'm meant to be, this is me
Look out 'cause here I come
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
I'm not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me
While the older generation may be saying, “yeah, yeah, that’s the problem with these millennials and what they believe.”
Well, can I remind you of one of your classic from your generation…. (from the sound of music)
Climb every mountain
Ford every stream
Follow every rainbow
Till you find your dream
A dream that will need
All the love you can give
Every day of your life
For as long as you live
Apparently, you older folks started this. :-)
This emphasis on finding yourself, the exaltation of self, has not worked.
The ever-changing desires of man and trying to be true to oneself has resulted in the confusion that we see in our society today in the LGBTQ+ movement.
We have arrived where we cannot discern true God implanted identity markers in biological gender because of the exaltation of how one feels about oneself as the ultimate norm.
In contrast, eastern conceptions of self—tend to be more on the honor or shame one can bring to the family. There is not an individual identity, but honor or shame that is brought into the family dynamic.
· Have you ever seen an Asian or Arabic man or woman dancing around singing “This is me” or “Climb every mountain.”
Neither of those views of self—whether it be “self” must increase or “family” must increase will provide you with a stable identity.
· We do not find ourselves by increasing our view of our selves
· We do not find ourselves by ensuring our family is honored and not shamed.
We ultimately find ourselves by lowering our selves and increasing something else.
Our current study is entitled “Enjoying Life in His Name”
And, to enjoy all aspects of the life God has given, the person of Jesus must increase in our lives
Turn in your Bibles to John 3:22–36
We come to the place in John the apostle’s Gospel where we hear the last words of John the Baptist—the voice crying in the wilderness.
His last words are significant!
In fact, they are life changing
They are the words of life and finding yourself.
They are words of truth by which you will enjoy life in His name
After this passage, this voice, or this witness goes silent.
John the apostle, has strategically, placed these words here for you to consider and make a decisive evaluation about this man Jesus of Nazareth.
Remember, John the apostle, has clearly stated his purpose for this piece of divine literature
John 20:30Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
In our passage today, John the apostle, seems to expect that after God…
- ….sent the last OT prophet—who was not saying like all the other OT prophets that the Messiah is coming, is coming… but the Messiah is here—that we have enough “eye-witness testimony” to decide about who this man Jesus is.
John the apostle, seems to expect that after Jesus…
- …miraculously turned water into wine—as a symbol in part for the masses to accept that He is the Messiah who would bring new joy—that we have enough “eye-witness testimony” to decide about who this man Jesus is.
John the apostle, seems to expect that after Jesus….
- …cleansed the temple—as a symbol in part for the masses to see that we needed a new temple in His body to have access to God—that we have enough “eye-witness testimony” to decide about who this man Jesus is
John the apostle, seems to expect that after Jesus…
- …had to enlighten, Nicodemus, a religious teacher, regarding something that should have been obvious to him from the Old Testament but wasn’t —that mankind must be born again—, that we would have enough “eye-witness testimony” to decide about who this man Jesus is.
And so, John the apostle presents the last words of John the Baptizer as a decisive witness to the identity of Jesus of Nazareth.
Today’s passage, even as earlier as chapter 3 of a 21 chapter book, expects that the testimony so far regarding the identity of Jesus of Nazareth is sufficiently clear for a decision to be call for by the apostle John.
- And so, John the apostle ill call for one
- And I will call all of us to one as well.
Turn your attention now to John 3:22. This is the Word of God.
22After these things (what things? Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus and his attending the Passover feast where he cleansed the temple in Jerusalem. Now Jesus and his disciples move to the surrounding area of Jerusalem) Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing.
23John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; (this is the area of Samaria—where Jesus will go next in chapter 4…it is almost like Jesus is following John the Baptist around. And rightly so, because John the Baptist was “preparing the way”)
and people were coming and were being baptized—[Hang onto this statement because John the Baptist jealous disciples will not remember this in just a moment]
24for John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification.
[Remember John the Baptist came baptizing in water. When we think about all of this “baptism” and “purification” talk, we need to have in our minds the idea of "cleansing.” What is necessary for cleansing us.
Remember when John the Baptist first came, he said, “Look the Lamb of God” who takes away the sin of the world.
And John the Baptist said, “I baptize in water” but you will need something greater—a baptism by the Spirit of God.
In Chapter 2, at the water into wine marriage miracle, the jars that were being filled were ritual jars for cleansing.
At the end of chapter 2, Jesus cleanses the temple—the meeting place of God and signifies that He will be the new temple (or meeting place of God).
Then, when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, Jesus was speaking about the cleansing by the Holy Spirit—the giving of a new heart—Thus all of this emphasis on cleansing was creating quite the commotion.]
26And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan to whom you have testified, [notice the fit of jealousy—they cannot name the name of Jesus], behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.” [Now, is this an exaggeration? Absolutely! Remember, back in v. 23, and folks were still coming to John the Baptist. ]
27John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. [This essential means, God has given me my ministry, however, large or small it is]
28“You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’
29“He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. [In those days, it wasn’t the bride’s family that did on the wedding preparation. It was the best man of the groom. And when the day came and all the wedding planning had been done, it was the joy of the best man to step back and let the groom shine. Last week, I loved pastor Green’s quote—there is a difference between walking in the light and walking in the lime-light. Here John the Baptist’s steps out of the lime light and notice please….from where does John’s joy come…This is me?….find your dream….? Listen to these words….]
30“He must increase, but I must decrease.
[“He must increase, but I must decrease” These are probably the last words recorded in the Gospel of John from the mouth of John the Baptist.
“And what words they are—He must increase and I must decrease.”
Can you put that together with the predominate view of self we have here in America?
And…in decreasing…John the baptizer’s Joy if full!!!
Say “Full”!]
Now, verses 31-36 are debated as to whether they are John the Baptizer’s words or John the apostle’s.
Most believe the following 6 verses are a mini- Christology of John the apostle’s view of Christ
I won’t go into all the reasons why there is a debate, but there are several themes in this mini—confessional that are like the prologue—John 1:1-18
I will be taking these last 6 verses as from the pen of John the apostle, not the mouth of John the Baptizer.
These are John the apostle’s statement about Who Jesus is that we can discern from the evidence that John the apostle has presented up to this point.
John the apostle and all of us should conclude the following….
31“He who comes from above is above all,
he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth.
He who comes from heaven is above all.
32“What He (Jesus) has seen and heard, of that He testifies;
and no one receives His testimony. [this is like the prologue of John—he came to his own but His own did not receive Him, but as many as who did….]
33“He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.
34“For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God;
for He gives the Spirit without measure (implication to Him/Jesus)
35“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.
36“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Today in the time we have remaining we want to understand
Enjoying Life in His Name by Jesus Increasing in Our Lives
Proposition: These last words of the voice in the wilderness and the confessional of John the apostle give us 3 areas in our life in which Jesus must increase so that our joy may be full.
Far from the pop-culture and psychology of the Western culture
And far from the eastern honor and shame culture, this passage gives us an entirely new was of
· finding an identity,
· finding yourself,
· finding your joy
· Enjoying Life in His name…
The first area in our life in which Jesus must increase is in
I. Our Allegiance to Jesus (v. 22–30)
We come to a passage like this where we see adults squabbling
And sometimes we really can believe what we are reading….
Is John the Baptizer’s disciples really, saying,
“(whiney voice) John, Jesus’ disciples are Baptizing more people than us….do something about it.”
Yes! That is where we are…
Notice, what we don’t have in this account
- We don’t have in this account the exact nature of the argument over purification rituals
- We don’t have in this account a discussion of how the baptisms were supposed to be done
What is highlighted is the pure jealousy of John the Baptist’s disciples.
How would you like to be highlighted in sacred scriptures for all eternity for your petty jealousy?
· We have seen and will continue to see many who encounter Jesus will miss the point of who He is.
· But here we see that some who encountered John the Baptist completely miss the point of John the Baptist’s ministry as well.
John the Baptizer’s God-given mission was not to point to himself, but to point to another.
And guess what, he was fulfilling that because Jesus was beginning to have more disciples than John.
What is it in these disciples of John, that would make them say, “The one whom you were pointing us to follow, now has more followers than us John, do something?”
What is it in our own hearts that gets us into such a state of confused priorities?
A. Prideful allegiance to any earthly person/thing results in confused jealousy
And why is that?
C. S. Lewis makes this insightful observation about human pride….
Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man... It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone—C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Some of John the Baptizer’s disciples—simply put—were enjoying life in John the Baptist’s name and not Jesus’.
This is not more complicated than being a part of the latest and greatest movement that is getting some attention.
This is not more complicated than being a part of the supposed “in-crowd”
· John the Baptizer had a sizeable following
· John the Baptizer was getting the attention of the religious elites
· John the Baptizer was getting the attention of the governmental elites. We know from the other gospels, that King Herod was enamored with John the Baptist. And King Herod’s wife was so bothered by John the Baptist that she would eventually have him killed.
· And all this attention on John the Baptizer was in God’s plan—John says, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven”
· But this attention was spotlighted on John so that then he could say—Look over here….at another….
Some of John’s disciples heard “look over here”…but did not really understand “look over here” because they were enamored with the earthly limelight.
Thus, their allegiance remained with John the Baptizer and they completely missed the point of his ministry.
“Jesus’ disciples are increasing!!!! You say!!??? Yes!!!”
“And they would increase by more if you stopped following me and go to him….”
John the Baptizer’s crowds were diminishing because everywhere he went, Jesus would soon follow with miracles, and teaching like no one had ever heard….
John was fading…but John’s joy was increasing….
How is that possible that I have less praise of man, I have less crowds, I have less accolades, I have less influence…but my joy increases?
B. Allegiance to “heaven,” Jesus, results in exceeding joy
For John the Baptist to have wished he were someone else, called to serve in a way many would judge more prominent, would simply be covetousness by another name; if the person he envied were the Messiah himself, he would be annulling the excellent ministry God had given him. Deep discontent over God’s wise, sovereign disposition of people and things would in that instance betray not only unbelief and faithlessness, but the worst form of the perennial human sin, the arrogance that wants to be God and stand where God stands… The rising prominence of Jesus, as upsetting as it may have been to some of John’s disciples, floods John himself with surpassing joy, because that was exactly what he himself had worked for (D.A. Carson. The Gospel according to John, 211.)
Why is it that John could have exceeding joy in the situation where his ministry was at the point of decreasing??
Well, here is a question—have you ever walking out of a steak house, having feasted on the best steak and meal you ever had and thought one second about McDonalds?
No. Because you are full and satisfied with something greater….
When John the Baptizer…
is in the limelight of Jesus, there is no darkness
When John the Baptizer…
is attached to the only one whose praises matters what is the praise of man?
Jesus would say of John the Baptizer….
Matthew 11:11 “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!
How is that for finding yourself…finding your identity
· He who would find himself must become lost
· He who wishes to be great must become least
· He who wishes to be exalted but become humble
· He, Jesus, must increase in my allegiance and my allegiance to earthly people or things for my exaltation must decrease.
John the Baptist’s disciples were struggling with their allegiance to John the Baptizer over Jesus because their knowledge of Jesus was woefully shallow.
Which leads us to John the apostle’s confession with crystalizes and distills what all the evidence points to so far.
The second area that must increase is
II. Our Knowledge of Who Jesus Is (vv. 31–35)
The fundamental issue of the Gospel of John is not that Jesus can heal you.
The fundamental issue of the Gospel of John is not that Jesus can turn water into wine for your wedding
The fundamental issue of the Gospel of John is not that he can give you living water so you don’t thirst as we will read next week.
The fundamental issue of the Gospel of John is not that he can walk water with you in storms.
The fundamental issue of the Gospel of John is not that he can raise a dead man like Lazarus
The fundamental issue in the Gospel of John is what all these signs point to—the identity of the man Jesus of Nazareth
When you come to the appropriate conviction about who Jesus is then everything else will fall into place.
· Your life changes when you believe the truth about the identity of Jesus
· Your fulfillment is full when you believe the truth about the identity of Jesus
The converse is true also…
· You won’t change without the belief in the identity of Jesus
· You will not have joy without a belief in the identity of Jesus
In those moments of life
when you are struggling with sin
when you are in despair
when you are filled with anxiety and fear
when sorrows like see billows roll
- Then I am asking you to examine who you believe Jesus really is!
Apologist Josh McDowell said,
“I am not a Christian because God changed my life: I am a Christian because of my convictions about who Jesus Christ is.” —Josh McDowell
One of C. S. Lewis’s most well-know quotes concerns the identity of Jesus. He is either Liar, Lunatic, or Lord.
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”—C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Your knowledge of who Jesus is must increase
A. Jesus is divine—“from above/heaven” (v. 31)
John the apostle summarizes the evidence…John the Baptist is from the earth.
…and it is time for John the Baptist’s disciples to follow someone else.
The Gospel of John is not about John the Baptist…it is about to whom John the Baptist was pointing…
Jesus is from heaven
John 3:31 He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
The imagery here is instructive if we pause and think about it.
Heaven is God’s dwelling place.
Earth is man’s dwelling place.
If Jesus came from God’s dwelling place then Who is He—God
In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God…and the word became flesh and heaven came down to earth this is what John the apostle said in John 1.
Your knowledge of Jesus must increase!
B. Jesus is the witness of heaven—“What He has seen and heard” (v. 32)
Because Jesus is God from heaven, He has seen what only God has seen. He hears what only God hears.
Notice the witness terminology
John 3:32“What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.
If Jesus is from heaven and a witness to the things in heaven, then what are those things?
Well, we have an example of that in the previous chapter…Nicodemus…are you a teacher in Israel, a student of the OT and you don’t know what the scriptures mean—you must be born again?!
How is it that Jesus has such clear and precise knowledge of the exact plan of God—the knowledge of the human heart and the need for Spirit regeneration
Because Jesus wrote it with His Father in Heaven.
When Jesus cleanses the temple and then claims to be the temple—the dwelling place of God—How can He do this? How does He know this?
Because the origin of any kind of symbolic earthly temple had its origin with the heavenly temple of Jesus who was then walking the earth..the temple became incarnate.
And, as he says these things..the people on earth sneer at him:
- a man cannot enter his mother’s womb!!!!—Nicodemus
- The temple cannot be torn down and built again in three days, you are out of your mind Jesus.
Well God created the entire cosmos in seven he can certain build a building in three days…but the ultimate temple Jesus, the person in whom we meet God is what the temple was pointing to will be raised to life in three days.
The world, in its arrogance, sneer at Jesus as if they are the originators of the temple..or originators of salvation—Oh what pride man has—no one receives His testimony!
Your knowledge of Jesus must increase!
C. Jesus has the full measure of the God’s Spirit (v. 34)
John 3:34“For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He (the Father) gives the Spirit (to the Son) without measure.
John the Baptist and the entirety of the crowds who gathered at Jesus’ Baptism saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus.
Then what do we see in Jesus—in chapter 2? Jesus has the ability to change the created order.
· Jesus, changes the chemical and molecular structure of water which was useless for the joy of a wedding into the juice of the vine for joyous celebration.
What is John the evangelist concluding here when He says, that Jesus has the fullness of God’s Spirit?
· The Holy Spirit of God that was hovering over creation in Genesis 1 that separated the waters so that life could thrive
· The Holy Spirit of God that divided the red sea so that the children of God would walk through the waters and have life
Is that same Holy Spirit whom God gave to the Son without any limits
And one example was when Jesus brought the wedding in chapter 2 through useless water into joyous wine.
· In the past, Moses only was given a partial manifestation of the Spirit
· In the past, Samson and the judges were only given a partial manifestation of God’s Spirit,
· In the past Elijah had a portion of God’s Spirit
· Elisha, has a double portion of God’s Spirit
But only Jesus has the full measure of God’s Spirit because He is God
Our Knowledge of Jesus must increase….
D. Jesus has supreme authority—like the Father, “above all” (v. 31 & 35)
He is above all!
It is with Jesus with whom we must deal in this lifetime
And if you chose not to, then it will be with Jesus whom you will deal after this lifetime…because HE IS ABOVE YOU AND LORD.
So, finally, the third area that must increase is.
III. Our Decisiveness about Jesus
John the Baptizer’s last words in the Gospel of John to His followers was….He must increase.
John the apostle says, he who accepts the testimony of Jesus..sets his seal that God is true
A. “Set your seal” (v. 33)
John 13:33 “He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.
“Setting your seal” is equivalent in our day to signing on the dotted line.
This is a decisive act.
Both Johns are calling us to this!
When we sign on the dotted line and accept the testimony of John the Baptizer and the apostle John and the witness from heaven, Jesus, what are we saying.
“God is true”
Here is what this means….If you deny whom Jesus is…then you must at the same time deny God.
· There is no room for another option.
· Truth without Jesus does not exist
· A philosophy of God without a divine Jesus, Son of God is falsehood.
· That is why there is no other truth other than that which is revealed in the OT leading to the NT.
· That is why the Jews without Jesus are also denying God.
God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit has not left us with any other option here as C.S. Lewis has stated.
And why would God leave us with only these two choices?
Because…
B. This is a matter of eternal life or abiding wrath (v. 36)
John 13:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Your decisiveness must increase
[Gospel appeal]
[Application on how to increase Jesus in your life through FCI]
Finding ourselves in this world only comes through
· Increasing our allegiance to Jesus
· Increasing our knowledge of Jesus
· And Increasing our decisiveness about Jesus.
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