He must increase, but I must decrease

The overlapping ministry of John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ meant that there was a brief period in Israel’s history when both were baptizing simultaneously. Not surprisingly, some of John’s disciples, concerned for the declining popularity of their master, raised the matter.

John thus faced a serious test, vv. 22-26. Would he be tempted to disappointment (like Elijah, whose testimony to Israel was spurned), resentment (like Jonah, who took umbrage at Nineveh’s repentance), or self-advertisement (like Moses, who pushed himself into the limelight, Num. 20. 10)? Would he lose sight of the truth that service is designed to glorify God, not the servant?

John passed the test with flying colours, his triumph recorded in the remainder of the chapter, vv. 27-36. Firstly, he affirmed his own lowly servanthood, vv. 27-30. As Messiah’s forerunner he was merely the herald, whose very purpose was to fade out in the brighter presence of the Lord Jesus. But this was no occasion for regret. Rather, it brought him deep and satisfying joy to accept no more and no less than the whole of God’s perfect will for him, cp. Rom. 12. 1, 2. Secondly, he emphasized Christ’s supremacy, vv. 31-36. In western weddings the bride is normally the focus of attention, but here the bride is as yet unmentioned, while the spotlight falls exclusively on the divine Bridegroom, a metaphor for Christ which foregrounds tender love, practical care, and earnest expectation. He is the unique One who ‘cometh from heaven’, v. 31, because it takes a heavenly person to disclose heavenly things. But best of all, He is the beloved Son into whose hands the Father has entrusted absolutely everything, v. 35. This statement is astonishingly comprehensive. All God’s purposes of grace and judgement, His eternal programme for Israel, the Gentiles, and the church, are to be effected by the Lord Jesus, for the Son is the unfailing executor of the Father’s will.

For such a One to be magnified, John was glad to diminish himself. To place the exaltation of Christ before the advancement of self is still the recipe for lasting contentment of soul.