Welcome to Day 2139 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Gospel of John – 7 – The Preacher Who Lost His Congregation – Daily Wisdom

The Gospel of John – Part 2 Presentation of the Word – The Preacher Who Lost His Congregation

Today we continue our Good News series according to John the Apostle. Today we see that John the Baptizer fully understood his occupation and mission as a citizen of God’s Kingdom.  Let’s read John 3:22-36. John 3:22-36 Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people. At this time, John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. (This was before John was thrown into prison.)  A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing.  So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.” John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.  You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’  It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success.  He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. “He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else.  He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them!  Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true.  For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit.  The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands.  And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.” If you want a lively discussion at your next dinner gathering, ask the following questions: “Except for Jesus Christ, who is the greatest person who ever lived? What made that person great?” I guarantee the second question will quickly dominate the conversation, because we all have our own way of measuring greatness, and we rarely agree with the standards of others. Jesus answered both of these questions for us. As He reviewed history from the dawn of time, He bypassed Abraham, the father of faith, and Moses, the instrument of God, to deliver His covenant people out of bondage. He omitted David, the rugged and humble shepherd, the champion warrior, and the greatest of Israel’s kings. He ignored Daniel, perhaps the world's most powerful and influential man, a leading figure in two of the world’s greatest empires, and a faithful prophet of God. He skipped over Noah, Samuel, Solomon, Isaiah, and every notable figure in secular history. Instead, Jesus boldly named a contemporary: “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!” (Matthew 11:11). John didn’t have the qualities of greatness we prize most in the people we admire. He didn’t move among the rich and famous, the proud and powerful; he chose the solitude of the desert. He didn’t cultivate a suave image; he wore camel hair and leather. He didn’t rise through the ranks of politics and society to become a pied piper of men; he confronted and offended and spoke the truth without apology. Adjectives to describe John would be austere, frugal, aggressive, animated … and weird. Regardless, Jesus, who measures greatness differently, called John the greatest man who ever lived. John the Baptizer was born to be the forerunner and fulfilled his role faultlessly. The forerunner of Christ had three primary responsibilities:

1. The forerunner was to clear the way. His job was to remove obstacles regarding the Messiah from people’s minds. Jews had come to expect a powerful hero on a white horse, brandishing a sword, inspiring courage, and rousing national zeal. They sought a Messiah to overthrow Rome, establish His kingdom, usher Israel into a new era of military and economic abundance, conquer the world, destroy evil, and then rule with perfect justice. Indeed, King Jesus will do just that … eventually. First, however, He must destroy evil in the hearts of His people, and He must establish His reign there before conquering a square inch of land.
2. The forerunner was to prepare the way. With false notions pushed aside, John prepared hearts by calling them to repentance.
3. Then, the forerunner was to get out of the way. He had to decrease, so that Jesus could increase (John 3:30). That made John the Baptizer great.

3:22–24 Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people. This verse indicates that it occurred after His dialogue with Nicodemus (3:1–21), possibly 1/3 of the way into Jesus’s public ministry. In the flow of John’s narrative, the Baptizer had his ministry in the wilderness of Judea. (1:19–36) Simultaneously, the Messiah conducted His ministry in Galilee and the temple (1:37–3:21). John then builds a sense of drama in setting the following incident’s time and place. Judea was clearly John the Baptizer’s territory. Jesus and His disciples came into Judea, where they lingered and were baptized! Meanwhile, John the Baptizer and his disciples continued their ministry of baptism in Aenon (based on the Greek word for “fountain”) near Salim (the Hebrew and Aramaic term meaning “peace”). Both places were undoubtedly familiar to first-century readers. 3:25–26 John’s wilderness disciples (of which John and Andrew were previously two of them) had been engaged in the ministry of baptism, which drew inspiration from the Old Testament and the ceremonial washing of Gentile converts. Furthermore, Pharisees had raised ritual purification to high art, so John’s activity would naturally spark many theological discussions. However, the specifics of this particular conversation are not crucial to the Gospel writer; the confrontation merely called attention to a problem, as the Baptizer’s disciples saw it. So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.” John’s response demonstrates why Jesus considered him the greatest man since Adam. Not only did John avoid following his ego into a trap, but he also corrected his disciples by clarifying four points:

1. All leaders serve at God’s pleasure (3:27).
2. John’s ministry had always been to introduce Jesus as the Christ (3:28–30).
3. Jesus Christ is the author of truth; opposing Him opposes reality (3:31–34).
4. The Son of God is the supreme ruler of all that exists; opposing Him is to choose His wrath (3:35–36).

 3:27 All leaders serve at God’s pleasure John is absolute in his statement. Taking it literally or applying it to anything imaginable is no mistake. Authority, grace, income, possessions, even our next breath—all these things and hundreds more are gifts above and beyond anything we deserve. Everything belongs to the Lord, who has the sovereign right to give or take as He desires, including the authority to lead. Because all authority derives from God’s sovereign choosing, no leader can legitimately claim any entitlement to their position. Those who claim to exercise authority by “divine right” fail to acknowledge their duty to God and become guilty of pride. 3:28–30 John’s ministry had always been to introduce Jesus as the Christ. John must have been incredulous that his disciples failed to hear his primary message or understand his very purpose for being. He had clearly stated that he was not the Messiah, (anointed one) but the forerunner. He then drew upon a familiar first-century image to explain his attitude, which should have also been that of his disciples. In ancient Near East culture, the “friend of the bridegroom” was more responsible than the “best man” today. In addition to helping the bridegroom prepare his home for the eventual day when the bride would come to stay, he helped direct the wedding feast at the end of the engagement period. One of his most significant duties was guarding the bridal chamber during the feast, especially after the bride had slipped into the room unnoticed by the guests. No one except the groom was allowed to go near the bridal chamber. When the “friend of the groom” heard the groom’s voice heading to the chamber, he stood aside. His joy was complete when the groom arrived.  Once the groom entered the bridal chamber, to consummate the marriage, the friend’s mission was now complete. It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. 3:31–34 Jesus Christ is the author of truth; opposing Him is to oppose reality. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not have His origin on earth. While He is completely human in every respect, He is not merely human. We came into being upon human conception; Jesus Christ has no beginning because He is of heaven of divine conception. Consequently, the truth He proclaims is firsthand knowledge, not something he received from some other source. The Baptizer reminded his disciples that their shared mission was to proclaim the truth of God. That is our mission/occupation also. One cannot proclaim the truth and oppose the Word, who is God. So likewise, to believe Jesus is to affirm the truth of God. 3:35–36 The Son of God is the supreme ruler of all that exists; opposing Him is to choose His wrath. John the Baptizer concluded his correction of his disciples with a chilling warning. The Greek term translated as “wrath or judgment” is orgē. A God of love must also have the capacity for anger. However, the wrath of God is not the kind of bellowing anger we have come to associate with abusive people. John described the Creator’s response to sin using the Greek word orgē, which means “upsurging.” When used to describe wrath, it is a passionate expression of outrage against wrongdoing. In this context, it pictures God's passionate, righteous anger cresting the walls of heaven and spilling over onto earth. And while it is indeed a passionate, upsurging response, it is entirely consistent with God’s character, which is also love. Without question, His wrath is fearsome, yet it is also controlled, deliberate, measured, and ultimately just. His wrath is nothing less than a reasonable expression of His righteous character and His unfailing love when confronted with evil. No Jew would admit to disbelieving God. However, because Jesus is the Word of God, failing to trust Him is the same as choosing to disbelieve God. And Hebrew history is replete with warnings and illustrations of people falling under the wrath of God for failure to believe. I refer to this as believing in loyalty. In effect, John said to his students, “Don’t forget that this ‘rival’ you are prepared to oppose is none other than God in human flesh; to oppose Him is to rebel against the Almighty.” Billy Graham is a more modern-day example of a person's impact on the Kingdom of God.  Over 58 years, he preached at 417 crusades worldwide in 185 countries and territories, reaching 84 million face-to-face people and 215 million by satellite feeds.  Graham was a spiritual adviser to U.S. presidents, and he provided spiritual counsel for every president, from Harry S. Truman (33rd) to Barack Obama (44th).  One of his biographers has placed him “among the most influential Christian leaders” of the 20th century. Because of his crusades, Graham preached the gospel to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity. God blessed him with a long life as he died at 99 on February 21, 2018.  Although he was undoubtedly human, and I am sure he had flaws, he always directed all success and fame to Jesus Christ. Success exposes a man to the pressure of people, thus tempting him to hold on to his gains through “fleshly” methods and practices and let himself be ruled wholly by the dictatorial demands of continuous expansion. So success can go to our heads, and will, unless we remember that it is God who accomplished his work, that God can continue to do so without any help, and if any of us need to be taken out of the picture, God’s will is accomplished through others. History has affirmed that Billy Graham was a reasonably great man himself. However, it was his reverence for Jesus Christ that made him so. Like John the Baptizer, he recognized his need to decrease so that the Son of God might increase. Application: John 3:22–36 How to Become Great When I hear someone described as “great” at something, such as music, sports, writing, leadership, or some other endeavor I admire, that’s my cue to watch and learn. I want to know what they do right. For example, according to Jesus, John the Baptizer was a great man—more remarkable than any other person in history. So I want to know what made him great with an endorsement like that! This portion of the narrative describes John’s reaction to a prickly situation in a leader's life: another leader's success. Jealousy and envy among pastors and churches are rampant, even today. Because difficulties often reveal a person’s character, this incident provides an opportunity to observe John up close and then glean several principles that will help us imitate his kind of greatness. First, all leaders serve at God’s pleasure (3:27). Everyone at one time or another has been overlooked, ignored, underappreciated, or unjustly passed over for a promotion or an honor. It’s difficult to watch another succeed, especially when you are stuck in a cycle of setbacks. The success of another didn’t threaten John. On the contrary, he rejoiced in it. In doing so, he echoed the psalmist, who wrote in Psalm 75:6-7, For no one on earth—from east or west, or even from the wilderness— should raise a defiant fist.  It is God alone who judges; He decides who will rise and who will fall. (It would do well for world leaders to understand this.) That’s an essential perspective to keep when you’re struggling to succeed, even more so when you’re on top of the world. All who serve do so at God’s pleasure. Second, joy comes from serving God, not one’s title or job description (3:28–29). Let’s face it: Titles and job descriptions are important to many in our culture. Pride craves the approval of others, and people in powerful positions get plenty of applause and affirmation. John, however, refused to fall into that trap. Instead, he found joy in serving His Lord, fulfilling a role that brought glory to God rather than himself. John’s illustration describes a groom's best friend delighted to have completed his task and then stepping aside for the groom.  Titles and honors come and go. Our relationship with the Lord will stand forever, bringing more joy than we can describe. Third, genuine humility calls attention to Christ, not oneself (3:30–34). Some Christians have a sad misconception that genuine humility stems from feelings of worthlessness. They mistakenly think that “decreasing” self will “increase” Christ. Frankly, that sounds more like depression than joy. Truth be told, the focus of attention is still self. John regarded the exaltation of Christ as the source of his joy. “The only hope of a decreasing self is an increasing Christ.” Don’t waste time trying to decrease yourself by looking super-humble. That’s focusing on the wrong object. You’ll dig into a hole trying to act humble, appear humble, and sound humble. Before long, you’ll be the proudest one in the church. Instead, stand aside. Forget yourself as you exalt Christ. Turn glory toward Him. And without your ever knowing it, humility will have emerged naturally. As you seek to apply these three principles, beware of two common traps: envy and jealousy. People often confuse these two fears/because of the dread of not having/fueling both. Envy has empty hands and wants them full. Jealousy has full hands and never wants them empty. Envy languishes in self-pity because it doesn’t have what others have. Jealousy rants in paranoia because it fears losing what it feels unworthy to own. John the Baptizer avoided both traps. He clutched nothing and released everything to the Lord: his following, popularity, and will. He recognized that God owns it all and deserves all the glory. He knew we find the greatest joy in fulfilling our purpose: “to glorify God, and fully enjoy Him forever.” Is it any wonder Jesus considered John the Baptizer, the greatest person? Next we will learn about Water for a Thirsty Woman. Please read John 4:1-42 in preparation for next week’s message. Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal. As we take this trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more wisdom from God’s Word!