The Passage
Jhn 3:22-36 NKJV
22
After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea,
and there He remained with them and baptized. 23 Now John also was
baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they
came and were baptized. 24 For John had not yet been thrown into
prison.
25
Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews
about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him,
"Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified--behold,
He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"
27
John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has
been given to him from heaven. 28 "You yourselves bear me
witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before
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. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 "He
must increase, but I must decrease.
31
"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly
and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32
"And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives
His testimony. 33 "He who has received His testimony has
certified that God is true. 34 "For He whom God has sent speaks
the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. 35 "The
Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 "He
who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
A Little Background
Ancient Jewish weddings were three-part events. Part one was the betrothal, when the bridegroom approached
the bride’s family and offered a dowry or price paid to the family for the bride. If the bride and family accepted, a formal agreement
would be settled. The man and woman
would be known as husband and wife from that moment on, except the marriage was
not yet consummated; there would be no sexual relationship. This is known as the betrothal. The husband would go home and prepare the
home for the bride. The husband chose
two friends who would help him. One
would aid him specifically and the other would be assigned to the bride helping
her to prepare for her husband.
Part two was when the bridegroom would come for the
bride. The friend of the bridegroom waited
to hear the rejoicing of the bridegroom when the two came together. The third part of the wedding was the
celebration feast.
Some Explanation
“...Jesus and His disciples
came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.” As John the Baptizer and his disciples
continued their ministry of baptism, Jesus’ disciples were also baptizing[1]. The Jews began to instigate a disagreement
between John and Jesus. John’s disciples
seem to take the bait and come to John with this accusation, as if to say, “John, you were the one who baptized Jesus and look! Now He’s
trying to take over your ministry, and everybody is going to Him!
John’s response is amazing. When John baptized Jesus, he saw heaven open
and heard the voice of God declaring Jesus as His beloved Son, in whom He was
well pleased. Form his own conception to
the culmination of his life ministry, John knew what he was living for —to prepare
the people for their Messiah, Jesus.
He saw his ministry as a friend preparing the bride for her husband. When the husband arrived, the friend’s duty
was accomplished. Everything about John and his ministry was
focused on the Lord Jesus. John’s
ministry would now decrease and Jesus' ministry would increase.
“He who comes from
above is above all...” John, who
preached under the power of the Holy Spirit, echoes what Jesus said about
Himself to Nicodemus. John knew that
that there was an essential difference between himself and Jesus. John, like all of us, was from the earth. But Jesus came from heaven; His message was
from the Father. John’s ministry was to
prepare sinful earthly people to receive God’s message from heaven. Repentance was needed to prepare their hearts
for the heavenly ministry. Jesus’ ministry
was heavenly—He would be the One who would Himself be THE way to reconciliation
with God the Father.
“For He whom God has
sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.” Giving something "by measure" implies giving a small amount. Jesus has all the fullness of the Spirit. John is declaring the supremacy of
Jesus Christ. Here we see the unity
of the triune God. Hebrews
1:3, Colossians 1:15 , and Colossians 2:9 affirm that
Jesus is the image of the invisible God, in whom all the fullness of the
godhead dwells in bodily form. Jesus was not just a
man filled with the Holy Spirit.
“...He who believes in
the Son has everlasting life...” Again,
John’s message repeats what Jesus told Nicodemus. It is black and white. The one who has faith in the Son, Jesus
Christ, has (present NOW) everlasting life.
Those who do not believe are under God’s wrath.
Observations and Insights
The lesson here can be a difficult one for anyone who
volunteers in ministry. Whether we help direct
parking, prepare meals, teach a Sunday School class, or lead a mega church—our ministering
is for one purpose only: to lead people
to the only One who can save them and reconcile them to the Father. Even the best intentions—to bring glory to
the Lord in excellence—can turn the focus on our own selves rather than pointing
to Jesus. Have you ever attempted any ministry
service only to have your heart wounded because of someone else’s actions? Oh, how we sheep tend to vie for supremacy! John gave no foothold for self to rise up in
defense of his ministry. It was for
Jesus Christ and Him only.
The truth of John 3 cannot be emphasized enough. Our ministry must be like John's to point to the Lord
Jesus Christ and His work on the cross is God’s gift and way of salvation to
mankind. This is the good news—the Gospel.
John 3:36 and John 3:16 are not contradictions. (Note: Scroll over the references to see the
verses.) It is a deception to the church (those who
identify as believers) and a damnable lie to unbelievers to teach that God is
not angry, that there is no wrath of God.
We must not confuse God’s forbearance with His love. God does indeed love the world; He is not
willing that any should perish, but that all will come to repentance (John
3:16, 2 Peter 3:9). He is also
forbearing; that is holds back His wrath for now.
Romans 2:4 tells us, “Or do you
despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing
that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in
accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up
for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment
of God, who "will render to each one according to his deeds.”
In love, God holds back His wrath. He pours out mercy, grace, and blessing so
that we may be led to repentance. But
behind that love and mercy stands a just God who will someday judge us
all. Those who believe in Jesus Christ
will stand before God covered by His righteousness only. Those who have rejected Him, will
perish.
I confess two things.
I acknowledge that in my zeal for the truth, I, like many others, have expressed
this truth in ways that do not show compassion and love. But that does not change the truth. I also admit that my own heart has at times hardened
to this truth so that I have feared sharing Gospel. I often fear offending the hearer. But I have also, feared appearing to go
against the flow of current trends in the church. May God forgive me. Since I have begun reading and now re-reading
the Gospels, my love for the cross has renewed.
I cannot help but proclaim its truth.
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