The passage contains a piece of salvation history absent in
the Synoptic Gospels. After Jesus’ baptism, the Synoptic writers quickly
move to report John the Baptist’s arrest and the initiation of Jesus’
Galilean ministry. Only the Gospel of John reports that for a brief time before
the Baptist’s arrest the ministries of forerunner and Messiah overlapped.
John is baptizing and people are “constantly coming” to him; but
Jesus and His disciples have initiated a parallel ministry out in the Judean
countryside. This setting becomes the pot in which controversy and conflict
may brew.
A certain Jew engages the Baptist’s disciples in a conversation
about ceremonial washing, which develops into an argument. Whether the issue
is the relation of John’s baptism to Jewish forms of ceremonial washing
or to Jesus’ baptism, we can only surmise. Whatever the case may be,
a den of controversy stirs, and the Baptist’s disciples come to him,
voicing a complaint, “That man who was with you on the other side of
the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and
everyone is going to him.” Implicit in the words of exaggeration, “everyone
is going to him,” is a tone of resentment.
John the Baptist addresses his disciples with words that recognize
his God-given calling or role and celebrate its fulfillment. Reports of Jesus’
ministry cause rejoicing for the Baptist, not resentment. They are a sign
that he has performed well what was “given him from heaven.” As
the “sent ahead” attendant of the Bridegroom, he has been attentive
and faithful to his instructions, and has prepared well the way for the union
of the Bridegroom with His bride. Their coming together in the ministry of
Jesus completes his joy.
The Baptist’s contentment and humility come to the forefront
in his summary sound bite, “He must become greater; I must become less.”
The total lack of arrogance stands in stark contrast to the resentful complaint
of John’s disciples. They appear determined to protect their turf. John
is free to celebrate the significance of Jesus. They are clueless to the marvelous
work of salvation being birthed before their eyes. John lives in the bounty
of its fulfillment.
The contrasting reactions of John the Baptist and his disciples
to the ministry and person of Jesus meet the reader of John’s Gospel
within the context of another set of contrasting responses, that of Nicodemus
and the Samaritan woman. As Luke places the narrative of the rich ruler beside
that of Zacchaeus, John holds up Nicodemus for examination beside the Samaritan
woman. Both have conversations with Jesus that are confusing yet, at the same
time, filled with saving implications. Both respond to their encounters, but
not in the way the reader would suspect. The righteous Pharisee is skeptical,
hesitant, and will eventually find himself left holding the dead body of Jesus.
The immoral Samaritan embraces with joy the person of Jesus and celebrates
Him as Savior to her world. The affinity between John the Baptist and the
Samaritan woman, and the Baptist’s disciples and Nicodemus, leads to
the conjecture that an interpretive clue for the section might lie in the
statement at its heart, “He must become greater; I must become less.”
The observance of Advent declares to us the nature of God as
one who continually comes to humanity in saving ways. The Lord has come, is
coming, and will come again. John’s Gospel gives us snapshots of what
happens when people encounter the Lord in His saving approach. There are instances
of joy-filled recognition that embrace the coming Savior. Included with these
moments in John’s narrative, however, are responses of skepticism and
resentment. The same Jesus, offering the same salvation, interacts with humanity
in its various expressions, with widely divergent results. The difference
must lie in the human element. Something about each person must either invite
or shun the coming Savior.
Externals aren’t the problem. If background, religious
heritage, sexuality, or social standing set apart those who receive Jesus
in His coming from those who miss Him, we could have expected radically different
endings to the stories of Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. Rather, the problem
must be a matter of the heart. John the Baptist has already led us in that
direction through his message of repentance in the wilderness. Now, he challenges
us again to examine our hearts, lest the Jesus who is our hope comes and we
fail to recognize or receive His coming. We have no greater need than this.
John the Baptist is the guide the Scriptures provide to lead
us in receiving a coming Savior. Humility is the necessary equipment for the
expedition. The Baptist speaks this reality when he declares, “He must
become greater; I must become less.” He lives it, as he rejoices in the
success of Jesus’ ministry. John the Baptist has a proper self-understanding.
He is not the Christ, the promised one. He is not the focus of God’s
salvation coming to humanity. As well, he is not the Groom, to which the bride
is to be united. He is what God has given him to be: the one sent ahead, who,
as the Bridegroom’s attendant, prepares the way for a wedding to take
place. John is content in his role, not hoarding significance, but giving
himself over to the greater movement of God’s salvific activity with
joy. This sober self-understanding is what the Scriptures describe with words
like humility and meekness. It is the disposition of the heart that receives
the coming of Christ, not as a threat or disturbance to be carefully scrutinized
and repelled, but as a gift to be embraced, exalted, and shared.
Meekness is the threshold through which the coming Savior is
recognized and received. As the Christmas carol announces, “Where meek
souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in” (O Little Town
of Bethlehem, Phillips Brooks). We taste the flavor of humility at Jacob’s
well in Samaria and are now not surprised that this woman finds living water
to be shared. We search for meekness as Nicodemus speaks to Jesus and can
see only self-survival, skepticism, and defensive silence. No joyful, “Could
this be the Christ?” is heard here. Then we have to ask about our neck
of the woods. Does meekness flavor the taste of our living? Have we a true
picture of self? Is there joy that exudes from our lives because the Groom
has called His bride and we have the privilege of being a part of the event?
Or is our passion self and survival and security and significance? Humble
souls receive a Savior and quench their thirst with living water. Otherwise,
when the Savior comes, we fail to recognize His coming and find ourselves
trying to satisfy our hunger with dry bones.
(For the full manuscript of this sermon
go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons”)
The writer of the Gospel tells of encounters and conversations
that lead the reader to an understanding of how one enters the kingdom of
God. Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night. The Samaritan woman is surprised by
Jesus at the well. John the Baptist and his disciples react to the ministry
success of Jesus. The stories are woven together and then into the life of
the reader, so he or she might recognize and receive the coming of the Savior
to his or her life. The sermon duplicates this phenomenon, interweaving stories,
conversations, and the hearers’ lives, all with the intention of enabling
the bride to be united with her Groom.
Examples with which to identify include the secretive, cynical
religious leader; the turf-protecting disciples of the Baptist; the excited
female gospel preacher yelling, “Come and see”; or the rejoicing
forerunner celebrating the Groom he attends. As the sermon weaves their narratives
into the hearers’ stories, self-understanding needs to take shape, a
self-understanding that gives birth to humility. Then the cries of our own
hearts can move from “How can this be?” or “Everyone is going
to him” to “He must become greater; I must become less.”
Meek is the appropriate word to use of the babe in the manger during the Advent season. God emptied himself, “being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8). The way of the Savior is the way of meekness. His Kingdom is where the supremely humble One reigns as Lord. To invite men and women to recognize and receive Jesus’ coming is to call them to this Kingdom. A Kingdom where meek souls receive and rejoice.
