John the Baptist had been the hot prophet of his time in Israel. He had been the man of the moment with people flocking to him in the desert to be baptized but now there was competition. Jesus, his younger relative, was just down the track at another site where there was plenty of water for baptizing and now the people were flocking to him instead of to John (John 3: 22-36).
How would John react? Would he see it as a competition? Would he fight back or drop out and leave without seeing what his competitor would do? His disciples obviously felt aggrieved by what was going on. In verse 26, we read that “they went to John and said, ‘Teacher, you remember the man who was with you on the east side of the Jordan, the one you spoke about? Well, he is baptising now, and everyone is going to him!’.”
John’s reaction was a surprise to his disciples because he wasn’t devastated. Instead, he willingly recognises Jesus’ pre-eminence – describing Jesus as the bridegroom and himself as the best man - and says that Jesus “must become more important” while he, John, becomes “less important.” To John there is no competition, he encourages Jesus in developing his mission and ministry, he actively points Jesus out to others and contributes to the development of Jesus’ ministry and accepts that in the process his role, position and influence will decline.
In this way he gives us a wonderful example of how one generation can support, encourage and bring through a new generation. Each one of us has the opportunity in our homes, our workplaces, our communities and here in our church to support and encourage others in their development and growth as people and in their ministry for God. And, if those we encourage surpass our own achievements, then that is not a cause for resentment or for frustration but instead a cause for celebration and a sign of our success in effectively grooming those people for greatness.
In Isaiah 43 God says, “Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. Watch for the new thing I am going to do.” By looking for the new thing that God was doing, John the Baptist saw God himself as a human being, uniting heaven and earth, speaks God’s words, full of God’s Spirit, and demonstrating God’s power. I wouldn’t have wanted to have missed that if I had been in John’s shoes but many of his contemporaries did because they were focused on the past instead of looking to the future.
God calls us to be John the Baptist’s, people who are looking out for the new thing that God is doing and then calling attention to it and helping it to emerge. What new initiatives, young people, changing attitudes and roles or social trends are part of the new thing that God is doing in our day and how can we be witnesses to them?
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Al Green - How Great Thou Art.
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