Thanks very much, Olivia. Good morning, everyone. Great to have you with us, whether you're here in the building or watching online.
Let's start with a question, and our question this morning is, who wants to be a goat?
That may sound a rather strange question and say, well, why would anyone want to be a goat?
But actually, there are lots of people who might want to be considered a goat.
Here's four possibilities. Who is the male tennis goat? Is it Lever, Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic?
Or who's the football goat? Do you think Pele, Maradona, Messi, Ronaldo, maybe someone else?
Or the female singer goat? Rita, Whitney, Beyoncé, Taylor?
You can probably add half a dozen names, depending on your age and your musical tastes.
In case you're not aware of it, goat is an acronym for greatest of all time.
And these people I put on the screen, to a greater or lesser extent, would have a claim to be the greatest of all time in their field.
But here's the thing. If you went up to one of these people and said to them,
do you consider yourself the greatest of all time?
They would probably kind of smile modestly and say, well, I try not to compare myself to others.
I do my best. It's great when I win trophies or awards.
But I'm really not thinking like that.
If you went to one of their fans, one of their followers, and asked the question,
you would immediately get 20 reasons why this person is the goat, the greatest of all time.
If you want to start an argument with me, you'd come to me and suggest that Djokovic is greater than Federer,
or that Maradona is greater than Pele, and I have quite strong views on these,
and I'm sure a lot of people do as well.
And that's what we're looking at, I think, in our passage this morning.
The question is, who is the greatest?
We have John, and we have Jesus.
And John's disciples are saying to him,
this fellow, this fellow who is with us across the world, don't even give Jesus a name.
He's doing all the things that you're doing, John.
He's baptizing, he's drawing lots of people to him.
And there's almost, John, you need to do something about this.
You're the greatest, you're the Baptist.
Why is this other person doing the things that really belong to you?
Because they thought John was the greatest.
And we won't talk about, obviously, the greatness of Jesus,
but let's just recognize the greatness of John for a second.
Jesus said, among those born of woman,
there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.
In other words, John does have a claim to be the greatest of all time.
Mind you, Jesus then qualifies it by saying that the least in the kingdom of heaven
is greater than John.
But John is very clear here with his disciples,
and previously in John,
that Jesus is much greater than he is.
So if you cast your mind back to chapter 1,
John said,
He who comes before me has surpassed me because he was before me.
And the passage we're looking at today,
as John presents the greatness of Jesus,
and then there's a commentary on it,
which I think is by John, the writer of the gospel,
what comes across is actually there's no question at all.
Jesus is much, much, much greater than John the Baptist
or than anyone who's ever lived.
And what I hope we'll go away with this morning
is recognizing that Jesus is way, way above anyone else,
that he is the one who deserves our praise and our worship,
that he is the one we should be following.
Let's start, though, with a little bit of background.
I think it's always helpful to try and orientate ourselves
as we go through books of the Bible.
And it's very easy in John to say we go from one incident
to another incident to another incident
and perhaps lose a bit of track of the big picture.
So the big picture in John is that John is trying to convince us,
to help us to believe that Jesus is the Messiah,
the Son of God.
And everything we read in John's gospel has that purpose.
It's not just a series of random incidents
in the life of the Lord Jesus.
Every one of them, John wants us to understand a bit more
about the greatness of Jesus and that he is God's Son.
And so in this particular section of John's gospel
we're looking at over these few weeks,
we have a number of conversations,
a number of encounters between people.
We saw Nicodemus last week.
Next week we'll look at a woman at a well.
And then there's a royal official.
There's a series of people who have conversations with Jesus
and gain from that the understanding of how great Jesus is.
But in the middle we have this slightly peculiar instance.
Jesus isn't in this conversation.
It's a conversation between John and his disciples.
And yet it does fit within the flow of what John is doing at this point in his gospel.
He's presenting Jesus as the Son of God through a series of conversations.
And in chapter 3 of John is conversations with religious leaders.
So last week or two weeks ago,
we thought about his conversation with Nicodemus,
who is the leader of the religious establishment, if you like.
This week the person who's in the forefront is John the Baptist,
who's the maverick religious leader working outside the formal constraints of Judaism.
And I think in each of these two incidents,
John has a pattern in the way he develops it.
So he starts with the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus to begin with,
and then between John and his disciples.
And then we have some commentary from John, the gospel writer.
So verses 1 to 15 are Jesus and Nicodemus.
Verses 16 to 21, I believe, are John the writer's commentary on that.
Now, if you disagree with me, please talk to me afterwards.
There are lots of different views on this.
But it makes sense to me that the first part, verses 1 to 15,
is a conversation of Jesus and Nicodemus.
Verses 16 to 21 are John the gospel writer's commentary on that.
And then similarly, verses 22 to 30, we have the conversation between John and his disciples.
And then we have from verse 31 on, John the gospel writer's commentary on that.
So John is saying, here's what happened.
Here's the conversation that took place.
And here's what it means.
Here's the significance of it.
Here's how it shows how great Jesus is.
So with that in mind, let's look at the passage this morning.
So we've got a situation where Jesus has been in Jerusalem, talking to Nicodemus,
been at the feast before that.
And he goes out into the Judean countryside, the area around the River Jordan.
And he is baptizing people.
Now, if we read next week, we'll see it wasn't actually Jesus who was baptizing people,
his disciples, but they were doing it on Jesus' behalf.
Now, the baptism we're talking about here is a little bit different from the baptism
that Graham was talking about, or those who may be baptized in the next month or so.
It is very much similar to the baptism of John.
It is a baptism of repentance.
So it doesn't have the full significance that we would attach to Christian baptism,
of identifying with Jesus, being buried with him, and so on.
It is the baptism of repentance.
At the start of the account today, there's some Jew, and he's not really named,
and he comes and has a discussion with John's disciples about purification.
Now, we don't really know what that discussion was,
but perhaps the Jewish leader or whoever it was was saying,
well, why do you need to baptize Jews when we've got all our own purification rituals?
Baptism is for Gentiles who want to come into the Jewish faith.
It's not for Jews.
And maybe that's what it was.
It doesn't really matter.
What matters is that this seemed to have prompted something in John's disciples' minds,
and they thought, well, we really need to talk to John about this fellow who's baptizing
and drawing all the people away from us.
It's really not right that he is doing that.
And so they come to John, and they say, what's going on here?
Why is this person baptizing?
Why is he taking people away from you?
That shouldn't be happening.
And John reminds them of what he has said from the start.
And John reminds them of the perspective that he has.
It's verses 27 and 28, if you're following along.
John says, I've made it very clear that I'm not the Messiah.
I have my job to do.
I've been given my job from heaven.
And I've done it, and he's done it faithfully.
But he says, I'm not the Christ.
I am only the one who is sent to prepare the way for him.
In other words, don't put me on a pedestal.
I'm nothing extra special.
I'm just a guy who's been chosen by God to do a particular work.
And I've done it the best I can.
And then I will step aside afterwards.
There's no place, says John, for me to be jealous of Jesus
and the fact that he is attracting people more than I am
because he is greater than me.
He's the Christ.
I am only the forerunner.
Great lesson there for us if we ever are tempted to get proud
in our ministry for the Lord Jesus.
To think I'm someone special because I can preach
or because I can talk to other people about Jesus
or because I can do this because I can do that.
None of us are that special.
We're only messengers for God, serving him the best we can,
but recognizing that Jesus sits way, way above where we ever could.
There was a famous missionary, I'm sure most of you have heard of him,
called Hudson Taylor.
Hudson Taylor was a real pioneer missionary in China.
It was said of him that since the Apostle Paul,
no one had had a wider vision for missionary work
or carried out a more systemized plan
of evangelizing a wide geographic area than he had.
In other words, if you're looking at great missionaries,
you're going to have Hudson Taylor on that list.
One time Hudson Taylor went to a report meeting as missionaries do,
and as sometimes happens at these meetings,
the chairman went a bit overboard in talking about him.
We've got this great man, this great missionary with us here today,
doing a great work in China.
He's the founder of the Great China Inland Mission,
and it's a real privilege to have him come and speak to us today.
Hudson Taylor stood up and very quietly said,
Dear friends, I'm the little servant of an illustrious master.
That's a great description, and that's how we should feel as well.
Little servants of an illustrious master.
Anything we can do for Jesus is great,
but let's not build ourselves up, let's do it for his glory
and recognizing that he is the one who is great,
not us.
We need a right perspective.
Then John says we need to have right priorities.
He has this lovely picture of a wedding.
Now, Jewish weddings were a little bit different
from weddings that we would have today,
but there were some common features.
One of the common features was there was someone
who we'd call the best man.
What is the purpose of the friend of the bridegroom?
Well, the friend of the bridegroom,
the best man in our terms,
he's there to reassure the bridegroom,
to make things run smoothly,
to give a funny speech, and so on.
But he's not there to be the main person.
His job is to do the work that he's been given
and then to step aside and to leave the bridegroom
with his bride.
It says in the passage that the friend of the bridegroom
rejoices when he hears the bridegroom's voice.
I'm not sure if that is maybe a reference
to the kind of vows you would have.
As the best man hears the vows of the bridegroom,
he can say, that's great, we've got to this point.
In a sense, I've done the main part of my job
and now I can step to one side.
And John the Baptist says,
that's my position.
I was here to prepare things for Jesus,
but I'm not the bridegroom, he is.
And now it's my turn to leave.
He must become greater, I must become less.
The description Jesus gives of John the Baptist
later in John as a burning lamp.
Someone who came into a dark place
and brought light to it.
But the light that John brought
is the light of the lamp.
The light that Jesus brings
is the light of the sun.
And if you've got the sun,
you don't need the lamp.
And that is what John is saying.
Someone much greater than me is here.
I've done my job.
I'll move on.
Sadly, John was moving to prison and to martyrdom.
I'll move on.
I need to leave the stage
so that he can become greater
and I can become less.
And again, let us learn the lessons from John.
We are here.
We're given a job by Jesus to do.
Let's do that to the best of our ability.
Let's serve in the church and elsewhere.
But our priority must be to raise Jesus up
that he may become more
and we may become less.
Let's move on then
and move to the part of the passage
that I'm suggesting was John,
the Gospel writer's commentary
on what John the Baptist has said.
And we're looking at the greatness of Jesus.
I think John says three main things about Jesus
that make it very clear
how much greater he is than any of us,
than anyone else who has ever lived in this world.
And the first thing is that Jesus is sent from God.
The word sent occurs more in John's Gospel
than in any other book of the Bible.
And 40 times it's used of the Lord Jesus,
God's Son, being sent by God into the world.
And so John is saying here
that Jesus is the one who has come from above,
who's been sent from God,
who is above all.
We said earlier in the Gospel
that John the Baptist was a man sent from God.
But he wasn't sent from heaven.
He was a man who grew up,
who was born at a normal birth,
grew up,
and then God said,
here's your mission,
this is what you have to do.
The Lord Jesus was with God
from before the beginning of time.
He's the one through whom the universe
was created and hold together.
His rightful place was at God's right hand
as a member of the God's head,
the Trinity.
But he was sent and he chose to come
into our world
to be the saviour of the world.
The one who comes from heaven,
from above,
is above all.
Jesus had come very differently
from any of us.
He was God from eternity past
and he chose to take the humble form
of a man
and to live among us.
But uniquely,
he came from God,
from heaven,
sent by God
to be our saviour.
The second thing about Jesus
that we read about in these verses
is that he was speaking
for God.
So that's from verse 32
through to verse 34.
It says,
He bears witness
to what he has seen and heard.
Whoever receives his testimony
says the seal to this
that God is true.
Jesus uniquely speaks for God.
Everything he says
is God speaking to us.
What he has received
from the Father,
he says,
he passes on to us.
He has received it
directly from God.
And therefore,
he comes with a special authority
that no one else can have.
But later this month,
we're going to have a budget,
at least a financial statement
from the Chancellor
and he'll stand up
in the House of Commons
and he will speak
with the authority
of the government,
with the support
of the Prime Minister
and so on.
We'll be hearing directly
from someone
who is involved
in constructing the budget
and thinking about
the nation's finances.
If previous budgets
are anything to go by,
in the papers
in the weeks before that,
we'll read things
that are attributed
to sources
close to the Prime Minister
or senior members
of the government,
always unnamed,
which are largely speculation
about what will happen.
Sometimes right,
quite often right,
sometimes not right.
But there's a difference there,
can you see?
If you hear it directly
from the Chancellor
of the Exchequer,
you know that is
the government's policy.
If you read it in the paper
attributed to someone anonymous
and you're not terribly sure
who it is,
well, it's not got
that same authority,
has it?
So what John is saying
to us here
is all of us,
John the Baptist,
and all of us
can talk about the Lord Jesus,
can talk about God,
and can do it with authority
if we do it from the Scripture.
But Jesus had that special authority
that he'd been with the Father,
he'd seen everything
that was happening,
he knew the Father's will,
and he was able
to pass it on perfectly.
And none of us
can claim to do that.
Remember at the start
of the book of Hebrews,
the writer says,
in the past,
God spoke to our ancestors
through the prophets
at many times
and in various ways.
And that was wonderful,
great to read the Old Testament
and see what God said
through the prophets.
But, says the writer,
in these last days
he has spoken to us
by his Son,
whom he appointed
heir of all things,
and through whom also
he made the universe.
Do you see again
the difference?
Prophets who God
has spoken through
and they got God's word
and they passed it on
faithfully.
The Son,
who is the heir
of everything,
through whom the universe
was made,
who has been with God
from before the start
of time,
he comes
and he speaks
with the authority
of God,
he speaks for God.
There's a little phrase
at the end of verse 34
where it says,
he gives the Spirit
without measure.
Now it's not entirely clear
what that means,
but I think the most likely
explanation of it is
that God gives the Spirit
to Jesus
without measure.
Now all of us,
if our trust is in the Lord Jesus,
we have the Holy Spirit
within us,
guiding us
and helping us
and directing us.
But our lives
are not fully directed
by the Spirit
because we have
our sinful nature
and we like to go
our own way
a lot of the time.
people who wrote
the Bible,
the men who were responsible
for the various books
in the Bible,
they received
a special filling
of the Spirit
for that
in that the words
they wrote
are the Word of God
and are absolutely
trustworthy.
And they for a period
had that inspiration.
But at other times,
they were just like us
and although they would have
had the Spirit in them,
they didn't always
walk in line
with the Spirit,
they didn't always do
what the Spirit
would have wanted.
Jesus was different
in that he had
God's Spirit
in him
in the fullest measure
and everything he said
was God's Word.
If you see the words
of Jesus in the Bible,
you know that what
you're reading is true
and is something
you really need
to think about
and let affect
your life.
a lot of the older
Bible,
I think some of the
modern apps
have the words
of Jesus in red
and I think in some ways
that's quite helpful.
Not that the rest
of Scripture
isn't inspired,
but there is something
special about
the words that came
out of Jesus' mouth.
He was speaking
uniquely
always
for God
and that makes
him much greater
than anybody
else.
And then finally
in verses 35
and 36
it tells us
that Jesus
was sanctioned
by God.
Now sanction is
one of these
funny English words
that has almost
opposite meanings
depending on
his context.
So we're not
talking about
the kind of
sanctions that
might be imposed
on Russia
or North Korea
or whatever here
which are
restrictions.
We're talking
about the
sanctioning
which is
authorizing
approving
someone
in the work
that they're
doing.
They've been
sanctioned
by some
higher
authority.
And so
Jesus
it says
here
has been
sanctioned
by God.
The Father
loves the Son
and has
given
all things
into his
hand.
There's a great
study to be done
and we've
not got time
to even scratch
the surface
of it this
morning
of the
authority
of Jesus.
Of what
God has
handed over
to Jesus
as the one
who is in
ultimate
control
in our
world.
The one
under whose
feet
God has
placed
everyone.
The one
who is able
to say
to his
disciples
as an
encouragement
as he
sent them
out
to be
his
witnesses
all
authority
has been
given to
me
in heaven
and on
earth.
God the
Father is
pleased with
God the
Son
and he
has given
them
authority
over
everything.
And in
our
world
although
there is
much
evil
there is
much
goes
on
that
is
grieving
to
God
and
to
the
Lord
Jesus
ultimately
the Lord
Jesus
is in
control
and will
be seen
to be
in
control
when he
returns
in glory
and he
rules
over
our
world.
He is
the one
who has
been
sanctioned
who has
been
authorized
who has
been
approved
by
God.
Who is
the
greatest?
There is
no
question.
It's
not like
a discussion
about whether
Nadal or
Federer is
the greatest
tennis player
and there's
arguments on
both sides.
When you
look at the
evidence as
John presents
it here
there is
one person
who sits
way way
above
any of
us.
Jesus
is the
greatest.
Jesus
is the
one who
was sent
from
God
who spoke
for God
who was
sanctioned
by
God.
And so
says John
in verse
36
our
ultimate
destiny
depends on
our attitude
towards
Jesus.
Whoever
believes in
the Son
has eternal
life.
Whoever
does not
obey the
Son shall
not see
life but
the wrath
of God
remains
on
him.
Ultimately
the thing
that matters
the most
of all
in our
world
and for
each
of us
is what
do we
make of
Jesus?
Do we
recognize
him as
the greatest
person who
has ever
lived as
the Son
of God
who came
into our
world?
Do we
see him
as the
one who
died on
a cross
to take
the punishment
for sin?
And do we
commit our
lives to
him recognizing
we can only
have forgiveness
through him
and the only
way to
avoid God's
wrath
the punishment
that we
deserve for
all the
wrong we've
done
is through
faith in
the Lord
Jesus.
And
ultimately
that's what
we would
really wish
for everyone
here today
that we
know Jesus
as the
one who
is God's
Son
as the
greatest
person who
has ever
lived
but more
than that
that we
know him
as our
saviour
that we
have a
personal
relationship
with him.
As we
go away
let's go
rejoicing
in the
greatness
of the
Lord
Jesus
but let's
also go
making sure
that we
have a
personal
relationship
with him
and that
we have
the confidence
that in
him we
have
eternal
life.
Let's
join together
in prayer.
Our
Father we
thank you
for your
word to
us today.
We
thank you
for the
way John
presents
the
ultimate
greatness
of Jesus.
For the
insight John
the Baptist
had of how
Jesus is
so much
greater
than he
is.
But then
the reminder
that Jesus
is the
only one
who came
from heaven.
He's the
only one
who speaks
completely
for God.
He's the
only one
who has
been given
authority
by God
over all
things.
And we
thank you
too that
he is the
only one
who is
able to
take our
place and
to die
on the
cross for
us.
We thank
you that
he did
that and
that through
that we
have life
in him.
May each
of us
have our
trust in
him,
receive the
son into
our lives
and then
live lives
of service
and of
humility
for him.
We give
you thanks
to be
with us
as those
in the
building
shared
together
in a
time
remembering
the
Lord
Jesus
in
communion.
For those
who are
leaving us
now,
we pray
that you
will be
with them
and bless
them
through the
coming
week.
We give
our thanks
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.