Well, with all that's been going on in our world lately with COVID-19,
there was a part of me that wondered whether we should continue in the series that we've been doing as a church
through the Gospel of John, or if we should focus on some scriptures which speak directly to the present state of things
going on in our world with this whole pandemic.
As I've thought and prayed about that, there are many Christian brothers out there who are writing articles
and blog posts and preaching sermons that pertain to COVID-19 directly,
and I've tried to share some of those resources online and through email with some of you.
I think one of the questions on all of our minds is, when will this all be over?
How long will it be before things finally get back to normal?
Some of us are probably feeling a little bit worn out with just thinking and hearing about this pandemic
and are eager to hear something else from God's Word.
And so as I prayed and thought about this, I think we're going to continue on through our series in the Gospel of John.
When we started this series, what we saw very early on was that this is about Jesus.
John said in the first chapter of this Gospel, we saw His glory.
That's what we've set out to do in this series.
It's to see more of the glory of Jesus.
We want to know Him more.
Not only that, but we believe that the good news about Jesus is what people around us need to hear
in order to be saved, in order to have the life that God offers to people.
And so we want to also be familiar with this story.
We want to know it well.
And so these are at least two good reasons we have to continue on through the story of Jesus as told by John.
And so that's what we're going to do in the weeks ahead.
We picked the story up this morning in John chapter 3.
If you have a Bible, I encourage you to grab it.
Pause the video if you need to.
But get your Bible.
Open it up to John chapter 3.
And we're going to be reading starting in verse 22.
Now what we're about to read comes what's happened up until now.
Jesus has gone up to Jerusalem and He celebrated the Passover there with His disciples.
There was that week of feasting or festival, the festival of unleavened bread.
Jesus had that conversation with Nicodemus about being born again.
And if you haven't heard any of that, the sermon audio for those messages is available on our church website.
So this kind of comes after all that.
Sometime after Jesus was up in Jerusalem, this is what we read in verse 22 of chapter 3.
After this, Jesus and His disciples went out into the Judean countryside.
Where Jesus spent some time with them and baptized.
Now John also, this is John the Baptist, John also was baptizing at Anon near Salim.
Because there was plenty of water.
And people were coming and being baptized.
This was before John was put in prison.
An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.
They, referring to John's disciples, came to John and said to him,
Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, the one you testified about,
look, he is baptizing and everyone is going to him.
So John sets the scene for us here.
After Jesus' time up in Jerusalem, he and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside.
Where Jesus spent some time with them.
And what were they doing out in the countryside?
John tells us that Jesus was baptizing.
He also tells us that John the baptizer at the same time was baptizing people in a different place.
And so you have people going to Jesus to hear his teaching, to see these signs that he's doing.
And you have people going to John the baptizer.
And somewhere in the middle of all of this, verse 25, an argument develops.
There's a dispute between some of John's disciples and a certain unnamed Jewish man.
And interestingly enough, we're not really told what the argument was really about.
I mean, John tells us it's over the matter of ceremonial washing, but we don't really know the details.
What we do see, though, is that out of this argument, John's disciples, John the baptizer's disciples, end up coming to him.
And they say this.
They kind of give him a bit of a report on what's going on.
Rabbi, verse 26, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, the one you testified about, look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.
So this is an interesting moment in the story of Jesus.
And I don't want to read into it too much.
But at the very least, I think we see here that John the baptizer's disciples are deeply concerned.
They're worried.
There's the appearance here of some rivalry, of some competition between Jesus and John the baptizer.
And I don't want to, again, read too much into it.
But I think at the very least, we might say that there's some deep concern here.
Some maybe even just mild form of rivalry.
We notice, first of all, that this all sparked out of a dispute or an argument.
Second, we notice that John's disciples, even the language that they choose seems to be kind of really showing what's going on in their thoughts.
They say, look, or behold, that man is baptizing, referring to Jesus, and everyone is going to him.
Not just some, everyone is going to him.
You can almost hear a tone of lament, or at the very least, deep concern, if not more.
Everyone is going to him.
You can imagine for a moment that you were the owner of the A&W that's just south of town here in Davidson.
Business is going well enough.
You're selling lots of hamburgers and french fries.
Life is good.
You're the only fast food joint on the south side of town that's visible from the highway.
And then suddenly, one day, out of nowhere, someone decides to start selling hamburgers right across the street.
And Dairy Queen just pops out of nowhere.
Now, I wasn't here before the Dairy Queen was built,
but I imagine that the people over at A&W had some pretty slow days just after it first opened.
Now there's competition for every potential customer that comes rolling through town.
And suddenly, here at the A&W, you know, the service that we've been offering people just doesn't feel like it's as appreciated.
Everyone is going over there now.
I imagine that this captures at least something of what John's disciples are feeling.
Look, John, he is baptizing now, and everyone is going to him.
Well, how does John the baptizer respond to this?
We read his response in verse 27.
To this, John replied,
A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.
You yourselves can testify that I said,
I am not the Messiah, but am sent ahead of him.
So, what is John's response?
As John hears this report about Jesus baptizing and everyone is going to him,
the first thing that he says is this,
A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.
In other words,
this is part of God's sovereign plan.
It's heaven that has decided how things should go.
God.
And then,
after this,
he clarifies again.
And I love the words that he uses.
You yourselves testify to me
that I said.
He calls them as witnesses.
You heard what I have clearly said.
And we saw this back in John chapter 1,
when the Jewish religious leaders sent delegates
to ask John the baptizer who he was.
He made it crystal clear.
I am not the Messiah.
He calls his disciples as witnesses again here
and reminds them,
I said,
I am not the Messiah.
But,
don't miss the but,
but I am sent ahead of him.
From here,
John goes into this analogy of a wedding.
Let's read it together in verse 29.
I am not the Messiah,
but,
but I'm sent ahead of him.
The bride belongs to the bridegroom.
The friend who attends the bridegroom
waits and listens for him
and is full of joy
when he hears the bridegroom's voice.
That joy is mine
and it is now complete.
He must become greater.
I must become less.
So,
to kind of give an explanation
of what's going on in this situation,
the way that John sees it,
how he's reacting to all of this,
he gives the analogy of a wedding
and we don't know exactly
or have the clearest picture
of exactly how a wedding,
what a wedding was like
in the first century Jewish culture.
So,
I'm going to try to just translate it
into our culture
for us
and,
and maintain some of the,
the elements that
are here in his analogy.
The bride belongs to the bridegroom
is the first thing
that John says.
And he compares himself
to the friend
who attends
the bridegroom.
So,
we might think of groomsmen
or think of the best man.
So,
imagine
here you are,
you've,
you've come for a wedding
and
you have an important question
to ask,
maybe where to put your gift
or something like that.
You've,
you've showed up nice and early.
The bride and the bridegroom
are not even in the building yet
that you know of.
And,
you can see the,
the,
the bridesmaids
and
the groomsmen,
they're,
they're kind of doing set up.
They're kind of
attending to those last
minute details.
And you can see
one of them is kind of
giving orders
or instructions
to
some of the other guys
and they're moving things around
and carrying things here
and there.
So,
who are you going to ask
about where to put
the gift that you have brought?
Well,
probably that guy.
And,
perhaps,
he's,
he's the best man.
And,
for the time being,
he's
kind of
in charge.
Um,
helping make sure
that everything gets
in its place.
He's been here for the rehearsal.
He knows what's going on.
He's the best friend
of
the groom.
So,
who better to ask
than him?
At the moment,
um,
he,
he's kind of
has
the attention
of people.
They're,
they're looking to him
for guidance
and for instruction.
We get,
we got to get all these last
things taken care of
before,
uh,
the wedding starts.
We need these chairs
set up over here.
We need this table
moved over there.
Now,
fast forward a little bit
to just before,
uh,
just as the wedding
is starting.
Um,
suddenly,
and I don't know
what your experience
has been at weddings,
but I know that
at a number of weddings
I have been to,
um,
the groomsmen
have been kind of
the first
to come into the room
or come onto the stage
and,
and sometimes
even without the groom.
Um,
so they'll walk out
from the side
and
in that moment,
up until then,
during the setup
and,
and up until that moment,
um,
your attention is on
the groomsmen.
Your attention's on
the best man.
You're looking at them
and how sharply
dressed they are.
But then all of a sudden
there's a massive shift
as the groom
comes
walking
out onto the stage
and takes his place
in the center
beside his
groomsmen.
And in that moment,
everybody's attention
just shifts
all at once
from
the groomsmen
to the groom.
It's,
it's his wedding.
It's his day.
He's the one
that we've come to see
get married.
And,
and from that moment on,
the groomsmen
just kind of
fade into the background
a little bit.
They kind of go into
our peripheral vision.
And if we look at them again,
it's,
it's just to see
what's their reaction
for a brief moment
to what's happening
here in the room.
I've had the opportunity
to,
um,
to serve
as a groomsman
on a couple
different occasions.
and,
there's been a couple
moments
where I've been there
up on the stage
and I,
I distinctly remember
that
I was,
I was overcome.
In fact,
I,
I was almost
at the point
of tears.
Tears of joy.
because,
in that moment,
one of my best friends
was about to get married
to a wonderful
young lady.
And I still remember
some of those moments.
Here I am,
standing in my place,
and the bride
appears
at the back
of the aisle.
And eye contact
is made
between her
and between
one of my best friends.
And I just,
I'm just drinking
in that moment.
What is this like
for my best friend here?
I look over at him
and I can just,
I can see,
I can feel
the emotion
just welling up
inside of him.
The joy,
the,
the awe
at just how beautiful
she is in that moment.
Dressed in white.
Precious moments.
Moments that
I was overwhelmed
with joy in.
Because
my best friend
is getting married
to a wonderful
young lady.
And so,
I think that's
the kind of
thing that John
is trying to get us
to,
to see,
to feel with him
as he helps us
understand what's
going on here
between Jesus and him.
It's,
it's like a wedding.
And Jesus
is the bridegroom.
And the people,
they're,
they're the bride.
He's the one
who should have
their attention.
John,
he's,
he's just like
the groomsman,
the,
the best man,
the friend
who attends
the groom.
He's been working
to get things
ready,
to,
to make
preparations,
but now this
moment has come
and it's good.
It's right.
I am happy
that I am
fading into
the background
and that the
attention is now
on him.
He's the one.
It's,
it's his day.
This is what
I've been working
towards.
John's disciples
give this report
of what's
going on
and it comes
across as
negative.
It comes
across as,
there's some,
we've got some
competition here.
We've got some
rivalry.
And in stark
contrast to that,
John's reaction
is the opposite.
It's,
yes,
I am so happy.
My joy
is now
complete
because everyone
is going
to him.
that's what
I've wanted
to see.
That's my role.
That's what's
been given
to me
from heaven,
from God.
My job
has been
to point
the spotlight,
to make
preparation
and now
the moment
is here.
So look
at him.
Everyone
is going
to him
and I
couldn't be
more
happy.
He
must become
greater.
I must
become less.
The spotlight
needs to get
bigger on him
and it needs
to get
smaller on me.
He needs
to have,
he must have
more of
people's attention
and I must
have less.
This is good.
This is right.
This is how
it's supposed
to go.
So what
are we
to take
from this
interaction?
Well,
I think
that one
of the
natural
places
for us
to go
is to
think of
this
as
John
is giving
us an
example
of
humility
and I
think this
is here.
We
naturally
understand
the feeling
of rivalry.
we
understand
that feeling
of seeing
someone else
succeeding
or of
someone else
getting the
attention
when we
had it
before.
I think
we do get
a bit of a
snapshot of
the mentality
of our
world or
of the
just that
desire that
we have
in our
sinful human
nature.
we love
the attention
of others.
We love
the praise
of other
people.
We want
others to
think much
of us.
And John
the baptizer
stands in
stark contrast
to that.
Here he is
and he is
just,
he is a
wonderful
example of
godly
humility.
He knows
his place
in all of
this.
He knows
his place
before Jesus.
He knows
his place
before God.
He knows
his place
as it
pertains
to other
people.
A person
or a man
can only
receive what
is given
them from
heaven.
I am
not the
Messiah,
but I am
sent ahead
of him.
I'm just
a voice.
I've come
to prepare
the way.
I'm just
the friend
who attends
to the
groom.
But the
bride belongs
to the
groom.
The attention
is rightfully
his.
There's
quite a
contrast
here.
It's all
too easy
to seek
our praise
from people,
but it's
God's
commendation
that we
should be
seeking.
So I
think
John the
baptizer is
a great
example of
humility
in contrast
to the
desire of
our flesh
to be
exalted
in the
eyes of
others.
And one
of the
places
that it's
easiest to
see this
right now
perhaps,
I mean,
we're in
social distancing
mode,
is in our
relationships
with our
family members.
We've been
spending a lot
more time
with them
because of
COVID-19.
some of
you parents
are with
your kids
a lot
more than
you were
before now
that sports
have been
cancelled,
now that
classes have
been suspended.
As you
consider your
relationships
with the
people in
your house,
does it
bother you
when those
you live
with don't
notice the
ways that
you serve
them around
the house?
Do you
feel the
need to
inform them
of all that
you did
today for
them so
that you
can get
your thanks
and praise?
Or,
on the
flip side,
do you
see some
of the
work of
your home
and your
family as
beneath you?
Oh,
that job
is,
you know,
are you
happy to
leave that
undesired
work to
your spouse?
Kids,
do you
think it's
mom and
dad's
job to
clean up
all the
mess that
you have
made so
far today?
Because you've
got more
important things
to do.
John is a
wonderful example
here of a
humble attitude,
of a desire
to serve,
and of how we
can have joy
in serving one
another.
And so I want
to encourage you
this week,
how can you
joyfully serve
your wife,
your husband,
your kids,
those you live
with in the
week ahead?
God.
While we do
get this
wonderful example
from John,
it's not
the main
point that I
think we're
to take from
all of this.
It's a
meaningful thing,
it's a
wonderful example,
but I think
more than
anything,
what we need
to take from
this is what
John,
the baptizer,
wants us to
take from
his words.
What is he
saying here?
If we
listen in
again to
these words,
I hope that
we hear it
and that we
don't miss
it.
In verse
28,
you yourselves
can testify
that I
said,
I am
not the
Messiah,
but am
sent ahead
of him.
Him
referring to
the one
who was
with you,
who you
testified about
before.
Do you
hear what
John is
saying?
I am
not the
Messiah,
I'm sent
ahead of
him.
John is
happy to
see people
not coming
to him
and instead
going to
Jesus,
because Jesus
is the
Messiah.
He's
here,
he has
come.
God's
chosen
king,
the one
foretold
by the
prophets
long ago,
he's
here.
I'm
not him.
I'm
happy that
they're
going to
him,
because he
has come.
I should
have less
and less
of people's
attention,
and he
should have
more and
more.
He is
the Christ,
the one that
we've all
been waiting
for.
God's
disciples are
really
listening to
him,
then there's
only one
thing for
them to
do,
and it
may not
happen
right away,
but sometime
soon they
need to be
packing their
bags and
leaving John,
the baptizer,
and going to
follow the one
who is greater,
the Messiah,
Jesus.
The bride
belongs to
the bridegroom.
All of our
attention,
all of our
loyalty belongs
to him,
because he
is the
Christ,
he is the
Messiah.
And so,
I want to
ask you,
as you
listen to
this,
does Jesus
have your
attention?
Does Jesus
have your
loyalty?
if he
doesn't,
then what
or who
does?
Even in
the midst
of this
pandemic,
let me
encourage you
not to
give it
more
attention
than it
deserves.
I'm not
saying that
we should
be ignorant,
that we
shouldn't
read the
news,
that we
should,
there's
nothing wrong
with being
informed,
but one
greater than
all of
this has
come,
and he
is worthy
of our
attention
over and
above and
through all
of this.
Perhaps it's
not COVID-19
so much for
you,
maybe it's
just your
smartphone,
or your
television,
or Netflix.
Let me
encourage you
not to give
those things
more attention
than they
deserve either.
And I'm
speaking to
myself here
as well,
because I
know how
easy it
is to
just get
swallowed
up in
the glow
of the
screen,
in the
palm of
your hand,
or on
the wall,
or on
your television
cart in
my case.
And there's
that desire
to just go
back to it
again and
again,
to pull
that phone
out.
But do
you know
that one
greater than
Google is
here?
my oldest
daughter,
five years
old,
and she's
already telling
me that if
I don't know
something,
I should just
ask Siri.
I should just
search it up
online.
And so I
don't think I
communicated it
the best way
to her,
but I
tried to
remind her
this week
that Google
is not
God.
YouTube
is not
the definitive
source for
wisdom on
the planet.
The
World Wide
Web is a
vast treasure
trove of
information,
but at
best,
it's a
collection of
human wisdom,
and at
worst,
it's a
pooling of
human
ignorance.
No,
we have
something
better,
one greater
than Google,
has come,
and his
knowledge and
his understanding
are truly
out of this
world.
They are
from heaven,
because he
is from
heaven.
And so we
should listen
very carefully
to his
words.
He is
worthy of
our attention.
And so my
question this
week is,
does he
have yours?
It doesn't
matter what's
going on.
The things
that are going
on are
important.
They're
significant.
But whatever
is going on,
Jesus is
still worthy
of our
attention and
of our
loyalty.
Does he
have your
attention?
Does he
have your
loyalty?
Does he
have your
love?
Let's
pray.
Father in
heaven, thank
you for
these words.
Would you
seal them in
our hearts?
And would you
remind us again
of just how
wonderful a
gift your
son is that
you have sent
him into our
world?
Draw each
one listening.
Draw me
into your
presence again
and remind
us of the
truth.
Help us to
see the
glory of
Jesus.
We ask
this in
Christ's
name.
Amen.