John 3:22-36 | What's happening (and who's involved)?

The section that we are going through this week engages with several very important biblical themes that point to who Jesus is, who John is, and how we as believers should hold such hearts of humility.

Jesus and His disciples come into the land of Judea. We don't know everything about what Jesus was doing there, but we do know one thing. He was baptizing people. We know this because John's disciples approached him about it. They likely saw Jesus' ministry as competition of what was going on with them. It is unfortunate that many churches operate in a similar manner. Instead of being a competing ministry, we ought to be a complementing ministry. John reiterates this fact.

First and foremost, John recognizes that the only reason he is doing anything is because it has been given to him from heaven to do and be what and who he is. He is emphatic that the purpose of what he is doing is to point people to the Messiah. He stands as the friend of the bridegroom rejoicing with him that he would have his bride. The section of John's discourse ties together in this statement, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).

Following that statement, John captures why Jesus' ministry must continue increasing as John's decreases. At the core, heaven's authority overrules the authority of the earth. While he testifies that what he has is from heaven, he also recognizes that Jesus Himself is descended from heaven. As such He has the overruling authority. He has the Spirit of God and that without measure. He is a wellspring of the Spirit of God.

John makes the message clear. The responsibility of the individual is not to compete against Jesus, but to believe upon Him. As the Spirit of God abides upon Jesus, the wrath of God abides upon those who reject Him.

What observations are you making about this passage?