The Joy of Second Place Text: John 3:22-36
Introduction: The Ministry of Pointing
We live in an age that is pathologically obsessed with self. Our culture is a hall of mirrors, where everyone is encouraged to gaze lovingly at their own reflection, to find their own truth, to promote their own brand. Ministry is not immune to this. It is tragically easy for a man to begin by preaching Christ and end by preaching himself, to gather a following not for the King, but for his own petty kingdom. The temptation is to measure success by the metrics of the world: numbers, influence, popularity, and applause. And when a rival ministry springs up down the road and the crowds start to drift that way, the natural, fleshly reaction is envy, jealousy, and a partisan spirit.
This is the fertile ground for what we see in our text. John the Baptist, the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets, had a wildly successful ministry. He was a sensation. All Judea and Jerusalem were going out to him. He was the man of the hour. And then Jesus shows up. And the crowds, fickle as ever, begin to migrate. John's disciples, loyal to their master, see this as a problem. They see it as a threat, a competition. They come to John with a concerned report: the man you pointed to is now baptizing, and "all are coming to Him."
Their concern reveals a worldly mindset, but John's response is a blast of pure, bracing, heavenly air. John the Baptist understood his role with crystalline clarity. He was not the main event; he was the opening act. He was not the bridegroom; he was the best man. His entire purpose was to point away from himself and to Jesus. Therefore, the success of Jesus' ministry was not a threat to his own; it was the very fulfillment of it. It was the reason he was born. In his magnificent reply, John gives us a master class in true humility, the nature of God's sovereignty in ministry, and the absolute supremacy of Jesus Christ. He shows us the joy that is only found in second place, a joy that our narcissistic generation desperately needs to witness.
The Text
After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing. And John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized for John had not yet been thrown into prison. Therefore there arose a debate between John’s disciples and a Jew about purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have borne witness, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.” John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of that He bears witness; and no one receives His witness. He who has received His witness has set his seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
(John 3:22-36 LSB)
A Rival Ministry? (vv. 22-26)
We begin with the setting, which precipitates the conflict.
"After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing. And John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim... for John had not yet been thrown into prison. Therefore there arose a debate between John’s disciples and a Jew about purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have borne witness, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.”" (John 3:22-26)
The scene is set with two active, concurrent baptizing ministries. Jesus and His disciples are in Judea, and John is at Aenon. It is important to note that Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were (John 4:2). This was a baptism of repentance, parallel to John's, preparing the way for the kingdom. The mention that John was not yet in prison is a crucial chronological marker, but it also hangs in the air with a sense of foreboding. The window for John's ministry is closing.
A debate arises over "purification." This was likely a dispute where a Jew, perhaps someone baptized by Jesus' disciples, was arguing that his baptism was superior to the one offered by John's disciples. It was a "my preacher is better than your preacher" kind of squabble. This is the sort of thing that always happens when men get their eyes off Christ and onto the instruments God uses. They start comparing the plumbing instead of drinking the water.
So John's disciples, feeling defensive and perhaps a little threatened, come to their master. Notice their language. They don't even use Jesus' name. He is simply "He who was with you beyond the Jordan." There's a hint of resentment there. "This man, whom you launched, whom you endorsed, is now taking your business. Everyone is going to Him." They see the kingdom of God as a zero-sum game. If Jesus' slice of the pie is getting bigger, their slice must be getting smaller. They saw it as a problem to be solved. John saw it as a promise being fulfilled.
The Great Correction (vv. 27-30)
John's response is a theological sledgehammer to their petty tribalism. He lays down three foundational principles.
"John answered and said, 'A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease.'" (John 3:27-30)
First, divine sovereignty (v. 27). "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven." This is the ultimate corrective to all human envy and ambition. Ministry, authority, success, fruitfulness, it is all a gift. John is telling his disciples, "The crowds I had were a gift from God. The crowds He has are a gift from God. God is the one who assigns the roles and distributes the results. Who are we to question His management?" If you truly believe this, you cannot be arrogant in success or bitter in obscurity. It is all grace.
Second, ministerial clarity (v. 28). "You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, 'I am not the Christ.'" John reminds them of his own consistent testimony. He never claimed to be the Messiah. His job description was clear: "I have been sent ahead of Him." He was the forerunner, the advance man, the signpost. And a signpost that demands people stop and admire the sign itself, rather than going where it points, is a failed signpost. John knew his place. True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. It is knowing your God-given role and playing it to the hilt for the glory of another.
Third, vicarious joy (v. 29). John employs the beautiful covenantal metaphor of a wedding. "He who has the bride is the bridegroom." The bride, the people of God, belongs to Christ, not to John. John is merely the "friend of the bridegroom," the best man. What is the best man's job? It is to arrange the wedding, to present the bride, and then to stand back and rejoice when he hears the bridegroom's voice. His joy is not in getting the girl, but in seeing his friend get the girl. John's joy was made full not when his own baptismal pools were crowded, but when he heard that the people were flocking to the true Bridegroom. This is the heart of true ministry: finding our joy in the success and glory of Christ.
This culminates in one of the greatest statements of purpose in all of Scripture (v. 30): "He must increase, but I must decrease." This is not a sigh of resignation; it is a shout of triumph. This is the goal. This is what victory looks like. Like a star that is glorious in the darkness, but cheerfully fades in the blazing light of the dawn, John's ministry gives way to the Son. This should be the prayer of every Christian, every pastor, every church. May our reputation, our influence, our glory fade, so that His might shine brighter.
The View from Above (vv. 31-36)
John now moves from explaining his own role to exalting the person of Christ. The focus shifts entirely to the supremacy of the Son. The quotation marks in your Bible might end at verse 30, but the voice and theology are a seamless continuation of John's witness.
"He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of that He bears witness; and no one receives His witness." (John 3:31-32)
Here John draws the ultimate Creator/creature distinction. John himself is "of the earth." He is a man, a prophet, but his origin is terrestrial. He can only speak from a human perspective. But Jesus "comes from above." He is from heaven. Therefore, He is "above all." This is not a relative comparison; it is an absolute one. Jesus is in a category all by Himself. His testimony is not secondhand. He does not report what He has studied; He bears witness to "what He has seen and heard" in the eternal council of the Trinity. He is the eyewitness from eternity. And yet, tragically, "no one receives His witness." This is a stark reminder of human depravity. The God of the universe comes down to speak, and the world plugs its ears.
"He who has received His witness has set his seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure." (John 3:33-34)
But some do believe. And for the one who receives Christ's testimony, that person performs a glorious act. He "sets his seal" to the truthfulness of God. To believe in Jesus is to certify, to countersign, to declare before heaven and hell that God is not a liar. Faith is not a leap in the dark; it is the most reasonable act a man can perform, because it is an affirmation that the ultimate reality, God Himself, is true. Why is Jesus' testimony so reliable? Because He "speaks the words of God." He is not just a prophet who receives a message from God; He is the very Word of God Himself. And the Father has given Him the Spirit "without measure." Other prophets received a portion of the Spirit for their task. Christ possesses the fullness of the Spirit, because He is one with the Spirit.
The final verses lay out the ultimate stakes with terrifying clarity.
"The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:35-36)
Here is the foundation of Christ's authority. The Father loves the Son. This is the eternal, intra-Trinitarian love that is the furnace at the center of reality. And because of this love, the Father has "given all things into His hand." All authority, all power, all judgment, all creation belongs to the Son. He is the cosmic Lord. This is not a democracy. You do not get a vote. The Father has already appointed the King.
Therefore, there are only two possible responses to this King, and they have eternal consequences. First, you can believe in Him. "He who believes in the Son has eternal life." This is not something you get when you die. It is a present possession. The moment you trust in Christ, you cross over from death to life. But notice the alternative. It is not for those who "do not believe," but for those who "do not obey." In the Bible, true belief is obedient trust. It is not mere intellectual assent. It is a surrender of the will. And for the one who refuses to obey, who stiff-arms the King, the consequence is not just a missed opportunity. It is judgment. He "will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." The default state of fallen humanity is to be under the wrath of God. It is not something that God actively decides to pour out on you later; it is the atmosphere you are already breathing. The gospel is not an offer for you to move from a neutral position to a good one. It is a rescue operation to pull you out from under a just and settled wrath. To reject the Son is to remain under that wrath, eternally.
Conclusion: The Joyful Decrease
John the Baptist is a model for all Christians. His life was a sermon on the text, "He must increase, but I must decrease." This is the secret to a life of profound and unshakable joy. The world tells you to increase. Increase your brand, your platform, your comfort, your reputation. But this is a fool's errand, because you are a finite creature trying to fill an infinite void. It is a life of frantic anxiety, jealousy, and ultimate disappointment.
The Christian way is the way of joyful decrease. It is the glad recognition that life is not about you. You are a signpost, pointing to the King. You are the best man, rejoicing at the Bridegroom's voice. Your purpose is not to make a name for yourself, but to make His name great.
This is not a call to self-hatred, but to sanity. It is aligning yourself with reality. He is the Creator; you are the creature. He is from above; you are from the earth. He is the Bridegroom; you are the friend. And there is more joy in being the doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than in reigning in the palaces of wickedness. When you find your joy in His increase, you are liberated from the tyranny of comparison and the poison of envy. When His reputation is your passion, you can rejoice when another Christian succeeds, when another church thrives, because the Bridegroom is being honored. Your joy is made full. So, let us take up John's motto. In our families, in our work, in our church, in our hearts, let this be our constant prayer and our highest ambition: He must increase, but I must decrease.