Tawa Baptist

John’s Humility

Scripture: John 3:22-30

Video Link: https://youtu.be/yDbL-iH2iQg

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • John’s humility
  • How is humility formed?
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Imagine a can of peaches. Most people would agree the contents are more important than the label. The quality of the peaches inside the can matters more than the picture on the outside because you don’t eat the label, you eat the peaches. The label is still useful though, provided it is accurate.

(I’ve always found this brand to be good by the way.)

Today we continue our series on John the Baptist. Last week we heard about John’s magnum opus, his great work, of preparing people for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus.

This morning we take a look inside the can of John’s character. John has the label of a wild man, living in the desert, preaching hell fire and repentance. But, underneath the tough exterior, there is a winsomeness to John which is quite lovely. From the gospel of John chapter 3, verses 22-30 we read…

22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They 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.”

27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 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. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

This reading from John’s gospel gives us a glimpse inside John the Baptist’s character. What we find in the can, is not peaches, but the fruit of humility.

John’s humility:

Mother Teresa had this to say about humility…

Humility is the mother of all virtues… It is in being humble that our love becomes real, devoted and ardent. If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are. If you are blamed, you will not be discouraged. If they call you a saint, you will not put yourself on a pedestal.

Mother Teresa is not just speaking for herself here. She is reflecting Christian wisdom gleaned over centuries. Humility is about being completely honest with yourself. It’s about knowing who and what you truly are. Having an accurate estimation of yourself in relation to God and others. Humility, therefore, is about being real, authentic. 

Being humble is not about being self-effacing. Often, in kiwi culture, we cut ourselves down before anyone else has a chance. But humility, in the Bible, is not the same as self-sabotage.

A humble person is quietly self-affirming. They have a healthy self-awareness, without being self-absorbed. In other words, a humble person knows their own imperfections and limitations but still accepts themselves.

John the Baptist was humble. He knew who he was and what he was in relation to Jesus and others. 

After Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in the night, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside where they spent some time baptising people. Jesus’ disciples happened to be baptising in the same area that John was baptising, because that’s where the water was.

You may remember John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It was a sign of surrender to God and making a fresh start in preparation for the coming of the Messiah.

By having his disciples baptise people, Jesus was showing his support for John’s ministry. Jesus was not competing against John. They were on the same team, like a batting partnership in cricket. 

As sometimes happens with intense religious people, who insist on being right, an argument developed between the disciples of John the Baptist and a certain Jew over ceremonial washing. We don’t know who this Jew was or precisely why he took issue with John’s baptism.

Given the details are not mentioned, it doesn’t matter, which serves as a lesson to us. Some things are not worth dwelling on or arguing about. A humble person knows when to let it go and walk away.

John is not drawn into a pointless argument. He is walking humbly with God. John is secure in the knowledge that he is doing what God wants him to do. He doesn’t have anything to prove.   

John’s disciples are not so secure. They are concerned that Jesus’ disciples are baptising more people. John’s disciples were loyal to John and felt jealous on his behalf, because Jesus was becoming more popular.

But John’s ego is not bruised by Jesus’ success. John is not proud. He is humble. John knows what he is in relation to Jesus. John replies with an accurate estimation of himself…

“A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’…”                     

In some ways, we are like tea pots. The tea pot does not make the tea. The tea pot is simply a vessel for holding and pouring the tea. Nor does the tea pot have any ownership rights over the tea. The very purpose of the tea pot is to share the tea.

In this analogy, God is the one who makes the tea. The tea pot (that’s each of us) can only receive what is given from heaven. As the apostle Paul said,

‘But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us’.

John was successful in the sense that people came to him in their thousands to listen to him preach and to be baptised. But that success wasn’t because of John. That success was given by God.  John was under no illusion. He knew that people came to him because he was serving the heavenly tea of God’s word. And he served the tea hot, not lukewarm.

In verse 29, John offers this metaphor to describe his relationship with Jesus.

29 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.

The bride in John’s analogy is the nation of Israel and the bridegroom is Jesus, the Messiah. The friend is John the Baptist. John is like Jesus’ best man at the wedding between the Messiah and Israel.

Notice here how humility opens the door for joy. The best man is not envious or covetous. He does not want to keep the bride for himself. The best man is happy to see his friend get married. 

As I’ve said before, joy is the positive energy that comes from hope. John has been waiting and listening for Jesus to come and be united with Israel. Now that is finally happening, John’s hope is realised and his joy is complete.  

John is genuinely pleased that the people are flocking to Jesus, for that means John has done his job.

And so we come to some of the most winsome words in the whole Bible. John says of Jesus, in verse 30: He must become greater; I must become less.

The best man has a key role to play in assisting the groom, both before the wedding and on the big day itself. But once the ceremony has taken place and the speeches are done, the best man slips away. After all, it was never about the best man.

He must become greater; I must become less, reveals more than just humility; it also reveals John’s self-giving love for Jesus. “It is in being humble that our love becomes real, devoted and ardent.”

John willingly gave his time and strength to prepare the way for Christ. And he was glad to give up his popularity for the sake of Jesus. Eventually he would give up his freedom and his life also. 

He must become greater; I must become less.

When I reflect on what that means for us, I am mindful of the people Tawa Baptist has donated to other churches and to the work of mission over the years. We have given away some of our best and brightest for the greater good of God’s kingdom. We have become less so that Jesus would become more.

Thinking on a personal level, He must become greater; I must become less, is the process of a lifetime really. It describes the journey of faith. Very few people give their whole life to Jesus all at once. Most of us give ourselves to Jesus incrementally (bit by bit). 

We do well to remember, with thankfulness, those who have acted as a John the Baptist in our lives; introducing us to Jesus and then becoming less so he can become more.

We do even better to consider who we might be a John the Baptist for.

If you are a Sunday school teacher or a youth group leader or a parent, then you can be like John the Baptist for those in your care. You know you won’t have these young ones forever. They will grow up and move on. But while they are with you, you can point them to Jesus.  

Likewise, when you point friends, neighbours, work colleagues or school mates to Jesus, through winsome words and deeds, then you are being a John the Baptist for them. May God bless you with joy as you become less and Jesus becomes more.    

How is humility formed?  

Some of you may wonder, how is humility formed? How can I become humble, like John? Well, the Spirit of God can develop humility in all manner of ways. I don’t think there is a formula to it necessarily.

But that’s not particularly helpful to you, so let me suggest three things that I’ve observed (anecdotally). Among other things, humility is formed with acceptance, with the wilderness and with a personal experience of grace.   

Humility is about being completely honest with yourself; telling yourself the truth. Being honest with yourself goes hand in hand with accepting yourself. To not accept yourself is to live in denial of who you really are.

If the can contains peaches, then it is best to accept that fact. Nothing good comes from pretending the can contains something else, like boysenberries.   

John the Baptist was honest with himself. He knew he was second fiddle to Jesus and he accepted that fact. At no point did John entertain a Messiah complex. He never let his early success get the better of him. He never lied to himself or misled anyone. 

Accepting yourself is not as easy as it sounds, especially if there are parts of yourself that you don’t like that much.  It helps to have one or two significant people in your life who know you and accept you for who you are.

I imagine John found acceptance from his parents Zechariah and Elizabeth. They knew who their son was and why he was born. So John likely grew up with a strong sense of his own identity and purpose.

Who is it that sees you and gets you? Who is it that speaks the truth to you, in a gracious way, in order to keep you honest? It might be a family member. It might be your partner in marriage. It might be a friend or a teacher or your spiritual director. Value that relationship, take care of it.

Humility is like walking. It requires us to keep our feet on the ground and to stand upright. Walking humbly is not something we can do alone. No. We walk humbly with God. Ultimately, it is God’s love for us, his presence with us, that enables us to accept ourselves and keep our feet on the ground.   

The wilderness is also helpful in forming humility. John the Baptist lived in the wilderness for much of his life. The wilderness has its own way of lending perspective. When you are in the desert or in the mountains or out on the open sea, you learn that you are not in charge. The wilderness is in charge.

It is humbling to walk the length of the valley leading up to Franz Joseph glacier, with sheer cliffs either side of you, and realise how small you are in comparison to the powerful ice that has carved a valley out of rock over millions of years.

Young men are seldom honest with themselves. Young men often think they are bullet proof. When we were still at school, my friends and I used to go kayaking on the Wairoa River in the Kaimai rangers, near Tauranga. One day one of the members of our canoe club was swept under a ledge and drowned. The force of the water (a grade 5 rapid) held him there.

He was an experienced paddler who had run that particular rapid many times before and he respected the river, yet it claimed his life. It was a sad day. A humbling way to learn we were not in charge. The wilderness was in charge. 

A third thing that helps to form humility is a personal experience of grace. When someone bestows on us an honour we know we don’t deserve. Or when they treat us with a generosity we have not earned, that is grace. If you let that grace touch you deeply enough, it has a humbling affect.

John the Baptist was humbled by a personal experience of grace when Jesus came to be baptised by him. John feels unworthy of the honour and tries to deter Jesus saying: “I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?”

Now this is remarkable. John was a holy man. He lived a pure life and had a far better moral compass than most. Yet, despite his righteousness, John did not rely on his own goodness. John knew that he was from earth while Jesus was from heaven.

But Jesus says to John: “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented. What else could he do? To deny Jesus would be out of line, it would be arrogant. John is humbled by Jesus’ grace.    

We can be humbled by grace in all sorts of ways. To receive forgiveness, when you know you were wrong and are genuinely sorry, is to be humbled by grace.

To realise the privilege of receiving a good education, when others who went before us were denied the opportunity, is to be humbled by grace.

To recognise you have a choice over which career path to follow, when most of the world does whatever job they can to survive, is to be humbled by grace.

I feel humbled by grace watching the news at times. Seeing pictures of the death & devastation caused by the earthquake in Turkey & Syria, is sobering. Then there is the suffering of the people in Ukraine. Thousands of lives lost and homes destroyed, in winter.

I know New Zealand has suffered its own trauma in recent times, but I still reckon most of us who live here have won the lottery, even without buying a ticket. We have much to be thankful for. I am humbled by God’s goodness and grace for us in this land.

Opportunities to grow in humility are all around, if we don’t let a sense of entitlement get in the way.

Conclusion:

When we look inside the can of John’s character we find humility. We also find love. As the apostle Paul says in 1st Corinthians 13…

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

John was patient, waiting and listening for Jesus. John did not get angry when Jesus became more popular. John was not proud or boastful. Nor was John envious of Jesus. John had the humility to be honest with himself and to rejoice in Jesus’ success.

Being honest with ourselves requires each of us to ask: What is in the can of my character? And do the contents of that can match the label?

Let us pray…

Father God, we thank you for those people who have acted like a John the Baptist in our lives, introducing us to Jesus, then becoming less so he can become more. Help us to be a John the Baptist for others. Give us the grace to be honest with ourselves and true to you. May we always be motivated by love. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • What is humility? Why is it important to be honest with ourselves? What is in the can of your character? And do the contents of that can match the label?
  • Discuss / reflect on John’s metaphor in verse 29. E.g. What does the analogy mean? What is the relationship between humility and joy? How does humility make love real, devoted and ardent?
  • What might it look like for us to become less, so that Jesus becomes more? 
  • Who has acted as a John the Baptist in your life? Give thanks for them. Who can you be a John the Baptist for? Pray about this.
  • How is humility formed? How can we become/remain humble? 
  • Who accepts you? Who is it that sees you and gets you? Who is it that speaks the truth to you, in a gracious way, in order to keep you honest? What can you do to take care of that relationship?
  • Take some time this week to consider God’s grace in your life. Let the reality of that grace touch you deeply. Let grace humble you.