John
answered, “A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before 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. This, my joy, therefore is made full.
John 3:27-29
John 3 [22.] After these things, Jesus came with his disciples into the land of Judea. He stayed there with them, and baptized. John also was baptizing in Enon near Salim, because there was much water there. They came, and were baptized. For John was not yet thrown into prison. There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John’s disciples with some Jews about purification. They came to John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, the same baptizes, and everyone is coming to him.”
John 3 [27.] John answered, “A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before 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. This, my joy, therefore is made full. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What he has seen and heard, of that he testifies; 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 God gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
John 4 [1.] Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself didn’t baptize, but his disciples), he left Judea, and departed into Galilee. He needed to pass through Samaria. So he came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being tired from his journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Meaning:
John the Baptizer's disciples had come to him troubled because “everyone is coming to” Jesus (John 3:22-26). John's reply is one of the most beautiful expressions of humility in the Bible. Rather than resenting Jesus' success, he rejoices in it, using the picture of a wedding.
- “A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven”
John begins with a principle. Every role, gift and success comes from God. If crowds are going to Jesus, it is because God has given them to him. John's own ministry was also a gift, and he had no right to claim more than God had given. James writes, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). There is no place for envy when we remember that God decides what each person receives.
- “I am not the Christ … I have been sent before him”
John reminds his disciples of what he had always said. He had told the delegation from Jerusalem, “I am not the Christ” (John 1:19-28). His mission was to go ahead and prepare the way, as Malachi foretold: “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me” (Malachi 3:1). A forerunner is meant to be overtaken by the one he announces.
- “He who has the bride is the bridegroom”
In the Old Testament, God's relationship with his people is often pictured as a marriage: “As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:5). Jesus used the same picture of himself: “Can the groomsmen fast while the bridegroom is with them?” (Mark 2:19). John is saying that the people of God belong to Jesus, not to him. Paul later wrote to a church, “I married you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2).
- “the friend of the bridegroom … rejoices greatly”
At a Jewish wedding the friend of the bridegroom, rather like a best man, helped arrange the wedding and attended the groom. His joy was not to win the bride for himself but to see the bridegroom and bride united. When he heard the bridegroom's voice, his task was complete. John sees his own role this way.
- “This, my joy, therefore is made full”
John's joy was complete precisely because people were leaving him for Jesus. Jesus later spoke to his disciples of joy “made full” in him (John 15:11). John's next words sum up his attitude: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
The Significance of John 3:27-29
- Contentment with God's gifts
John's principle frees us from comparison and envy. What we have, we have received from God, and others' gifts are his to give as well.
- Joy in Christ's glory
True servants of God find joy not in their own prominence but in seeing people drawn to Jesus. Church leaders and every believer can measure their ministry by this standard.
Cross-References:
James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,” All gifts come from God.
Isaiah 62:5: “As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.” God as the bridegroom of his people.
Mark 2:19: “Can the groomsmen fast while the bridegroom is with them?” Jesus calls himself the bridegroom.
2 Corinthians 11:2: “I married you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” The church as Christ's bride.
Conclusion: John 3:27-29 records John the Baptizer's response to his disciples' jealousy. He recognised that all gifts come from heaven, that he was only the forerunner, and that the bride belongs to the bridegroom. Like a faithful friend of the bridegroom, he rejoiced fully to hear Jesus' voice.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible