John 3:22-36
Dear RTB’ers,
Three verses to comment on today… First, John the Baptist speaking: He must increase, but I must decrease. (v. 30) For all the attention that John was getting from the Jewish leaders and from the common people, in his heart he remained humble. We should speak these same words as John – Jesus must increase, we must decrease.
[A brief aside… There is discussion among scholars as to whether John the Baptist is still speaking after the quote above in verse 30. That is, in verses 31 to 36, is it John the Baptist speaking or John, the Apostle writing commentary? It doesn’t sound much like the “repent and believe” message that John the Baptist typically speaks, so I tend toward it being John, the Apostle’s commentary.]
The second verse that struck me was verse 34: For He Whom God has sent utters the words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure. The first “He” in this verse clearly refers to Jesus – just look back at the context, the previous few verses. And no doubt, Jesus received the Holy Spirit without measure. However, what if we bring it to ourselves, that each one of us is one of those people “…he whom God has sent…”, that God has brought us to Himself and He is sending us out to bring His message to those around us. Change that “He” pronoun to “he” and the Holy Spirit is ours without measure. That’s a thought worth believing!!
Finally, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life… (v. 36a) I’ve been hearing this message again and again that this verse is a present tense verse. Although it also suggests our future heavenly life, what is true for us today is that we are currently living that eternal life. Our earthly time is much more than just our working and paying the bills. In a sense, as Jesus has ascended to the Father, He has brought us with Him. That’s another thought worth believing and acting upon!!
Blessings.
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