John 3:22-36
RTNT 2021. John the Baptist speaking: Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease. (vv. 29b-30) I was thinking of the verse 30 part of this couplet, that in me, in my heart Jesus must increase and I must decrease. I need to really put Jesus first and diminish my own person; I need to rely more (totally!) on His acting through me and not my taking charge. And if I could do that, then verse 29b becomes true, …this joy of mine is now complete! So for emphasis, let’s turn those two verses around: He must increase, but I must decrease. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.
A note in my Study Bible alerted me to something I don’t remember reading two years ago. John the Baptist is speaking, beginning in verse 27 and clearly through verse 30. But the note said that some scholars maintain that the Baptist’s words continue through verse 36, that the entirety from verse 27 to the end of the chapter is the Baptist speaking. Others maintain that it is John the Apostle who is speaking in verses 31 to 36. I tend to agree with the latter argument – those words sound more like the rest of John’s gospel; especially, those verses take me back to the beginning of his gospel (John 1:1-18).
As an aside, I encourage you to read John 3:31-36 in the NASB or NKJV or another translation (or read my last comment below) where deific pronouns are capitalized. The capitalized emphasis brings out the truth of Jesus more directly.
See also: January 31 / John 3:22-36
Here’s a quick question to ask myself each day: “Am I jealous of Jesus, or jealous for Jesus?”
Clearly, those in John 3:26 who pointed out Jesus’ popularity to John the Baptist expected John to be jealous of Jesus, but John turned that notion on its head, noting that Jesus is the Bridegroom, not himself. (John 3:29) Anything that stands in the way of Jesus being #1 is an idol, so let’s be jealous for Jesus. Ultimately, every knee shall bow (Phil. 2:10), and it’s best to recognize that now!
Great way to look at it, John.
I really appreciated John the Baptist’s humility as well as continuing faithfully on the task he was given, to baptize and point to Jesus, even after Jesus had begun His own ministry.
John 3:36 is written in present tense, we have eternal life. It starts with our spiritual rebirth and is ongoing in our lives today. It doesn’t start at the point of our physical death. Am I living our eternal life TODAY?
One other thing to note in John 3:36 is the equivalence between “belief” and “obedience.” Belief is not just intellectual assent to a set of facts, but a true trust that results in obedience. Without obedience, there is no real belief.
Debbie, I really like your point about John 3:36 and how we have, not will get, eternal life right now. Interesting that I had made a brief note in my bible at this passage to the same effect many years ago, probably St. John’s era.
This is such an enlightening discussion. Thanks everyone. I was just thinking about “obey” in v.36. Obedience to the Jews at this time period probably meant obedience to the Law of Moses (including the hundreds of regulations and do’s and don’ts that the religious leaders promulgated). And no one (except Jesus) ever was worthy and blameless under the law. Here, v.36 makes a distinction and says “obey Jesus”. Jesus, of course, preaches salvation through following His teachings. Quite a distinction.