The Gospel of John-18 – He Must Increase

John 3:22–30

 

"After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. (This was before John was put in prison.) An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 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.' To this John replied, 'A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, "I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him." 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. He must become greater; I must become less.'" Amen.

 

A Confession of Self-Denial Beyond Humility

Today’s text is a passage that anyone who has attended church has likely encountered at least once or twice. It is because the confession, “He must increase, but I must decrease,” moves us so deeply. We are often marveled by how humbly John the Baptist exalted Jesus. It is truly a sublime sight. At that time, while Jews came to argue about ceremonial washing, they likely shared this news: “There is a man named Jesus on the other side; isn't he the one you testified about in the past? But now he too is baptizing, and in fact, far more people are flocking to him than here.” Hearing this, John’s disciples must have felt inward resentment and indignation. It must have been incomprehensible that a "successor" was gaining more attention while their master was still standing firm. With such a heavy heart, they ran to their teacher, John, and asked, “Jesus is baptizing on the other side of the Jordan, and everyone is going to him. Teacher, how can this be?”

 

At that moment, John the Baptist does not feel envious or complain; instead, he replies, “I am rather glad that he is doing well. For that is the very purpose for which I came. He must increase, and I must ruin.” Is this not truly magnificent? What a tremendous faith! However, everyone, if we read this text while focusing only on the faith of John the Baptist—you may have noticed—the more we pay attention to John and applaud him, the more he paradoxically becomes the opposite of what he said. John clearly said, “I must decrease and ruin while Jesus must increase,” but as we look at the text, we praise John, saying, ‘John the Baptist is truly a great man, let us emulate his humility, he is a true figure who lowers himself and exalts only Christ.’ Thus, we end up exalting John and making him "increase."

 

The Protagonist is Jesus Christ, Not John the Baptist

As we repeatedly resolve to ‘be humble like John,’ what is the final result? John declared he would decrease, but we end up committing the error of making him increase. Therefore, although John the Baptist seems like the protagonist of today’s text, he is by no means the center. Rather, this text contains an extremely important revelation regarding Jesus Christ. As you have seen throughout the Gospel of John, this entire Gospel is a record about Jesus Christ alone. Against the backdrop of the original creation, the ministry of six days unfolds, and on the seventh day, the wedding at Cana is held. What does the Lord show us at that feast? He reveals the wondrous sight of the spiritual wine from heaven being poured into us. It is the same in the following story of the Temple. He proclaims that the earthly temple built by human hands falls, and the True Temple who came from heaven personally becomes the Temple.

 

Furthermore, we face the conversation with Nicodemus. To the question, “How can a man enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” what does Jesus reveal? He says, “Unless one is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” testifying only to the mystery of life that descends from heaven. Who was the protagonist of all these words? It was Jesus Christ. Today’s text also uses the lips of John the Baptist to speak of the True Bridegroom who came from heaven. I intend to examine this text over this week and next week, but today, before the deep main subject of the Bridegroom from heaven, I want to first address the points we often misunderstand. Sometimes, in large Korean churches, I have heard words spoken by a retiring predecessor minister when introducing his successor.

 

The Mission as a Witness, Not a Predecessor

“The person coming as my successor is truly an excellent individual. What school he graduated from, what training he went through...” After listing the successor’s career, he concludes by saying, “Therefore, he must increase, and I must decrease.” Then the congregation sends thunderous applause, thinking, ‘As expected, our pastor is humble and noble in character until the end.’ I have seen such scenes myself, and you are likely familiar with them too. It is an expression used very frequently. I do not mean to disparage their sincerity, but unfortunately, this verse is not of the nature to be quoted in such a context. For John the Baptist is by no means a predecessor who fulfills his mission and exits honorably. It is not a position to step down while receiving applause. Above all, John is not transferring his authority or status to someone else.

 

Look at verse 28 of the text. It is recorded, “You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’” It is a declaration that he is not the Christ and that you are the ones to testify to this stark fact. That’s right. He has never sat in that position of glory from the beginning. He is not a predecessor. Not once has he taken the glory of Christ as his own, nor has he ever attempted to sit in the place of Christ. Here we find a crucial spiritual principle. The confession “I must ruin and Jesus must increase” is not a rhetorical flourish to elevate the one behind him and wrap himself in humility. This is a desperate declaration that John the Baptist literally decreases and literally ruins. That Jesus increases means that one’s own existence must be thoroughly erased; it was John’s firm confession of self-denial that he would not reveal or boast of himself in any way.

 

The Kingdom of God Unattainable Through Human Righteousness and Service

Jesus Christ does not increase because John the Baptist’s ministry was excellent or because his character was impeccably holy. The Lord is not exalted because John lived so righteously as to receive the respect of the whole world. This proposition will come as a significant shock to modern Christians. This is because we realize that the essence of the faith required of us is fundamentally different from the religious virtues expected by secular values. Most believers think like this: “We are called to practice love, to become salt and light, and to serve the world, and that is the way to fulfill God’s work.” They believe that helping God’s ministry through service and living a life of good influence is the dynamic that expands the Kingdom of God.

 

However, everyone, that is closer to the result of secular logic infiltrating the church rather than the truth of the Bible. If we honestly confront John the Baptist’s confession, he was thoroughly decreased and ruined; he did not achieve God’s work through any of his own merits. Today, all around us, there is a prevailing trend to equate the goal of “building and reviving the church” with the dedication or efforts of the members. It is a misunderstanding that the Kingdom of God is built in proportion to the sweat and sincere offerings of the saints and the amount of time invested. The same applies to the offices or ministries you hold. When working in the field of ministry or as a Bible study leader, we often fall into the temptation of self-indulgence, thinking, ‘Because I have labored and taught so hard, God’s work is appearing.’

 

Only the Cross of Christ is True Ministry

But everyone, please read today’s text again with your heart. The Bible does not teach that our competence achieves God’s work. What a saint must truly guard against is not just obvious evil. Just as much as fighting against evil, the point we must be careful of is the danger of pride faced in the very midst of the zeal to live in love, service, and as salt and light. God’s work is not something that can be achieved by mobilizing human resources. The Kingdom of God is essentially of heaven. No matter how much of the earth's things you gather, you cannot achieve the mystery of heaven. If that were possible, there would have been no reason for Jesus to come to this earth. Why would He leave the glory of heaven to come to this lowly earth, and why would He suffer such a miserable death on the cross? Because He knew that the fundamental problems of humanity could not be solved with secular resources, Jesus Christ had to come from heaven.

 

True God’s work is the singular event where Jesus Christ personally carried the cross, and this cannot be replaced by any human action. Not even our noble love or sacrifice, nor even our life or ability can substitute for that ministry. To understand this principle deeply, let’s find Matthew chapter 16 for a moment. Let’s read Matthew 16:24, located at the beginning of the New Testament, together. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.'” There are two absolute premises for the path of following the Lord. One is to deny oneself, and the other is the task of carrying one's cross. We have shared words about a life of self-denial several times, but the task of carrying one's cross remains a heavy burden for us.

 

The Cross: The Way of Death, Not Suffering

The Bible clearly uses the word ‘cross’ here. When I consult with church members, I often meet those who express the hardships of life by saying, “Pastor, if only I didn’t have that child who is like an enemy, my life would be much easier; that child is my cross. It is so painful to carry this cross.” If it were a child, it might be somewhat endurable, but sometimes a spouse becomes the cross. So they earnestly ask, “I don’t know if I should keep carrying this cross. Pastor, please pray that I can handle this cross well.” Everyone, I fully understand that hardship, but strictly speaking, that is not the cross. It may be a ‘burden of blessing’ allowed by God in the journey of life, but it can never be the cross. For the cross means ‘death,’ just as Jesus Christ personally showed us. Yes, the cross is death. Therefore, the phrase “my cross” means my death. Only by passing through the process of denying oneself and thoroughly dying can one finally follow the Lord. Hearing these words, do you feel like leaving this place right now? You might feel skeptical, wondering if you have to follow Jesus while going through such a desperate path.

 

The common misconception of the cross often leads us down the wrong path. It is because we think that if only the painful problem before our eyes is solved or only that burden is laid down, we will be able to follow the Lord well. We say that only if that problem disappears, only if that cross is gone, will we finally become a whole person of faith. But that is not the cross. I tell you again, the cross is death. Only when I am completely dead is the path opened that brings glory only to the Lord. To follow the Lord means that all the resources I have must become useless. What use is anything held in the hands of one already dead for serving the Kingdom of God? Everyone, please reflect deeply. The Lord’s demand is clear. He commands us to “take up your cross,” requiring our total death and self-denial. Wealth, power, and fame cannot be tools for following the Lord. It is only human nature for you to believe in Jesus, come to church, and have expectations like ‘I should go to heaven’ or ‘I should enrich my soul through good words.’

 

The Limits of Faith Relying on One’s Own Belief

However, we must coolly look back on whether the Bible truly promises such worldly blessings. It is because one can never follow the Lord with such a mindset. Everyone, you may be surprised, but you cannot follow the Lord with just the passion of the faith you currently possess. You can never follow the Lord by relying on your own faith. Because you believe it is possible with the strength of your own faith, or because you think you can be victorious if you hold onto your faith firmly, we keep craving a more powerful faith. We struggle to find stronger stimulation and produce greater evidence. We resolve, ‘If it doesn’t work to this extent, I will fast from today.’ If a one-day fast is not enough, we cling to three days, then a week, and then all-night prayer. ‘Is the Lord still not responding? Then I will settle it with a 40-day fast.’ Do you know why we try to prove our faith with such extreme actions? It is because we misunderstand faith as some great ability or power that we possess.

 

To say that faith is power does not mean at all that the amount of faith I possess exerts some physical force. Is our faith not so variable and weak that it differs between morning and evening? When leaving home in the morning, we have a time of devotion and seem quite faithful, but when returning in the evening, is it not our reality that we return self-reproachingly, thinking, ‘Today again I lied, argued, and hated’? Including myself, human faith is truly as helpless as chaff blown by the wind. When we speak of the power of faith, it only means the ‘faith of Jesus Christ.’ Because we dwell within His faith, we live by relying on His faithfulness; we do not live by the merit of the faith we possess. What the Bible consistently proclaims is only our denial and our death. Let us go one step deeper through Luke chapter 17, where this principle is clearly revealed.

 

The Confession of the Unprofitable Servant and God’s Grace

Let's look at the words in Luke 17:7–10. “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” Amen. Everyone, this parable gives a very significant spiritual lesson when connected with today’s text. The first thing we realize here is that in the servant’s ministry, no ‘benefit’ for the master is presupposed. As the servant himself confesses, he is merely an “unworthy servant.” Even if he plows the field, prepares the master’s table, and serves with all his might, he does not boast that it is a useful task that is a decisive help to the master.

 

Everyone, please ask yourselves seriously. Do you truly think your service is a benefit to God? What practical help would the toil of finite humans be to the infinite God? I tell you again, our service does not provide any benefit to God. Do you believe that you can build the Kingdom of God quite nicely with your honesty and love? In reality, our contribution to the completion of the Kingdom of God is non-existent. Just because you live honestly and show love does not mean others will reach salvation on their own. The thought that I can change someone by dying is also a form of arrogance. There is no way to fundamentally change the world or manifest the Kingdom of God other than through the cross of Jesus Christ. Human actions are essentially unprofitable. Saying this, I worry that you might ask for your offerings back after the service. You might protest, “If it’s a task with no benefit, why should I give offerings and keep this seat?”

 

Honestly, I also have nothing to say to you. I also wish I could say that God sees your zeal as precious and gives you blessings proportionally and differentially according to that merit. However, if we receive blessings only according to what we have done, everyone, we could not endure this harsh world for a single day. What among our actions is so great that we can dare to demand a great blessing from God? The blessings, comfort, peace, and joy we enjoy are never given as a reward for our actions. That is why we confess this as ‘grace.’ A life of reaping what we did not sow—that is the essence of grace as spoken of in the Bible. Receiving a reward corresponding to the benefit I gave to God is never the principle of grace that the Bible speaks of.

 

The Essence of Faith: Love Beyond Reward

What is more perplexing than the fact that our actions are not a benefit to God is that the ministry we do does not even result in any compensatory benefit to ourselves. I also want to avoid this kind of sermon, but the truth of the text drives me this harshly. Why wouldn't I want to deliver only blessings? I want to affirm, “If you serve the Lord with all your heart, God will brilliantly reward your life.” However, the Bible specifies that the only confession we can make after completing all our devotion is this: “We have only done our duty.” Like the word asking if the master would thank the servant, there is no secular benefit that will return to us. It is a place where we cannot even expect a practical gain for ourselves, let alone the pride of having contributed to God.

 

What kind of profit does the offering you give bring to you? We often regard it as a basic formula of faith that “If I give a tithe, God will give a material blessing greater than that.” However, I tell you flatly that it is a very wrong approach. Looking at the behavior of churches these days, they are like joint-stock companies that recover profits through investment. They regard the life of faith as an investment and try to leave a profit. They teach that if you come to church, you heal diseases, accumulate wealth, and success is guaranteed. Since they say all desires will be realized if you just pray, who would spare their wealth? If a ten-fold result is guaranteed by giving a tithe, what more certain investment is there than that? But please know clearly. Giving an offering is a matter of accepting a practical loss as much as you give. It is a stark physical fact that the amount decreases from your household budget by as much as you gave to God.

 

If you tithe a hundred dollars out of a thousand, what remains is nine hundred. You clearly suffer a loss of a hundred dollars. It is not just with offerings. The same applies to service. You are loyal with all your body, but what often remains is only physical exhaustion and illness. Even if you struggle in the church, rather than people recognizing it, only rebukes about the taste return when you sweat in the kitchen to prepare food. If you think of the benefit compared to the investment, it is only a loss. Does holding the office of pastor, elder, or deacon bring secular benefits? Not at all. What kind of worldly reward comes from there? The problem is that the corruption of the church begins from thinking that there is some privilege or benefit in these offices. The illusion that there is a benefit of being treated in a certain way by obtaining an office makes us sick.

 

The Dynamic of Unconditional Devotion: Love for Christ

Many think that becoming a deacon brings some benefit, and that becoming a pastor means receiving a special blessing from God that the world does not know, in a completely different way from the congregation. But I tell you clearly once again, I have never experienced such a privileged blessing, and no such spiritual discrimination exists between you and me. I eat the same food as you, and I also enjoy the same air and sunlight that you enjoy. By this point, you must have a fundamental doubt. ‘If there is no profit for me and no benefit for God, then why on earth do we gather at church?’ I also ask the same question. For what have you come to this place? It is not that the church gives a reward, but rather you give precious offerings and keep your seats for a long time, pouring your heart into every sequence of the worship.

 

As you continue your life of faith, you may feel distressed when people around you suggest you serve in the choir or in various ministries. You take heart and stand in the choir, but often what returns is only detailed evaluation and meddling regarding your musical skills. On one Sunday, they warmly hold your hand saying they received grace, but on the next Sunday, they might point out mistakes with a cold gaze—this is also the raw face of the church we face. You might feel exhausted at times by being asked to serve and dedicate yourself while wanting to stay quietly. But why does the Bible emphasize so much to us the life of love, service, and salt and light where no reward is guaranteed? Paradoxically, it is telling us to do it because it is a task with no benefit.

 

Parents who have raised children, especially sons, will find a familiar scene. A boy who used to be indifferent to his appearance stays in front of the mirror longer from a certain day and begins to groom himself meticulously. He takes care of things himself that he used to have to be forced to do, and behind that appearance of being conscious of others’ gazes, a heart of yearning for someone usually resides. He cleans out his own pocket money to prepare something the other person will be happy with and does not stop giving generously even while being rejected. Why does he take on such trouble? There is only one reason: because he loves. Because he has fallen in love where he doesn't mind giving anything because that existence is so good. The reason the servant in the Gospel of Luke kept his place silently while knowing there was no benefit to himself was only because he loved the master. An action that expects a reward is nothing but flattery or investment. But now we have realized that we are unprofitable servants who cannot provide any practical help to God. The heart of wanting to give everything even while knowing that no reward will return—that is the true love for the Lord.

 

The Place of Glory in Loving the Lord

Do you now understand a bit why there are so many duties of service in the church, and why we must gather as a worship community by giving offerings and taking time? This entire process is the Lord opening the ‘opportunity to love’ to us. I state flatly, even if you are ever so dedicated in the church, there is no secular reward that the church or the pastor will give to you. Obtaining the office of elder or deacon does not guarantee the bread and blessings given by the world. If an act of faith is converted into an immediate benefit, it has already departed from the essence of faith. Even after confirming that there is no reward, will you still follow the Lord? The Lord is asking us that right now. The place that responds ‘yes’ to that calling is the place of love.

 

We pay homage by paying attention to the adversity and sacrifices of great seniors of faith, but in fact, they did not walk that path to gain fame or receive a reward. The Bible does not promise rewards based on human merit. Nevertheless, the reason they were able to complete such a desperate path was only because they liked the Lord. It was because the act of entrusting everything of mine into His hands was in itself an unspeakable happiness because the Lord was so lovely. This is the attitude of a true servant and the essence of faith. The reason why the community called the church exists is also here. The church is not a place where secular benefits are created. Sometimes one must endure criticism, mistakes are more frequent than success, and it is a place that is noisy with various voices of people.

 

Perhaps that is a natural destiny the church must bear. Nevertheless, the Lord makes us kneel here and entrusts us with a holy mission. For that labor itself becomes a confession of love for the Lord. Regardless of the presence or absence of an office, staying in that place is already a glory. This is the mysterious spiritual principle of ‘one’s self decreasing and only Jesus Christ increasing’ proclaimed by John the Baptist. Next week, we will examine in detail what kind of glory the increased Jesus Christ shows us. Until then, dear saints, please reflect deeply on your own hearts. ‘Am I truly loving only the Lord unchangeably, despite the fact that absolutely no reward will return to me?’

 

Let us pray.

 

Gracious Lord, we give You thanks and praise. We thank You for calling us as unprofitable servants and allowing us the grace to love only the Lord despite there being no secular benefit. Because the Lord is so lovely, we gather in this place to exalt and rejoice in You. Please look with mercy upon Your people who bow their heads in worship here. Please be their true comfort and joy in their lives, and may the sincere confession of loving the Lord with ecstasy and patience never cease even in the weary places of life.

 

We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.