seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
John 3:22 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.”[h]
31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[i] gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
h.. John 3:30 Some interpreters end the quotation with verse 36.
i. John 3:34 Greek he
Wow.... way to start the New Year. This section is a bit rough. According to verse 23 it says that John the Baptist moved his ministry. I missed that verse before. I always thought Jesus was on one side of the Jordan and John the Baptist was on the other.... but that's not necessarily how it was. According to these verses.... Jesus was teaching out in the countryside while His disciples were baptizing in whatever river was near, while John the Baptist was working in the water full time.
Apparently the Pharisees were still harassing John the Baptist. Back in the beginning of this Gospel.... the Pharisees told John the Baptist his Baptism was just a glorified bath in the river because it was not sanctioned by the Priests at the Temple. Apparently this became a bullet point to be argued every time a Pharisee saw John the Baptist doing his job in the river.
In all fairness.... I have to defend those ignorant Pharisees once again. They were afraid of what John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth were doing. Those two men were drawing crowds, and claiming that the Messiah was on earth. If God sent the Messiah to earth... they why, they might ask, didn't God tell His Chief Priest? So the Pharisees and Sadducees badgered John the Baptist and Jesus every time they saw them working.
The disciples of John the Baptist must have become use to defending his ministry. They must have been questioned about the "cleansing" issue everywhere they went. When they saw Jesus of Nazareth drawing large crowds, they might have become a little jealous. John the Baptist was preaching "repent" because Jesus is on earth. I guess John's disciples got the "repent" part but didn't understand that Jesus was actually the Messiah that John the Baptist was talking about.
Back in the days when this was happening.... life for a descendant of Jacob [Israel] was extremely hard. The Roman Government controlled everything... even the Temple. They knew the Temple took in a lot of money...... and they knew the descendants of Jacob [Israel] were required by Jewish tradition to travel to the Temple from wherever they lived on certain occasions. The Roman Government saw them as a coin purse and they had to be controlled.
Now... I learned in Sunday School.... and it has been verified by watching the news from the days of Walter Cronkite to the modern tv newscasters.... the descendants of Jacob [Israel] are a passionate people. If they get angry.... watch out. If they gang up.... watch out. If they get hungry.... you better get them food because "hangry" is dangerous. So my guess is.... a lot of the followers of John the Baptist... and many of the followers of Jesus of Nazareth.... were looking for a leader who would run Rome out of Israel.
With that little twist in mind.... the disciples of John the Baptist who figured John the Baptist was the center of a rebellion.... would have naturally been upset by the larger crowed gathering around Jesus of Nazareth. Maybe they were hinting that John the Baptist should change his "Repent" message to something more enticing. I guess to put it in modern "political" lingo.... their polling numbers were down and they figured they needed a new ad man.
John the Baptist, though, had been signally the arrival of Jesus the Messiah since the womb. After Gabriel told Mary she would get pregnant.... Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist at the time... and when Mary approached.... John the Baptist jumped in the womb. So John the Baptist knew full well that his mission was to shout and tell everyone that Jesus the Messiah was on earth.... and now is the time to repent... and enjoy.
So when the disciples of John the Baptist came to "warn" that Jesus was pulling in a larger army..... John the Baptist told them "forget about it". Their mission was to preach that Jesus the Messiah was "the way". John the Baptist got it.... but his disciples.... well maybe their hearts were just not in the right place. I'm sure John the Baptist was happy with all the volunteers willing to keep the line straight for him.
Maybe they even realized that Jesus was the Messiah.... and maybe they weren't warning John the Baptist that his followers were moving over to where Jesus was teaching.... maybe they were making a victorious statement. Maybe they weren't jealous... maybe they were thankful.
The ministry of John the Baptist was like a movie trailer. Sure, everyone enjoys the trailer.... but the movie is more exciting. The ministry of John the Baptist was like the movie trailer and the Ministry of Jesus the Messiah was the movie.
John the Baptist was doing his job if the crowd was moving from his lobby at the river.... to the hillside where Jesus was showing off Heaven itself.
John the Baptist knew his ministry was working because his disciples were joining the crowd learning from the Messiah Himself.
John the Baptist was doing a great job!
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