I’ve been reading through the
book of John quite slowly. I don’t want
to miss anything that the Lord might want to show me. As I came to the second half of John chapter
3, I began to notice some interesting qualities about John the Baptist. If anyone in scripture was truly humble it
was John the Baptist. He had a mission
and a calling from God, but he never considered himself to be anything
great. As a matter of fact, he was
continually asked if he was the Messiah or a great prophet, and his response
was always, “I am not.” In this article
I want to look at three qualities that I noticed in the life of John the
Baptist that every one should exhibit if they want to be a humble person.
The first trait I want to look at
is John’s attitude. John knew who he
was. He knew his calling, and he was
content in his calling and did not try to become someone or something greater. The
humble person accepts his position and does not try to become someone or
something greater on his own.
In verse 26 of John 3, John’s
disciples came to him worried. They
said, “Rabbi, the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan – the
one you testified about – well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
(NIV). Basically they were saying,
“John, you are the one called to baptize.
This Jesus has started baptizing, and we are losing our flock.”
But this was John’s reply, “A man
can receive only what is given him from heaven.” In other words John was content in his mission. He knew from the beginning that his mission
was to prepare the way for someone greater to come. If he had tried to push himself into a
greater position, God would have removed him from that position.
I know of a youth pastor who became
so successful in his ministry that he eventually ran more students in the youth
service than the church did on Sundays.
The pastor of that church became extremely jealous and made life very
difficult for that youth pastor until he eventually left, and the church never
fully recovered. The pastor was jealous
because his ministry was not the greatest ministry in the church. He took on a prideful attitude instead of a
humble one. A humble person is always
content to do only what he has been called to do.
The next
thing about John that showed his humility was that he rejoiced in the success
of Jesus. In verses 29-30 he said, “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.”
The bride belongs to the bridegroom. John knew that Jesus – not he – was sent to
save the world. He knew that even those
that he had baptized did not belong to him, but they belonged to Jesus. John compared Jesus to the bridegroom, and he
compared himself to the attendant. His
mission was to come prepare the way for Jesus and to serve him in any way
possible. Now that Jesus was on the
scene John showed his true character by saying, “My joy is now complete.”
John
rejoiced in the success of Jesus. He
did not become jealous when Jesus “stole his flock”. He did not try to ruin Jesus’ ministry by
talking behind his back. He lifted up
the name of Jesus and declared, “My joy is now complete.” Back to the story of pastor versus youth
pastor. The pastor could have rejoiced
with the youth pastor. He could have
rejoiced in his success, and he could have rejoiced in the fact that so many
young lives were being changed. But
instead he took the jealous route and tried to ruin the ministry of the youth
pastor. The humble person always
rejoices in the success of others – even those under his care.
The final
point I want to look at is the fact that John always pointed to Jesus. Now that Jesus was on the scene, John’s
mission became less about baptism and more about leading people to Jesus. John himself said, “I am not the Christ, but
the one coming after me is.” In John
1:29, Jesus came to be baptized by John.
John knew who he was because the Spirit had opened his eyes. He could have allowed pride to grow up in his
heart because he was getting ready to baptize the Messiah. Instead he said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who
takes away the sin of the world.” The
first thing John did when he recognized Jesus was to turn the people’s
attention away from him and onto Jesus.
The humble
person is always content to fade into the background so that Jesus can be fully
seen and recognized. Too many ministers
today have tried to gain fame and popularity for themselves instead of pointing
to Jesus. While people have been saved
under their ministry, I believe that there is some very harsh judgment coming to
those ministers. God only exalts those
that will point to him, and when they begin pointing to themselves, they will
fall.
John the
Baptist said it best in verse 30 of chapter 3 when he said, “He must become
greater, and I must become less.” The
humble person is sincerely content with staying out of the spotlight. The humble person is not concerned with being
seen or heard, but they are always deflecting the glory to Jesus.
Those that
strive to be truly humble need to remember the life of John the Baptist. A humble person is always content to do only
what he has been called to do and not force his way up the ladder. A
humble person always rejoices in the success of others – even those under his
care. And finally, the humble person
always points to Jesus and is not concerned with being seen or heard.
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