Lesson for April 6, 2025

The Book of John

Lesson 10

John the Baptist Testifies of Christ

John 3:22-36

Verses 22-25

^“After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea; and there He was spending time with them and baptizing. Now John also was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there; and people were coming and being baptized, for John had not yet been thrown into prison. Then a matter of dispute developed on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification.”

The religious leaders of the Jews did not like this new message coming from Jesus and John the Baptist and wanted to stop it. So, the Sanhedrin sent some representatives to John to try to start a rift between John and Jesus in an attempt to discredit them both. This is what religion does to those who preach a clear Gospel message. Controlled by Satan and the world system, religion is always based on a system of works, like keeping the Mosaic Law for salvation. Religion disguises itself as being from God but is, in fact, an instrument of Satan to deceive and destroy.

John the Baptist had been clear from the beginning of his ministry that he was not the Messiah, and that the Messiah was greater, because He had come from God. John therefore refused to succumb to subtle attacks of the religious crowd to start a divide between himself and Jesus. He knew his place in the plan of God and fulfilled it perfectly.

Then a matter of dispute developed on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification. The Greek word for dispute is “zetesis,” which means to seek a debate, to argue, or to question something. It means that a Jew got into an argument/dispute with the disciples of John on the subject of purification. Based on the context, this dispute most likely was about the practice of baptism by Jesus and John. The Greek word for purification is “katharismos,” meaning washing, cleansing, ablution, expiation, or purging. So, purification, in this context, seems to be equated with baptism. Though we do not know the exact words of the debate, it seems to be about the difference between the baptism by John and the baptism by Jesus.

Verses 25-27

“And they came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, He Who was with you beyond the Jordan, to Whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all the people are coming to Him.’ John replied, ‘A person can receive not even one thing unless it has been given to him from Heaven.”

John’s disciples came to him to report that Jesus was having greater success, which seems to indicate they were jealous of the ministry of Jesus. John understood the doctrinal principle that God was the One Who sent him and provided the hearers for his message of the coming Messiah. John the Baptist had much more to say on the subject, as we will see in the following verses, by way of analogy.

A person can receive not even one thing unless it has been given to him from Heaven. John was saying to his disciples that Jesus had been given His ministry from Heaven by God. John was also saying that his own ministry was granted from Heaven, as part of God’s plan to introduce the Messiah to the world.

Verses 28-30

^“You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ He who has the bride is the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom’s voice. So, this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease.^”

John’s disciples should have been better listeners. John had made it crystal clear that he was not the Christ (Anointed One – Messiah). So, he repeated that he was sent by God as the forerunner of Christ to announce His coming. At this point, John demonstrated that he knew a lot of doctrine, by using an analogy of a bride and a groom. The bride was those who would believe in Jesus as the Messiah. The groom was Jesus coming to “collect” His bride. The groom’s friend was John the Baptist, who rejoiced when he heard the voice of the Groom coming for the bride. This analogy of God’s union with believers as a marriage is documented in Isaiah 54:5; Hosea 2:19; Ephesians 5:32; Revelation 19:7.

So, this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease. As the person who was chosen by God to announce the coming of the Messiah, John was completely overjoyed when he saw Jesus face-to-face. He completely understood that the ministry of Jesus would be greater than his, and had no resentment, only great happiness.

Verse 31

“He Who comes from above is above all; the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from Heaven is above all.”

John once again referred to the principle of the Hypostatic Union of Jesus Christ. Above all (which is repeated twice for emphasis) was a reference to the deity of Christ. His deity was and always will be in Heaven, because He is omnipresent. His humanity, on the other hand, was limited to earth, until He ascended to Heaven after the Resurrection.

John was emphasizing the fact that Jesus was the unique Person of the universe, in the sense that He is not only greater than any human being, but He is also unique. He was born without Adam’s original sin, without a sin nature, and never committed a personal sin.

The one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. Remember, the background of this passage is the jealousy of John the Baptist’s disciples over whose baptism was greater based on the “numbers.” Ultimately, it was an attempt to start a rivalry between the ministry of Jesus, which was increasing, and the ministry of John the Baptist, which was diminishing. John stated emphatically that he was just a man (not deity), chosen by God to prepare the path for the Messiah.

Verses 32-35

^“What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony. The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true. For He Whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit sparingly. The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand.”

Jesus saw and heard the plan of God the Father by being present when it was designed in eternity past. So, Jesus would have a greater ministry than John the Baptist because He came from Heaven to reveal the plan of the Father. No one accepts His testimony is an idiom, meaning that, generally speaking, His message was rejected by His own people, the Jews, especially the religious leaders. The deity of Christ saw the plan of God the Father in eternity past, while it was being designed. In His humanity, He also learned God’s plan by studying the Old Testament Scriptures, and then He communicated it to those who followed Him. Therefore, everything in the Word of God is the mind of Christ, which is the certification that what He taught was God’s absolute truth.

The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true. Only those with positive volition will accept the truth. The religious people would not accept Jesus Christ as Savior. The most difficult people in the world to whom to witness are religious types. This is why Jesus had such a hard time getting through to Nicodemus. Those indoctrinated by religion are self-righteous, and full of human good, so it is difficult for them to understand the grace of God. Were it not for the ministry of the Holy Spirit, nothing would ever get through to a religious person.

For He Whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit sparingly. God the Father sent the Holy Spirit to permanently indwell and fill the humanity of Christ at His birth. God’s divine power was given to Jesus without limitation. Without a sin nature and personal sin to inhibit Him, Jesus was able to fully utilize the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill God the Father’s plan for salvation and the spiritual life.

The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand. After God the Father designed the plan of salvation and the spiritual life for those who believe in Christ, He turned the plan over to Christ. Therefore, we see Christ in every dispensation throughout history. Christ is the focal point of every book in the Bible. He is One Who is glorified by the Father and by the Holy Spirit. Romans 11:36, “For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever.”

Verse 36

“The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Jesus was no longer speaking in this verse. The apostle John now reemphasizes the Gospel. There is not a clearer verse in the Bible that explains the Gospel. Each member of the human race has two choices when it comes to their eternal destination – Heaven (eternal life) or Hell (the wrath of God remains on him).

Heaven will be a reality for those who use their volition to obey Christ by believing in Him as their Savior. This means that a person must believe in what Jesus accomplished for them on the Cross when He paid the penalty for their sin. God the Father placed the sins of the entire human race upon Christ and judged them. By rejecting Christ’s payment for sin, a person has made the choice to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire (Hell).