John 3:22 - Meaning and Application

In these verses we see, first, Christ moving into the land of Judea, where he stayed with his disciples (John 3:22). After his public ministry began, Jesus traveled often and stayed in different places, much like the patriarchs in their journeys. Part of his humiliation was that he had no fixed home, but this also showed his tireless work. He went from place to place to do good to souls, like the sun that goes through its course to give light and warmth (Psalm 19:6).

He did not usually stay long in Jerusalem. Though he often went there, he soon returned to the country, as he does here after speaking with Nicodemus. He came into Judea, not mainly for privacy, though the humble Jesus fit well in humble places, but for usefulness. His teaching and miracles may have made the most noise in Jerusalem, the center of Jewish news, but they did the least good there, because the leading men in the Jewish church had so much influence.

When he came into Judea, his disciples came with him, for they were the ones who stayed with him in his troubles. Many who crowded around him in Jerusalem could not have followed him into the countryside, because they had no reason to be there. But his disciples attended him. If the ark moves, it is better to go after it, as Joshua’s people did (Joshua 3:3), than to sit still without it, even in Jerusalem itself.

There he stayed with them and spent time in conversation and teaching. He did not go into the country for comfort or pleasure, but for freer fellowship with his disciples and followers. Those who are ready to go with Christ will find that he is ready to stay with them. It is thought that he remained there for five or six months.

There he also baptized. He received disciples, people who believed in him and showed more honesty and courage than those in Jerusalem (John 2:24). John had begun baptizing in Judea (Matthew 3:1), so Christ began there too, since John had said that one was coming after him. Jesus himself did not baptize with his own hands, but his disciples did it by his order and direction, as John 4:2 shows. Still, what his disciples did was done as his work. Holy ordinances belong to Christ, even when weak people administer them.

Second, John kept doing his work as long as he had the chance, in John 3:23-24. John was still baptizing. Christ’s baptism was, in its meaning, the same as John’s, because John had borne witness to Christ, so the two ministries did not clash. Christ began preaching and baptizing before John stopped, so John’s disciples would have someone to turn to when John was taken away, and the work would keep moving. It comforts useful workers who are nearing the end of their service to see others rising up to take their place.

John continued preaching and baptizing even after Christ had taken up the work, because he still wanted to advance God’s kingdom as far as his calling allowed. There was still work for John to do, since Christ was not yet widely known, and the people were not fully prepared for him by repentance. John had received his command from heaven, and he would keep at his task until the same hand that sent him gave him leave to stop. He did not step aside just because Christ had come, so no one could think they had arranged things together. He went on until Providence set him aside. The greater gifts of some do not make the work of others useless. There is enough work for everyone. People are wrong if they sit down and do nothing because others outshine them. Even if we have only one talent, we must answer for it. When we see ourselves nearing the end, we should still keep working to the last.

John baptized in Enon near Salim, places mentioned nowhere else, so learned men are unsure where they were. Wherever they were, John kept moving from place to place. He did not think there was anything special about Jordan just because Jesus had been baptized there. Instead, he went where he had reason to go and where water was available. Ministers must follow their openings. He chose a place with much water, that is, many streams, so that whenever people came willing to receive baptism, water was ready. The water may have been shallow, as many streams are, but it was enough for his purpose. In that land, having plenty of water was a real blessing.

People came to him there and were baptized. They were not gathering in the huge crowds of his earliest ministry, but he was still encouraged by those who came and owned his work. Some take this to mean both John and Jesus: some came to John and were baptized by him, and some came to Jesus and were baptized by him. Since their baptism was one in meaning, their hearts were one too.

It is also noted that John had not yet been put in prison, to keep the order of the story clear and show that these events happened before Matthew 14:12. John never stopped working while he was free. In fact, he seems to have worked harder because he knew his time was short. He had not yet been imprisoned, but he expected it soon (John 9:4).

Third, there was a dispute between John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying, or religious washing, in John 3:25. Here we see that the gospel of Christ did not come to bring peace on earth in every sense, but also division. The dispute was between some of John’s disciples and the Jews who had not submitted to John’s baptism of repentance. Those who repent and those who do not often split this sinful world. John’s disciples seem to have started the argument, which suggests they were new followers with more zeal than wisdom. God’s truth has often suffered when people try to defend it before they are ready.

The matter in dispute was purifying, or religious washing. We may suppose that John’s disciples praised his baptism as better than all others, and treated it as replacing the Jewish washings. In that, they were right. But young believers often boast too quickly about what they have received. A person who finds a treasure should keep it quiet until he is sure he has it, instead of speaking too freely at first.

The Jews likely praised the washings they already had, both the ones commanded by Moses and the ones added by the elders’ traditions. The first had God’s authority, and the second had the support of long church use. So in this argument, they may have turned to Christ’s baptism and used it against John’s, which led to the complaint in John 3:26: “John is baptizing in one place, and Jesus is baptizing in another.” They may have said this was either harmful, because it would multiply divisions and make room for endless new teachers, or that it showed John’s baptism was only a partial thing, soon to be surpassed by Jesus’ greater work.

People still make this kind of objection against the gospel. They act as if later light destroys earlier truth, or as if Christ’s fuller work cancels what prepared the way for it. But there was no real conflict between John’s baptism and Christ’s baptism. They fit together well, and one did not oppose the other.

John’s disciples then brought their complaint to their master in John 3:26. They had been thrown off by the argument, and likely stirred up by it, so they said, “Rabbi, the one who was with you, and whom you baptized, is now setting up on his own. He is baptizing, and everyone is going to him. Will you allow this?” Their love of arguing had put them in this state. People often become sharp with others when a debate leaves them cornered.

They spoke respectfully of John, calling him Rabbi, but they spoke very lightly of Jesus, even though they did not name him. They suggested that Jesus was acting presumptuously, as if John had some kind of right to keep baptism for himself. “The same one who was with you beyond the Jordan, your disciple, is now baptizing and taking your work.” In this way, Christ’s willing humility, like his baptism by John, was often wrongly turned into something to mock.

They also hinted that Jesus was being ungrateful to John. “The one you testified about is baptizing,” they said, as if Jesus owed his success to John’s witness and then used that honor against him. But Christ did not need John’s testimony (John 5:36). In truth, he gave John more honor than he received from him. We, too, often think others owe us more than they really do.

Besides that, Christ’s baptism did not weaken John’s baptism at all. It completed it. John’s work was to prepare the way for Christ, and Christ’s ministry only made John’s witness fuller and better. John was faithful to Christ in bearing witness to him, and Christ’s coming after him did not take anything away from John’s ministry.

Then they concluded that John’s baptism must now be losing all value: “All men come to him.” People who had once followed John were now gathering around Jesus, and the disciples thought that meant John should worry. But it is no surprise that people go where Christ is clearly shown, because he will always be honored where he is truly known. Still, why should John’s disciples resent that?

The desire to keep all honor for ourselves has always harmed the church and brought shame to its members and ministers. The same is true of rivalry, jealousy, and competition. We are mistaken if we think another person’s gifts, grace, work, or usefulness makes us smaller. The Spirit gives freely to each person as he chooses. Paul even rejoiced when Christ was preached by those who opposed him (Philippians 1:18). We must let God choose, use, and honor his own servants as he pleases, and we must not try to stand alone.

John’s answer to his disciples, in John 3:27 and following, showed that he did not share their jealousy. They expected him to feel wronged, but Christ’s rising in Israel was no shock to John. It was what he had hoped for. He used the moment to strengthen the witness he had already given to Christ, gladly giving over to him every bit of influence he had in Israel. John gives a fine example to all ministers: humble yourself, and lift up the Lord Jesus.

John first lowers himself in comparison with Christ, in John 3:27-30. The more others praise us, the more we must guard our hearts against pride and against the pressure of flattery. We should also resist the fear or jealousy of friends who want to protect our honor. We do that by remembering our place, and what we are (1 Corinthians 3:5).

John accepts God’s ordering of things and is content with it in John 3:27: “A person can receive only what is given from heaven.” Every good gift comes from God (James 1:17), and that truth fits this case well. Different tasks come through God’s providence, and different gifts come through God’s grace. No one can truly take honor for himself (Hebrews 5:4). We depend on God’s grace in spiritual life just as surely as we depend on God’s providence in natural life.

This is one reason we should not envy people who have more gifts than we do, or a wider field of usefulness. John reminds his disciples that Jesus would not have excelled unless God had given it from heaven. As man and mediator, one who stands between God and people, Christ received gifts. If God gave him the Spirit without limit (John 3:34), why should they complain? The same rule applies to others. If God gives someone else more ability and more success than we have, should we be displeased with that or accuse God of unfairness, wisdom, or fairness? (Matthew 20:15)

It is also a reason we should not lose heart if we are less gifted or less noticed than others, or if their strengths outshine ours.

John was ready to admit that his work as a preacher, prophet, and baptizer was a free gift from heaven. It was God who gave him whatever influence he had with the people. So if that influence was now fading, he could say, “God’s will be done.” The one who gives can also take away. What we receive from heaven, we must accept as it is given.

John had not received a lasting office. His calling was temporary, and it would soon come to an end. So when he had finished his work, he could calmly let it pass away. Some understand these words in another way. John had worked hard to teach his disciples how his baptism pointed to Christ, who would come after him and be greater than he was, and who would do for them what John could not do. Yet after all that, they still clung to John and resented Christ’s higher place. John’s answer is, “A man can receive nothing unless it is given him from heaven.” The work of ministers is wasted unless God’s grace makes it effective. People do not grasp even what is made very clear, or believe what is made very plain, unless God gives them understanding and faith.

John also points back to the testimony he had already given about Christ (John 3:28). “You can yourselves witness,” he says, “that I often said, I am not the Christ, but I was sent before him.” This shows how steady John was in his witness to Christ. He was not like a reed shaken by the wind. Neither the threats of the chief priests nor the praise of his own disciples could make him change his message.

This reminder convicted his disciples of how unreasonable their complaint was. They had spoken of the witness their teacher gave to Jesus (John 3:26). Now John says, in effect, “Do you not remember what I said? If I said I am not the Christ, why do you set me up as his rival? If I said I was sent before him, why are you troubled that I should step aside and give him the place that is his?” It also comforted John himself, because he had never encouraged them to think of him as the Messiah. Instead, he had clearly warned them against that mistake, even though he might have used it to help his own standing. Faithful ministers are glad when they have done all they could to keep their people from serious error.

John then says how pleased he was with Christ’s rise and his own decline (John 3:29). He uses a beautiful picture. Christ is the bridegroom. If everyone comes to him, that is as it should be. If he has the highest place in people’s hearts, who else should have it? He has the right to it. In the Old Testament, Christ was spoken of as a bridegroom (Psalm 45). The Word became flesh so that the difference between God and us would not keep the union from happening. He also provides cleansing for his church, so sin’s uncleanness will not block that union. Christ takes his church as his own, and he has the bride because he has her love and promise. The church belongs to Christ. Wherever individual souls give themselves to him in faith and love, there the bridegroom has the bride.

John compares himself to the friend of the bridegroom. That friend stands by to honor and serve the bridegroom, helps bring about the marriage, speaks well of him, uses his influence for him, and rejoices when the match is made. Most of all, he is glad when the bridegroom receives the bride. John had preached and baptized only to prepare the way for Christ. Now that Christ had come, John had what he had wanted all along. The friend of the bridegroom stands and hears him, waiting for him, and rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice, because he has come to the marriage after being long expected.

Faithful ministers are friends of the bridegroom. They commend Christ to people’s hearts and choices. They bring his messages, since they court people on his behalf, and they must be loyal to him in doing so. The friends of the bridegroom must stand and hear his voice. They must take their orders from him and seek proof that Christ is speaking in and through them (2 Corinthians 13:3). That is the bridegroom’s voice. And when souls are joined to Jesus Christ in faith and love, every good minister finds his joy complete. If Christ’s own day of union and joy is the gladness of his heart (Song of Solomon 3:11), it must also be the joy of those who love him and care for his honor and kingdom. Truly, they have no greater joy.

John also says plainly that it was right and necessary for Christ’s honor and influence to grow while his own lessened (John 3:30). “He must increase, but I must decrease.” If people grieve over the growing greatness of the Lord Jesus, they will only find more reason for grief later, as envy and rivalry always grow worse. John speaks here not only of something unavoidable, but of something just and fitting, something that gave him full satisfaction. He was glad to see Christ’s kingdom advancing. “He must increase,” he says, as if to say, “You think he has gained much already, but he will gain far more.” Christ’s kingdom is a growing kingdom, like the morning light or a mustard seed.

John was not upset that Christ’s growth meant his own influence would shrink. “I must decrease.” All created greatness is under that law, it must fade. We have seen an end to every human perfection. The rising glory of Christ dims the shine of all other glory. Whatever stands against Christ, whether the world or the flesh, loses ground in the soul as the knowledge and love of Christ grow stronger. Here, though, John is speaking of the kind of glory that serves Christ. As the light of morning grows, the light of the morning star grows dim.

Second, if our loss or lowering can help advance Christ’s name even a little, we should gladly accept it. We should be content to be anything, even nothing, if Christ may be all. John the Baptist now lifts up Christ and teaches his disciples about him. He wants them to stop grieving that so many people come to Jesus, and instead to come to Jesus themselves.

John first teaches them about the greatness of Christ’s person (John 3:31). “He who comes from above, from heaven, is above all.” Here John assumes Christ’s divine origin, meaning he came from heaven and has a divine nature. Christ existed before his human conception, with a heavenly being before he took flesh. Only the one who came from heaven was fit to show us God’s will and the way to heaven. When God planned to save people, he sent help from above.

From this, John draws the conclusion that Christ has supreme authority: he is above all things and all people, God over all, blessed forever. It is bold pride to try to compete with him for place or honor. When we speak of the Lord Jesus’ honor, we find it beyond full thought or full words. We can only say, he is above all. John the Baptist was said to be the greatest among those born of women, but Christ’s descent from heaven gave him a greatness that remained even when he was made flesh. He was still above all.

John also shows this by comparing Christ with those who might seem to rival him. “He who is of the earth is earthly.” That is, anyone who has an earthly origin is tied to earthly things. He thinks about earthly matters, speaks from an earthly point of view, and cares about earthly concerns. Human beings come from the earth. Not only Adam at the beginning, but all of us are formed from the dust (Job 33:6). We should remember the rock from which we were cut.

Because of that, human nature is earthly. Not only is the body weak and mortal, but the soul is also corrupt and fleshly, with a strong pull toward earthly things. The prophets and apostles were made of the same human stuff as everyone else. They were only clay jars, even though rich treasure was placed inside them. Should such people be set up as rivals to Christ? Let the broken pieces of pottery contend with each other, but let them not match themselves against the one who came from heaven.

John next speaks about the excellence and certainty of Christ’s teaching. His disciples were upset that Christ’s preaching was being admired and followed more than John’s. But John tells them there was every reason for this. For his part, he spoke of earthly things, and so do all who are of the earth. The prophets were men and spoke like men. Left to themselves, they could speak only from an earthly level (2 Corinthians 3:5). The preaching of the prophets and of John was much lower and flatter than Christ’s preaching. As heaven is higher than earth, so his thoughts are above theirs. Through them God spoke on earth, but in Christ he speaks from heaven.

But the one who comes from heaven is above all the prophets, not only in his person but also in his teaching. No one teaches like him. Christ’s doctrine is recommended here as perfectly sure and trustworthy (John 3:32). “What he has seen and heard, that he testifies.” This shows Christ’s divine knowledge. He testifies only what he has seen and heard, what he knows fully and perfectly. What he reveals about God’s nature and the unseen world is what he has seen. What he reveals of God’s mind is what he has heard directly from God, not at second hand.

The prophets testified to what was shown to them in dreams and visions, often through angels, but not what they had seen and heard in the same way. John was like a herald crying out, “Make room for the witness, and be silent while the charge is given.” Then he leaves it to the witness to give his own testimony, and to the judge to give the charge. Christ’s gospel is not a doubtful idea, like a theory or a new philosophy that people may accept or reject at will. It is God’s own revelation, true forever in itself and deeply important for us.

This also shows Christ’s grace and goodness. What he had seen and heard, he was willing to make known to us because he knew it mattered to us. Paul could not repeat what he saw and heard in the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:4), but Christ knew how to speak plainly about what he had seen and heard. His preaching is called his testifying to show, first, the strong proof behind it. It was not rumor or secondhand talk. It was given like sworn evidence in court, with care and certainty. Second, it shows the warmth and earnestness of his way of speaking. He testified with concern and urgency (Acts 18:5).

Because Christ’s teaching is so certain, John grieves over the unbelief of most people. Even though Christ testifies to what is absolutely true, still no one receives his testimony, meaning very few do, almost none in comparison with those who reject it. People do not receive it because they will not listen, will not pay attention, or will not believe it. John speaks of this not only as something sad and surprising, since such testimony should be received, but also as something painful. John’s disciples were grieved that all people were going to Christ (John 3:26). They thought Christ had too many followers. John, however, grieves that no one comes to him. He thinks they are too few. The unbelief of sinners is a grief to believers.

John then praises the faith of the small number who do believe (John 3:33). “He who has received his testimony” and there were a few such people “has set his seal that God is true.” God is true, whether we acknowledge it or not. Let God be true and every man a liar. His truth does not depend on our faith to support it. Yet by faith we honor him and do justice to his truth by signing our agreement to it. In this way, God counts himself honored. God’s promises are all yes and amen. By faith we say our amen to them (Revelation 22:20).

Anyone who receives Christ’s testimony is agreeing not only that Christ is true, but that God is true, for Christ is the Word of God. The commandments of God and the testimony of Christ are joined together (Revelation 12:17). By believing in Christ, we set our seal to this first, that God is true to all the promises he made about Christ, what he spoke through all his holy prophets. What he swore to our fathers has been fulfilled, and not one word of it has failed (Luke 1:70, etc.; Acts 13:32, 33).

Second, God is faithful to all the promises he has made in Christ. We risk our souls on God’s truthfulness because we are sure that he is reliable. We are willing to trust him and give up everything in this world for a happiness we cannot yet see. In this way, we greatly honor God’s faithfulness. We honor the one whose word we believe.

Second, this teaching is recommended to us as a divine doctrine, not Christ’s own message, but the message of the one who sent him (John 3:34). “He whom God has sent speaks the words of God,” words he was sent to speak and enabled to speak, because God gives the Spirit to him without limit. The prophets were like messengers carrying letters from heaven, but Christ came as an ambassador and deals with us in that role. He spoke God’s words, and nothing he said carried the weakness of mere human speech. Both the content and the language were divine. He proved himself to be sent by God (John 3:2), so his words must be received as God’s words.

By this rule, we can test the spirits. Those who speak like God’s own oracles, and who teach in line with the faith, are to be received as sent by God. Christ spoke as no other prophet did, because God gives the Spirit to him without measure. No one can speak the words of God without the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:10-11). The Old Testament prophets had the Spirit in different degrees (2 Kings 2:9-10). But while God gave them the Spirit in limited measure, he gave it to Christ without limit (1 Corinthians 12:4). In him all fullness lived, the fullness of God himself, an immeasurable fullness. The Spirit was not in Christ like water in a vessel, but like a spring or a boundless sea. As Dr. Whitby says, the prophets sometimes spoke from themselves in matters where they had only a limited revelation, but Christ, who always had the Spirit fully dwelling in him, always spoke the words of God.

Third, consider the power and authority given to Christ, which puts him above all others and gives him a more excellent name than theirs. He is the Father’s beloved Son (John 3:35). The prophets were faithful as servants, but Christ is faithful as a Son. They were sent as servants, but Christ is loved as a Son, always the Father’s delight (Proverbs 8:30). The Father was pleased with him. He did not merely love him in the past, but continues to love him, even in Christ’s humbled condition. He loved him no less because of his poverty and suffering.

He is Lord of all. As a sign of love for him, the Father has given all things into his hand. Love gives freely. The Father had such delight and trust in him that he made him the great trustee for mankind. Since he had given him the Spirit without measure, he also gave him all things, because he was fully fitted to govern and manage all things. It is Christ’s honor, and the deep comfort of all Christians, that the Father has given all things into the hands of the Mediator, the one who stands between God and people.

First, this means all power, as Matthew 28:18 explains. Since all created things are placed under his feet, all the work of redemption is also placed in his hands. He is Lord of all. Angels serve him, and devils are his captives. He has authority over all people, and the nations are given to him for his inheritance. The rule of providence, God’s wise care over the world, is committed to his administration. He has authority to settle the terms of peace with God as the great authorized representative, to rule his church as the great lawgiver, to give divine blessings as the great giver, and to call everyone to account as the great Judge. Both the golden scepter and the iron rod are in his hand.

Second, all grace is given into his hand as the channel through which it reaches us, all the good things God planned to give to human beings, eternal life, and everything that leads up to it. We are unworthy for the Father to place those gifts directly into our hands, because we have made ourselves children of his wrath. So he appointed the Son of his love to hold them in trust for us. The things God intended for us are given into Christ’s hands, and Christ is worthy to receive them because he has earned both honor for himself and blessings for us. They are given into his hands so that he may give them into ours. This is strong encouragement for faith, because the riches of the new covenant are stored in such a secure, kind, and good hand, the hand of the one who purchased them for us and us for himself, and who is able to keep all that God and believers have agreed to commit to him.