John answered and said, A man can receive nothing unless it be given him out of heaven.
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Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am sent before him.
John's own followers came to him upset: crowds that once came to the Jordan were now going to Jesus (v. 26). His reply points back to what he had said all along. He never claimed the Christ's place.
What his disciples felt as loss, John treats as the very thing he had announced from the start.
What he was not, and what he was, he here restates. He was the messenger before the face of the Christ, His forerunner... A subordinate place, therefore, was his. His star had begun to fade. Yet he was not jealous... How fitting it was that the Baptist should speak like this, and to his own disciples! Party feeling was crushed at once; rising jealousy was nipped in the bud.
John's answer puts God and himself each in the right place. That is why he can watch his own work shrink without a struggle.
It was lowly, yet wise as well. As truth always does, it put both God and ourselves in the right place. So we come to recognise His sovereign disposal of all things. Each of us grows content with his own lot. And, we may add, we do the duty that flows from it with quiet firmness. For there is no greater error than the thought that our own will is really strong. Even if it were so, obedience is stronger still... If he was eclipsed as the morning star is by the dawn, it was to fulfil his mission, not to fail in it. He, the servant and forerunner, had never claimed to be the Master, as they could all confirm, if they would.
John does not produce fresh proof. He calls on the memory of the men standing in front of him — they had heard him say it. A witness who envied the One he pointed to would contradict his own message.
God had sent John for a purpose. All he needed to do was fulfil that purpose. He was not to envy another man because of that man's work, since God had plainly given it. This was especially true of Him who is the eternal Son of God. Had not John told them plainly that he himself was not the Christ, but was sent before Him? Is he to be envious of the One to whom he bears witness, whose glory is so great?
"I am not the Christ" would be an empty thing to say if nobody had thought otherwise. The disclaimer measures how high people's estimate of John had climbed.
The Jews send priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask who he is. John replies, "I am not the Christ." He is not "that prophet" either — the prophet promised in Deuteronomy 18:15-18. Such was his worth in the eyes of men that he had to announce that he is not the most noted person in Israel. Except Christ, there was never in this world a greater than he.
The second half of the verse is John's whole job description.
The coming of the Messiah was of deep importance, and enormous issues hung on it. So God in His great mercy appointed a forerunner to prepare the way for people to receive Him. This gracious arrangement left those who refused Him with no excuse at all... His whole business therefore was to prepare men for the Christ. It is true that he himself attracted much attention. The whole country was talking about him. But with every enquirer he sought to turn attention away from himself and fix it on his more glorious Master and Lord. "I am not the Christ." "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:20, 29). This is, after all, the proper function of every true servant of God in every age.
Others were trying to turn John and Jesus into rival causes.
The Jews raised questions between themselves and John's followers. They tried to make John and Christ the leaders of opposing factions and parties. That gave John an occasion to show where his heart was, and how entirely Christ had settled all questions for him. Notice how he hides himself behind the Christ of God, and how he makes little of himself in order to make much of Jesus.
- Received — each person's lot is God's own arrangement, so John is content with his.
- Recalled — John answers jealousy by quoting himself. His own disciples had heard him say he was not the Christ.
- Renounced — men rated John so highly that he had to say plainly, "I am not the Christ."
- Sent — his one task was to go ahead and prepare people for Christ. He turned every enquirer away from himself.
- Hidden — with the crowds moving on, he hides behind Christ, making little of himself to make much of Jesus.
He that has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices in heart because of the voice of the bridegroom this my joy then is fulfilled.
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He must increase, but I must decrease.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.