30 He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.  32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
— John 3:30-36, ESV

The Gospels reveal a special relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and John the Baptist.  They were born six months apart (ref. Luke 1:26).  They were blood relatives on the maternal side, Mary’s and Elizabeth’s (ref. Luke 1:36).  And though they were raised in Nazareth of Galilee and Jerusalem of Judea, respectively, they must have met often at the annual feasts and other times throughout the silent years of their lives.  They knew each other well and esteemed each other highly.  

Like their birth order, John’s prophetic ministry preceded Jesus’ messianic mission.  Jesus was well aware of John, calling him “more than a prophet” and proclaiming there was “no one greater” (ref. Matthew 11:9-11).  John was well aware of Jesus, calling Him “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (ref. John 1:29).  

John’s job was to prepare the way for Jesus (ref. Mark 1:3), plunge Jesus into the river Jordan for baptism (ref. Mark 1:9), then pass the baton to Jesus and move out of the way (ref. John 3:30), so that “the way, the truth, and the life” (ref. John 14:6) could come to rest in the souls of God’s people.  John was the preacher, Jesus is the Savior.  Other than Jesus, no one preached the gospel of salvation better than John.  

So let’s listen to John, very carefully, in what amounts to the last and most meaningful sermon of his life.  It is an offer of grace.  It is a call to faith.  It is the gospel of Jesus Christ, according to John the Baptist.

Jesus is Lord

He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all (vs. 30-31).

We don’t do sovereign lords in our country.  We do democracy.  This we owe to historic Christianity in general, the Great Reformation in particular, and Baptists most specifically.  

In the ancient world it was not so.  Kings ruled, literally.  They sat on thrones, strategically placed above the people.  When they ascended, people bowed.  When they decreed, people obeyed.  In the Roman culture that overshadows the New Testament, the king, Caesar, was called Lord, and was believed to be a deity.  

In the gospel according to John the Baptist, Jesus is Lord and Jesus is God.  He is to be placed above us, way above us.  Jesus said that John was the greatest guy who ever lived, but John said “[Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease.”  To accept this gospel requires lifting Jesus to the highest place in your life, first in line, first in love, first in honor, first in glory, first above all else.

In the gospel according to John the Baptist, Jesus is not merely from Mary and Joseph, though He did come incarnate “to the earth.”  But more than a mere man, Jesus is “He who comes from above … from Heaven.”  Jesus was, is, and always will be the Son of God; and, Jesus was, is, and always will be Almighty God, for He said in His own words, “I and the Father are one (ref. John 10:30).”

The gospel according to John the Baptist is consistent with the message of the Old Testament prophet Joel, the New Testament preacher Peter, and the New Testament professor Paul.  “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (ref. Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13).  Therefore to be saved, you must call Jesus Lord, the Lord, your Lord.  And if He is your Lord, then you must pay any cost and employ every blessing to do as He commands.

Jesus is Costly

He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony (vs. 32).

When the great Old Testament prophet Isaiah signed up for missionary service, he knew his prospects were two-fold, slim and none.  God told him so.  Just read the oft-quoted Isaiah 6:8; then, pause, and read Isaiah 6:9-13.  

John the Baptist foretold the same thing about himself, and about the Lord Jesus Christ.  Relatively speaking, no one was going to listen to them.  And, the cost they paid for telling the truth would be total.  Isaiah was killed by the wicked king Manasseh, John the Baptist was killed by the worthless tetrarch Herod Antipas, and Jesus was killed by and for the whole world, which is comprised of sinners, just like you and me.

The gospel according to John the Baptist points to the high price Jesus paid to be our Messiah, our Savior, our Lord.  He lived a life of relative poverty and obscurity.  He gained short-lived notoriety by performing miracles and preaching messages about a kingdom not of this world.  Relatively “no one receives His testimony,” then they killed Him in the end.

The gospel according to John the Baptist points to the truth that you must prize Jesus more than popularity in order to be saved by grace through faith in Him.  Coming to Christ is not joining some pugnacious outfit like “the moral majority,” it is clinging to a band of misfits better known as “the spiritual minority.”  That’s what Christianity truly is, it is free to join, but it costs you everything you are and have.

What it gives in return, however, is priceless.

Jesus is Priceless

Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure (vs. 33-34).

John the Apostle set the tone for John the Baptist in the first chapter of his Gospel: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (ref. John 1:11-12).  

In the gospel according to John the Baptist, while relatively “no one receives His testimony,” those who do receive priceless gifts.  

“God” Himself is the greatest gift.  And as Jesus told doubting Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (ref. John 14:9).  “God is true,” so with the gift of God you get the gift of truth, which everyone should want, except Pontius Pilate (ref. John 18:38).  You get more truth with the Bible, “the words of God,” inspired and confirmed by “the Spirit” of God.  

In the gospel according to John the Baptist you receive more than finding gold, striking oil, and winning the lottery combined.  You get God in your life, you know the truth, and the Spirit sets you free from the penalty of sin, the specter of death, the worst worries of life.

And there is more!

Jesus is Love

The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand (vs. 35).

The gospel according to John the Baptist is essentially a commentary on the gospel according to John, summarized in John 3:16.  “For God so loved the world, He gave …”.  

The mechanism for the gospel must be understood in the mind.  God is holy, we are sinners.  To be reconciled to a holy God there must be an atonement for our sin.  Such atonement is pictured in the many Old Testament sacrifices, but presented in the New Testament crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  Why would God do such a thing?

The motive for the gospel must be felt in the heart.  It is love, according to John the Apostle and John the Baptist.  God so loved us, He gave us the Son.  God so loved the Son, He gave the Son us, true believers, to be true family, harboring and cherishing the love of God.  

To be a believer in the gospel is like being the puppy in the window, chosen by the little boy, taken home to a warm house and big yard, but so much more.  It is like being children in a troubled and dangerous home, being adopted by loving, sacrificial parents (like the Bonds!) and taken home to a new and better life, but so much more.  It is being loved and chosen by God the Father, redeemed by God the Son, and changed by God the Spirit into an everlasting child of God.

Once the gospel transforms the mind and heart, the evidence of the gospel is seen in the will, the willing obedience of a true child of God.

Jesus is Followed

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (vs. 36).

Here is where the gospel according to John the Baptist proves far superior to the lightweight gospel of our modern times.  Today’s preachers and evangelists offer faith without repentance, eternal life without death to self, and salvation without commitment.  Jesus, and His preacher, John the Baptist, do not.

If Jesus is Lord and Jesus is accepted then Jesus is followed.  He, God, God’s word, is obeyed, or else, “the wrath of God remains” on those where were never really saved in the first place.

In the gospel according to John the Baptist, faith is obedience, love is obedience (ref. also John 14:15), Christianity is obedience.  It will not and does not have to be perfect.  But it has to be present, persistent, proving one has really heard, believed, and accepted the gospel.

When I was thirteen I believed but did not obey, because of the superficial and shoddy work of a modern church. When I was twenty I obeyed because I believed, thanks to a simple, spiritual gospel preacher, not unlike John the Baptist.  I shudder to think what would have happened to me if I had died between thirteen and twenty, but the gospel according to John the Baptist tells the truth.

I took the time some time ago to tune in and listen to one of the most popular preachers in America.  I surveyed four or five of his sermons online.  I heard a lot of pop psychology, positive thinking, and promises of health and wealth.  But, there is one thing I did not hear.  I did not hear the gospel.

On a past vacation I went to a very popular megachurch in the area.  I sat through the whole service.  I heard a lot of politics, patriotism, and party music.  But, there is one thing I did not hear.  I did not hear the gospel.

We have just taken a few minutes to examine the last sermon of John T. Baptist, who was not poplar and had no megachurch.  But, he preached the gospel, and offered God’s greatest gift to everyone.  Listen to it.  Believe it.  Obey it.  Then you can enjoy it, forever!