When Jesus’ public ministry got underway—fairly quickly—He
began drawing bigger crowds than John the Baptist. This would be troublesome
and disturbing for most people in John’s position. Most ministers desire increasingly
larger crowds not increasingly smaller crowds.
John’s disciples were bothered by this turn of
events and went to tell John about it. They assumed, it appears, John would be upset.
I think they may have even believed John would do something to get the crowds
back.
But John basically said [this is a paraphrase], “It’s
alright. I’m genuinely glad to hear about His success. This is exactly the way
it’s supposed to happen. He must increase and I must decrease.”
[You can read this story in John 3:23-30.]
John’s maturity and his understanding of his own
role in the larger ministry of Jesus was exceptional and inspiring. This story
from the Bible is incredibly helpful to me because it helps me see what true
humility looks like.
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