He Must Increase

John 3:26-30
26 And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have borne witness, behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him."
27 John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven.
28 "You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'
29 "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. And so this joy of mine has been made full.
30 "He must increase, but I must decrease.
(NAS)

This passage is at the tail end of John the Baptist’s ministry. Many of the crowds that were coming to John to be baptized were now going to Jesus. Some of those around John approached him and in a way, they asked if John was jealous that the crowds had moved from John to Jesus.

John’s response is what every believer’s attitude, especially those in ministry of any kind, should be. Basically, “I’m not God, I’m just a servant, a messenger for Him. He’s the one that deserves the glory and it brings me joy to see His people coming to Him.” Verse 30 is the key. The attitude of the believer needs to be that Jesus is ever more important, and we continue to think of ourselves as less important.