22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.)
At the beginning of the next chapter, John will tell us that in fact, Jesus didn’t do the baptizing. His disciples were the ones who were physically baptizing people. John’s location was Aenon. We don’t know exactly where Aenon was, but one thought is that it was on the west side of the Jordan (the side we think of as Israel) in about the middle of the country. It would be south of Galilee but north of Judea, on the border of Samaria. There is a stream there fed by rainwater opposite the Jabbok that would be a spot where “there was plenty of water.” (The Old Testament city of Beth Shan was in this area, 2 Samuel 21:12).
25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
Some of John’s disciples had become disciples of Jesus. But others had either remained with John or had just recently joined him. There would have been no rivalry if they would have understood John’s purpose more clearly, and that is why John said what he was about to say.
27 To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less. (NIV)
Let’s revisit the scene:
Question #1 (what they actually ask): Hey, Rabbi, why is that other guy baptizing?
Question #2 (the one they mean, but don’t ask): What is this baptism, anyway? A ceremony? A bath? What?
Answer to Question #1: He must become greater, I must become less.
Answer to Question #2: Baptism saves us from our sins—my job was just to point to the Savior. Now he’s working, and my work is done.
With his picture of the wedding, John told his disciples what they needed to hear: He wasn’t the one everyone should be listening to. If we want to explain the picture, the easiest thing to do would be to say that the “friend” in the wedding was a kind of “best man / wedding planner” who announced the arrival of the groom. Everyone looked to this “friend” until the groom arrived. After that, he was just another part of the group. When you go to church, the person who hands you a worship folder and who might even point you to a seat is the usher, but you didn’t really come to see him. He’s just the one pointing out the way.
Now that John’s task was complete, John said that he had “that joy,” the joy of the man who got to point out the Christ to the world.
That same joy can be yours. We can point out the Christ to the world, sharing the message just as John shared it, and we have the joy that comes from speaking the truth in love, to one person, or to two, or to the whole world.
Look! The Lamb of God!
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. His wife, Kathryn, attended Chapel from 1987-1990 while studying Secondary Education (Theater and Math) at UW-Madison. Kathryn’s father, John Meyer, was also the first man to serve as a Vicar at Chapel.
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