Increasing and Decreasing

 April 18, 2023

It isn’t easy going from front-runner to also-ran, but that describes more people than we realize; perhaps even you. Even if you know it’s inevitable, even if you knew from the beginning, runners-up are not easy shoes to fill. From the very beginning, John knew that no matter what success he had in life, he was destined to be merely the opening act, but never the star attraction. When he baptized Jesus, he testified of not being worthy to untie Jesus’ shoes. Shortly after, he put it plainly: “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30).

John’s ministry was by all accounts, successful. People came from miles around to hear him preach even though he had no compunctions about hurting peoples’ feelings. Calling your listeners a bunch of snakes doesn’t tend to foster tender emotions.

It wasn’t until after Herod the king, a bit piqued because John dared to be honest with him, threw him into prison, that Jesus began his ministry in earnest (Matthew 4:12). Many of John’s supporters turned to Jesus, which as any preacher knows, bites deep. Hearing of Jesus’ success, John, languishing in a dank Roman jail, sends messengers to inquire about him, receiving in return, a glowing report of Jesus’ success, hardly the kind of news to boost John’s spirits.

Now in Matthew 14, John is executed, the ministry which had such promise and early success, cut off in full bloom. It would have been more kind to John had he been immediately executed, but he languished…and wondered. He never got to hear Jesus’ words of praise, and I wonder if while in prison, he remembered his word about Jesus increasing and him decreasing, and what that had come to mean.

It’s easy to compare yourself with others. If the comparison is favorable, it can easily lead to pride. If instead, it is unfavorable, it can lead to discouragement. Comparing oneself to others is always dangerous. Nevertheless, John’s word is for me as much as it was for himself. As much as I don’t like the thought of decreasing even when it’s part of the normal process of aging, it’s important that I hear these words. Success is sweet, and laying it aside can be a bitter pill to swallow. But swallow it we must if we are to be faithful to Jesus and to the message he (and I) proclaimed. 

That message is clear: life isn’t about me. It’s all about Jesus, and the sooner I let that seep into my soul, the better I will be. Success in whatever we do is wonderful, but sooner or later, we must all step aside. How well or ill we do that is a big part of the measure of our lives. May we be faithful to our calling to point people to Jesus without getting hung up on our own significance, for Jesus, and Jesus alone, is as John said, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).