JESUS CHRIST – THE WEARY ONE
John 4:1-6
From his opening words of this gospel the Apostle John has been describing Jesus Christ to us. He has carefully chosen words to describe to us who Jesus is. John has described Jesus Christ as the eternal Word. He has described him as the Creator, as the Light and the Life of men. John the Baptist adds to our understanding of who Jesus is when he declares that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John the Baptist also testifies that Jesus is indeed the Son of God.
After these opening declarative statements about Jesus, John shifts his focus to the actions of Jesus. The actions of Jesus like the words of John paint a living portrait of who Jesus Christ is.
For instance John records Jesus calling his first disciples teaching us that Christ is a leader and one who deserves and is worthy of being followed.
Next we have Jesus at the wedding in Cana. There he turns the water into wine displaying his divine miracle working power and ability, thereby confirming the words of John through his actions.
Shortly thereafter we see Jesus in the Temple driving out the moneychangers and the merchants. The Lord’s actions demonstrate his zeal for pure and proper worship as well as demonstrating his authority.
In John three we have our first look if you will of Jesus the evangelist. Nicodemus a leading teacher, if not THE leading teacher of Israel came to Jesus by night. Nicodemus came to check this guy out. “Who is it that is calling disciples and making such a ruckus in the Temple, and turning water into wine? ” The religious guys want to know what was going on, they wanted to know who this man is.
Also in John three we see the growing public awareness of Jesus. He and his disciples were out in the Judean countryside hard at work teaching and baptizing those who responded to the Lord’s message. So many people were responding to the Lord’s that it upset the disciples, the followers of John the Baptist. When they brought this to the attention of the Baptist how did he respond? Did he get upset? Did he throw a fit like the Olympic wrestler did this week when he threw down his medal because he didn’t win the gold? No, not at all! In fact he does just the opposite. He’s not upset at all. In fact he couldn’t be happier! He was filled with joy that people were coming to Christ. He knows that his ministry is complete; he has fulfilled the assignment that God had given to him. From this point forward John the Baptist fades away and the focus is exclusively on Jesus.
What do the actions of John the Baptist teach us about Christ? His actions teach us that Jesus Christ is the Pre-Eminent One. Jesus Christ is the one, the only one worthy to be exalted; in deed he must be exalted. As John says so eloquently “He must increase, but I must decrease. ”