John 3:30 (NKJV)

Bible Commentary

John 3:30 is a Bible verse from the New Testament where John the Baptist is teaching his disciples by example, of his willingness to sacrifice for Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist might not have been a man of worldly riches and pomp, but he was a king of sorts. From his youth, he knew what his calling and life’s work was to be, for an angel had spoken to Zacharias, his father.

Luke 1:13-17

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

This was a great anointing and promise. The long-awaited hope of his mother, Elizabeth, and Zacharias his father was answered, and John was born. In Luke 1:67-79, Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and said,

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, ⁶⁹ And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, ⁷⁰ As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, ⁷¹ That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, ⁷² To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, ⁷³ The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: ⁷⁴ To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, ⁷⁵ In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

⁷⁶ “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, ⁷⁷ To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, ⁷⁸ Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; ⁷⁹ To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Luke 1:80 says the child grew and became strong in spirit and was in the desert till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

John preached a baptism of repentance in all the region of the Jordan, and multitudes came out to be baptized by him. John had the power of the Holy Spirit upon him, which attracted many people to him.

He had quite a following. Though there were many important facets of his ministry and all that was involved with it, he kept his messaging clear, drawing people’s hearts toward the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Unlocking the Truth – Is It Time?

His whole life had been dedicated to this sole purpose. He had built a huge ministry and with it, he had an enormous responsibility. He was a respected leader for a large multitude of people. Knowing all of this, it makes his statement in John 3:30 even more impressive, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

His whole life he had been preparing. He worked, created and built an empire, all in anticipation of the coming Messiah. And then one day, Jesus Christ simply appeared. John’s anticipation and life’s work was fulfilled in almost a single moment.  

Now what?

He knew his role now was to decrease so that Jesus Christ could increase, as he put it in John 3:30. To sum it up, John quite simply gave his entire ministry to Jesus.

But wait, he did all that work his entire life to build a great following, and he just gave it all away?

John said himself in John 3:31, “He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.” We have to remember who is God, and who is not.

John recognized the sovereignty of God and surrendered his earthly work and ministry, so that Jesus could take it and make something supernatural out of it.

And He did.

It Is Time

And what about our work, what we’ve created and built here on earth? Have we hit a wall? Is our career going nowhere; do our talents and gifts seem wasted without the right opportunity to use them?

Maybe it’s time to offer them up to Jesus. It’s time to decrease, so He can increase.

He can take what we’ve labored over, created and built and magnify it, making something supernatural out of it. We must recognize the sovereignty of God, as John did.

Remember, it’s not about our glory; it’s about His.

Is it time to hand over the reins?

·         Maybe it’s a gift or talent—spiritual or otherwise.

·         Maybe it’s a position of prominence.

·         Maybe it’s an attitude in our hearts.

·         Maybe it’s our pocketbook.

Do we trust Him enough to let go of the “empire” we have built around ourselves? Whatever Christ calls us to give up is far worth it. When we willingly offer up a sacrifice to Him, He gives us more of Himself.

And He is more than enough.

Study the Bible verse of John 3:30 to know why and what to surrender to Jesus Christ.