Testimony of John the Baptist
John 3:22-30
Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing. John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there, and people came to be baptized, for John had not yet been imprisoned. Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew about ceremonial washings.
So they came to John and said to him,
“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.”John answered and said,
“No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.
You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.”
Ang Patotoo ni Juan na Tagapagbawtismo Patungkol kay Jesus
Juan 3: 22-30
Pagkatapos ng mga bagay na ito, pumunta si Jesus at ang kaniyang mga alagad sa lupain ng Judea. Siya ay nanatili roong kasama nila at nagbawtismo. Si Juan ay nagbabawtismo rin sa Enon na malapit sa Salim sapagkat maraming tubig doon. Sila ay pumaroon at nabawtismuhan. Ito ay sapagkat hindi pa nakabilanggo noon si Juan. Nagkaroon ng isang katanungan ang mga alagad ni Juan at ang mga Judio patungkol sa pagdadalisay. Sila ay lumapit kay Juan at sinabi sa kaniya: Guro, tingnan mo ang kasama mo sa ibayo ng Jordan na iyong pinatotohanan ay nagbabawtismo. Lahat ay pumupunta sa kaniya.
Tumugon si Juan at nagsabi: Hindi makakatanggap ng anuman ang isang tao malibang ito ay ipagkaloob sa kaniya mula sa langit. Kayo ang makapagpapatotoo na aking sinabi: Hindi ako ang Mesiyas. Ako ay sinugong una sa kaniya. Siya na lalaking ikakasal ang siyang may babaeng ikakasal. Ang kaibigan ng lalaking ikakasal ay nakatayo at nakikinig sa kaniyang tinig. Siya ay lubos na nagagalak sapagkat naririnig niya ang tinig ng lalaking ikakasal. Sa ganito ring paraan ako ay lubos na nagagalak. Kinakailangang siya ay maging higit na dakila at ako ay maging higit na mababa.
The One who has the bride is the bridegroom.
John the Baptist characterizes himself in the Gospel as the Bridegroom’s friend or the best man of Jesus, the Bridegroom. The Bridegroom’s friend is happy when the Bridegroom takes center stage and takes the bride to His home. John is happy that Jesus is now taking the center stage. It is now time for him to go gradually, so as not to steal the spotlight from Jesus, or even to compete with Jesus for attention.
Our constant preoccupation should be to make sure that people are led to Jesus and that Jesus should win their hearts. He alone can fill their hearts, and He alone can save them, not we. It should be honor enough that we are able to prepare the hearts of people for the coming of Jesus, the real Bridegroom, into their hearts. Do not seek to rival the bridegroom, Jesus.
I am not the one!
John is sure and insistent on this. He seems to sound like some of our politicians who, though caught with their hand in the cookie jar and charged with corruption, protest that they are not the one! Yet when a big project is launched, they proclaim that they are the one!
John’s statement is one of a humble person who knows where he stands. And from where he stands, this declaration even makes him bigger.
Indeed we are not the one. We are not the center of the universe. Life is not about us; it is about the people we touch. Joy is not about us; it is about the people we bring joy to. Meaning is not discovered in ourselves; it is when we forget ourselves and point to Jesus. Only then do we find the real meaning in our lives!
God bless you more than you can ever imagine!
SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord