The King of Glory

John the Baptist challenged the people of his day and continues to confront all readers of his words in any age. When we engage with a text and seek meaning, principles, and application, we allow men of great might and conviction to level with us. And this is not always a enjoyable. There is a passage in John that I dreaded for years.

John 3:22-30 is the passage in question. In this section, we see the beginning of the end of John the Baptist’s ministry. Jesus has now become the central focus of the Pharisees and people are responding to his signs and words. The amount of people John baptized was tapering off as Jesus captures the attention of the people.

John’s disciples observed the decline of his ministry and were fearful that this was the end of their good works. They were scared that this amazing ministry they had would end soon and they would go back to regular life.

They became so agitated and worked up that they were found arguing about purification with a Jew. We are not told details about this argument because the main point is that they were angry and frustrated. It is under these circumstances that they came to John with an accusation. They told him that the one he had testified about was now taking all the attention away and baptizing instead of them. They had heard all that John had said about Jesus: that he was the Lamb of God, that he would take away the sins of the world, and that He is the Son of God. They knew all of this yet they still said “The one who you testified about… everyone is flocking to Him!”

John’s response comes swiftly and confidently: “I am not the Messiah.” John saw ministry with a clarity that many today do not begin to understand. John wanted his disciples to understand that all the work John had done was given to him from the Father. John gave all the glory to God for he knew that his purpose was as a man pointing all to Jesus.

John understood from the outset that he was not the Messiah and not even worthy to tie the sandals of Jesus. John’s reaction to Jesus eclipsing him is referenced all the time in Christian culture: “He must increase and I must decrease.” You May be wondering why this scared me so much. Because it’s a call to insignificance. That, by its very nature, is scary. When preaching to college students one of the most consistent messages is “God will do GREAT things through you.” “You are going to do amazing things.” And yet, John looked out at the sunset of his short-lived ministry and was delighted that men flocked to the Savior rather than the Prophet.

For Christians, the real question is not whether we are great. We should not be overly concerned about whether we are successful but we must be deeply concerned with whether or not we are glorifying God. If there were more Christians who eagerly hand over all glory to God in poverty and prosperity then our God would receive all praise, all glory, and then maybe we would be worth the ministries that we pour all our effort into perfecting.

Psalm 24 contains a unique name for God. “The King of Glory”. We don’t gift wrap glory and hand it to God as a present. No, Glory is rightly His from the beginning and we lay it at His feet in response to His worthiness. As you read this Psalm think about the worthiness of God your King.

Who is this King of Glory?

The Lord, Strong and Mighty, the Lord, Mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, you gates!

Rise up you ancient doors!

Then the King of Glory will come in.

Psalm 24:8-10

In closing, John’s words bring about a question in our hearts: do we want God to take all the credit? If not, there is work to be done in our hearts.