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Sermon

Jesus Is Above All

Speaker
David Capoccia
Scripture
John 3:31-36

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In this sermon, Pastor Dave Capoccia finishes examining John 3:22-36, the final testimony of John the Baptist about Jesus in the Gospel of John. John the apostle presents the final testimony of John the Baptist so that you will devote yourself to Jesus Christ alone and not mere earthly messengers. The presentation of the testimony in John 3:22-36 unfolds in three parts, and Pastor Dave reviews the first two parts and then covers the last in John 3:31-36 in this sermon.

Complaint: Jesus Is Superseding John the Baptist!
Clarification 1: Jesus Is the Main Point, Not His Messengers
Clarification 2: Jesus Is Supreme Above All Earthly Teachers

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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

John 3:22-36 teaches that Jesus Christ is supreme above all earthly teachers and messengers. The qualitative, essential difference between Jesus and even the greatest Christian teacher is infinite — Jesus alone comes from heaven, speaks the very words of God, and possesses the Spirit without measure. We are reminded that no earthly teacher, no matter how faithful, deserves our ultimate devotion.

Key Lessons:

  1. Jesus’ heavenly origin and divine essence make Him categorically different from every earthly teacher — He is not merely the best teacher but the supreme one from above.
  2. Receiving or rejecting Jesus’ testimony is equivalent to certifying that God is true or calling God a liar, because Jesus speaks the very words of the Father.
  3. The Father gave Jesus the Spirit without measure and placed all things into His hand, meaning only Jesus possesses what we truly need for eternal life.
  4. True belief in Jesus always results in devoted obedience and a changed life — stopping short of full devotion to Christ, even while following a great teacher, leaves a person under God’s wrath.

Application: We are called to examine whether our devotion has settled on any earthly teacher rather than going all the way to Jesus Christ. We should be grateful for faithful teachers and learn from them, but test everything against Scripture, engage in community as faithful interpreters, and ensure our ultimate loyalty belongs to Christ alone.

Discussion Questions:

  1. In what ways might we unknowingly give a favorite Christian teacher or leader the kind of devotion that belongs only to Jesus?
  2. How does understanding that Jesus speaks the very words of God change the way we approach His teachings in the Gospels compared to other biblical or Christian writings?
  3. What practical steps can we take as a church community to ensure we are pointing one another to Christ rather than building devotion around human leaders?

Scripture Focus: John 3:22-36 — John the Baptist’s final testimony declaring Jesus’ supremacy over all earthly messengers; also referencing John 1:11-12, John 1:33-34, John 3:9-13, and 1 John 5:10.

Outline

Introduction

Well, let’s pray. God, we come to hear from you now. This is not some ritual that we just go through. This is not some story we tell ourselves to give us some sort of bond. This is, as Greg was just saying, the real, the deeper reality past the things that we see with our eyes.

We are not hearing mere words from an ancient book. We come to hear the voice of God, the voice of our Lord. God, I pray that you would remove all distractions from us, all concerns with things that are not that important, and that our attention would be arrested by what you have to say to us.

I pray, God, that you would help me to speak this word and exalt Jesus Christ this morning. Amen.

I’m actually not still struggling with a cold. It’s just that song kind of got me a little bit. But let me start off today with another question. I gave you a question last week and I’m giving you another one this week.

The Greatest Christian Teacher?

I like starting with a question. It gets your mind thinking. Here’s the question for today: outside of the New Testament, whom would you say is the greatest Christian teacher? Outside of the New Testament, whom would you say is the greatest Christian teacher?

Is it perhaps Augustine of Hippo, a 4th century North African bishop whose tireless efforts to preach the gospel, explain theology, and combat heresy significantly protected and shaped the Christian church for more than a thousand years? Many later church reformers looked back to Augustine and his works for instruction and encouragement. Truly, many of Augustine’s writings are still considered Christian classics today.

Or how about John Calvin, a 16th century French reformer who preached four or five times a week and pastored faithfully amid persecution in Switzerland? He trained up reformers to send out as missionaries to other countries and wrote his famous Systematic Theology, the Institutes of the Christian Religion, which many today still consider to be a masterful articulation of reformed theology. He also has a whole biblical doctrine nicknamed after him in Calvinism.

Or maybe Charles Spurgeon, a 19th century British pastor often called the Prince of Preachers. Despite not being seminary trained, he became a pastor at age 19 and was the most popular preacher in England at only age 22.

“Outside of the New Testament, whom would you say is the greatest Christian teacher?”

He preached thousands of sermons to thousands of people at a time. In addition to running a pastor’s college and publishing many written materials, he also held the line against doctrinal compromise among his fellow Baptists in England, and he was persecuted for it.

Or what about John MacArthur, an American present day pastor in Los Angeles, to whom many in this church, including myself, are personally indebted? He also preaches to thousands each Sunday in person and around the world. He started a seminary and published many written materials, including his famous Study Bible.

He has frequently stood against gospel compromise in the wider church and has modeled and popularized expository preaching among evangelicals around the world.

Is it one of those men? Or maybe for you it’s someone else? Whom do you consider to be the greatest Christian teacher outside of the New Testament?

Is Any Teacher Worthy of Utmost Devotion?

Well, for heaven, whoever you think is the greatest, here’s my follow-up question to you: Is that teacher deserving of your utmost devotion? Should you take everything that teacher says as the very voice of God? Take every one of his interpretations of the Bible, adopt all his opinions and applications, imitate all his actions?

Should you start or join a new denomination that has that great teacher as the head? Or if that teacher is now dead, at least has his teaching and philosophy of ministry as the defining rule?

Should you cancel any other teacher who disagrees with the teacher you consider to be the greatest? Should you listen to that great teacher exclusively because you don’t need anybody else?

Should you venerate even the very objects associated with that teacher? Should you attend the memorial service at his grave site every year? And should you name your church or seminary after him to honor his legacy?

Well, perhaps some of that or all of that sounds ridiculous to you. And if so, that’s good. Because what is the answer to all of these questions? The answer is no.

“Not even the greatest Christian teacher deserves that kind of devotion. That person is not Jesus Christ.”

Not even the greatest Christian teacher, whether in the past or today, deserves that kind of devotion or your utmost loyalty. And why not? Because that person, no matter how great, is not Jesus Christ.

Faithful Messengers Point to Christ

He is not supreme like the savior is supreme. Only Jesus is worthy of your complete loyalty. And yes, there is a place for honoring Jesus’ faithful messengers, those who have served him and his church well.

The Bible does command that you submit yourselves to the pastor elders of your church. But if Christ’s messengers are truly faithful, they will insist that you not overly devote yourselves to them.

They don’t want a denomination in their name. They don’t want you to treat them like a pope or a cult leader. They don’t want you heaping praises and honors on them.

They want those things to go to Jesus Christ. After all, could they not say the very same as we read from God’s servants in the scriptures? “What do I have that I did not receive? Why do you boast in me? I am just a weak little clay pot, an earthen vessel, carrying around the magnificent treasure of Christ. Why exalt the pots?”

A faithful teacher’s attitude really is the one we saw even from John the Baptist last week: “He, Jesus Christ, must increase, but I must decrease. Let me fade into the background. Don’t look at me. Look at him.”

“He, Jesus Christ, must increase, but I must decrease. Don’t look at me. Look at him.”

As we continue in the Gospel of John today, we’re going to see further why we must guard ourselves from the temptation to overly devote ourselves to and improperly exalt Christ’s earthly messengers. Not only is such devotion inappropriate to the position and role of Jesus’ messengers, but the qualitative, the essential difference between Jesus and his earthly messengers is infinite.

Jesus is above all, and only devotion to him, not to messengers, brings eternal life. Please take your Bibles and open to John 3:22-36.

Reading the Passage: John 3:22-36

The title of today’s sermon is “Jesus is Above All.” Jesus is above all. This is on Bible page 1061. This is the passage we were in last week. We’re focusing just on verses 31 to 36 today, but we’ll read the whole passage again for context.

John 3:22-36: “After these things Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea, and there he was spending time with them and baptizing. John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salem because there was much water there, and people were coming and were being baptized. For John had not yet been thrown into prison.

Therefore, there was a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification, and they came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, he is baptizing, and all are coming to him.’

John answered, ‘A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent ahead of him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.

He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What he has seen and heard of that he testifies, and no one receives his testimony.

He who has received his testimony has set his seal to this that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God. For he gives the spirit without measure. The Father loves the son and has given all things into his hand.

John 3:36: “He who believes in the son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

He who believes in the son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.’”

Purpose of John the Baptist’s Final Testimony

Here again, we have the final testimony from John the Baptist about Jesus in this gospel. I explained last time why John the Apostle, our author, includes this last testimony from John the Baptist. This testimony shows that John the Baptist’s witness declaring Jesus to be the Christ and the Son of God did not change after Jesus began his ministry.

When Jesus began to unveil shocking heavenly mysteries, John the Baptist directly corroborates what Jesus says, all his claims, and he stands united with Jesus in testimony. This passage shows us that choosing not to devote yourself to Jesus but instead to settle for devotion to John the Baptist or Moses or another one of God’s messengers, even Jesus’ messengers, is a deadly mistake.

Only sincere repentance and faith in Jesus himself, born out in a life of fruitful obedience, will save. Finally, this testimony gives us another example of what it means to be a faithful disciple of Jesus and even a faithful minister on his behalf. It is always to seek and direct others to find life in Jesus, not in yourself, not in any earthly messenger.

“Only sincere repentance and faith in Jesus himself, born out in a life of fruitful obedience, will save.”

I previously summarized these three purposes with the following main idea statement for our passage in John 3:22-36: “John the Apostle presents this final testimony of John the Baptist so that you will devote yourself to Jesus Christ alone and not mere earthly messengers.”

Review: The Complaint and First Clarification

This main idea is presented in three sections of narrative, and we looked at the first two sections together last time. We saw first, in verses 22 to 26, the complaint: Jesus is now superseding John the Baptist. This was the complaint.

Jesus is now superseding John the Baptist. After that first momentous Passover feast in Jerusalem, it turns out Jesus began baptizing and preaching in Judea, their very region in which John the Baptist was also baptizing and preaching. Although people were still coming to John, more and more people were going to Jesus.

When John’s disciples realized this, they complained about it to their Rabbi, their teacher, their master. They said, “John, the one about whom you testified, well, he’s stealing your thunder and your disciples. Everybody’s going to Jesus now instead of you. That’s not right.”

John’s disciples loved their teacher. They were grateful for their teacher. They were zealous for what they saw was his due rights and honor. But we saw next John’s first reply to his disciples in verses 27 to 30.

Clarification one: Jesus is the main point, not his messengers. Far from being miffed, disappointed, discouraged that Jesus was getting more and more of the attention, John the Baptist was overjoyed.

He told his disciples that all was playing out according to God’s plan, according to what God knew best, to give to each person, including John the Baptist and including Jesus. John reminded his disciples that he had always denied being the Christ or anyone worthy of great devotion.

John clarified his relationship to Jesus as like a best man to a bridegroom. The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The best man is only there to help them get married. But when they do, when the bride is brought successfully by the best man to the wedding feast to be received by the bridegroom, that’s what brings the best man his joy.

John says basically to his disciples, “You hear the voice of a usurper taking away what’s rightfully mine, but I hear the voice of the bridegroom, my dear friend, receiving what’s rightfully his, the bride. My mission is thus accomplished. My joy is now full. It’s time for him to increase and for me to decrease.

“The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The best man is only there to help them get married.”

I’m not here to steal the bride from myself. I’m here to rejoice in the bridegroom and see others do so. Don’t be zealous for my honors if I have been wronged. Jesus was always the main point.”

Surely such a word by itself is already a poignant reply to John’s disciples and their complaint. But John has another clarification to make to help his disciples and us, by God’s spirit, understand where our devotion should ultimately lie.

We see this second reply in verses 31 to 36.

Who Is Speaking in Verses 31-36?

But before I get into that, I need to mention again whether these verses that we’re about to look at are still John the Baptist’s speech or dialogue. When we looked at John 3:16-21, some Bible interpreters see that passage differently. Some Bible interpreters believe that verses 31 and 36 do not represent the words of John the Baptist. These are actually additional thoughts provided by the author, John the Apostle, about what John the Baptist just said.

For example, if you’re following along in the ESV or the NIV Bible translation, you’ll notice that verses 31 and 36 are not in quotation marks. This means that the translators believe John the Baptist’s words ended in verse 30, and the rest is the author.

The reason for this conclusion is mostly based on the fact that verses 31 to 36 sound like John 3:16-21, and both of those sections sound like the gospel’s prologue in John 1:1-18. The prologue was the author’s own thoughts. It was John the Apostle speaking.

Some interpreters say, “Well, these passages must be the author as well: John 3:16-21, and then even more relevantly for us today, John 3:31-36. This is John the Apostle, not John the Baptist.”

The other reason for this conclusion is that some find it difficult to believe that John the Baptist really would have known and said what is presented in John 3:31-36. But I’ve already told you that while I understand this position and respect the careful Bible interpreters who do take that position, I don’t agree. I don’t think it’s the best way to approach this passage.

There are no clear grammatical or syntactical markers in verses 30 or 31 indicating an end of dialogue. I’m just trying to imagine the original audience being able to pick up on, “Oh, this is not John the Baptist anymore. This is John the Apostle.” How would they have known?

Speculation about what people in the Bible could have said or known is subjective and ultimately unreliable. Maybe John the Baptist knew and was able to speak about more than we think. The simpler explanation for the similarity between John 3:31-36 and John 3:16-21 and the prologue is that John the Baptist, Jesus, and John the Apostle had united testimony. They all agreed with one another because they are all speaking about the one truth. That makes sense, right? That makes sense.

“John the Baptist, Jesus, and John the Apostle had united testimony because they are all speaking about the one truth.”

But again, even if you take verses 31 to 36 as the words of John the Apostle and not John the Baptist, you still have to admit that these are God-breathed, this is the inspired word of the Holy Spirit, this is Jesus’ Spirit speaking to us. One way or another, this is the authoritative word we need to examine.

As for me, I will be following what we see in the New American Standard 95 translation. I’m going to treat John 3:31-36 as the words of John the Baptist, part of his final testimony in this gospel.

Clarification Two: Jesus Is Supreme Above All Earthly Teachers

And let’s take a closer look at this second reply, this final part in John the Baptist’s speech to his disciples. Here we see the second clarification: Jesus is supreme above all earthly teachers.

Let’s see how this is developed starting with verse 31 and the first part of verse 32.

“He who comes from above is above all. He was of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all what he has seen and heard of that he testifies.”

Do you notice how these statements flow easily and logically from what is stated in verse 30? “He must increase but I must decrease.”

Jesus’ Heavenly Origin vs. Earthly Teachers

John says, but not only because Jesus and I are on different levels when it comes to role, but also because Jesus and I are on different levels when it comes to essential being and fullness of revelation. “He who comes from above is above all,” John says. That is to say, the one who has an origin above, a heavenly origin, is naturally supreme, superior over those who do not have that origin.

He, Jesus, is above all, not simply spatially over the earth, but positionally over all the earth’s people. Furthermore, his essence is not of this world. He is a heavenly being come down.

“The one who has a heavenly origin is naturally supreme over those who do not have that origin.”

Jesus is supreme, and the only man worthy of total devotion. Contrast John the Baptist’s: “He was of the earth is from the earth.”

Now that statement might sound like a tautology, a needless repetition, but it’s not. It completes the comparison that’s begun in the first part of the verse. In contrast to Jesus, John the Baptist, and really every other teacher, Christian or not, comes from the earth.

John doesn’t come from heaven, nor has John ascended there and come back. John is both literally and figuratively below Jesus in origin. Moreover, based on that origin, John is also below Jesus in essence.

Earthly Messengers Are Fundamentally Limited

John is not only from the earth but of the earth. John is earthy, made from soil, bound to terrestrial existence, limited in his understanding and capacity because he is an earth dweller. And this fundamental earthiness affects what John can communicate as a spiritual teacher.

Notice verse 31 says that the one of the earth and from the earth was also the one who speaks of the earth. That is, his communication, generally speaking, is limited to basic earthly realities.

Now this is not to say that John could not or did not declare anything that was more heavenly. No, he did do that, and he will do that even in this passage. But this does emphasize that John was fundamentally limited. Yes, even John was fundamentally limited in what he was able to know and reveal from God.

“John was fundamentally limited in what he was able to know and reveal from God.”

John had not been to heaven. He was of weak earthly essence. So his message on behalf of God, even when executed faithfully, could only go so far.

Jesus Declares Heavenly Revelation Firsthand

But what about Jesus? Notice it says next, “He who comes from heaven is above all.” There’s some repetition with variation again, emphasizing Jesus’ supreme origin and essence.

And what did that lead to? First part of verse 32: “What he has seen and heard of that he testifies.”

Jesus, like John, has a message to communicate, revelation to unveil. But what kind of revelation is it? Fundamentally not earthly but heavenly. And how is it that Jesus has heavenly revelation? Because that’s from where he came, and also where he saw and heard that revelation firsthand.

Unlike John the Baptist, who must have his heavenly revelation given to him in pieces according to John’s earthly capacity, Jesus, as God, has known all heavenly revelation from the beginning, from eternity. And the word that Jesus declares, the word of the Father, which we’ll hear more about in just a second, is not a word passed on to Jesus by telephone over some garbled connection.

No, the Eternal Word who dwells in the bosom of the Father received this revelation in the very presence of God. When Jesus saw and heard are the very mysteries declared from God’s throne, and that is the revelation that Jesus now has to declare on the earth to the people of the earth.

“The Eternal Word received this revelation in the very presence of God — the very mysteries declared from God’s throne.”

Now can we see then already how there’s no contest between Jesus and earthly teachers like John? Jesus comes from heaven as the heavenly one to unveil profound heavenly mysteries. John and every teacher since, including me, comes from the earth, is earthy, can barely scratch the surface of heavenly realities because he is so earthbound in his communication.

There’s such a chasm of difference between Jesus and every other teacher. Jesus is truly above all earthly messengers, and he’s the only one worthy of your full devotion.

No One Receives His Testimony

Considering the clear difference between Jesus and messengers like John, we might think that everyone would be eager to receive Jesus’ superior revelation and devote themselves to him. But we quickly read this statement in the second part of verse 32: “And no one receives this testimony.”

What is this? People, generally speaking, do not want the supreme teacher. They will not accept the revelation of heavenly mysteries.

But at this point in this gospel, we shouldn’t be surprised by this truth. Why not? Because we’ve heard this before. In fact, early in the chapter, Jesus declared the same in his conversation with Nicodemus.

Look back there at John 3:9-13. This is Jesus talking to Nicodemus: “Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the son of man.’”

Do you notice how Jesus’ words in that passage parallel almost everything that we just heard from John the Baptist in verses 31 to 32?

Jesus was preaching the basics of salvation—earthly things—to the teacher of Israel, and Nicodemus wouldn’t accept it. He could not believe Jesus’ words. He’s a representative of the Jewish people as a whole.

Jesus was only declaring what he had seen and heard, what he had been entrusted with by the Father. And Jesus had even grander spiritual realities, heavenly things, to reveal than these.

How is it that Jesus could speak this way? Because Jesus, unlike everyone else, is descended from heaven. One of the heavenly mysteries that we see Jesus reveal in John 3:19-21 is why the people of earth do not accept the testimony of the heavenly one.

What’s the reason? Because they love the darkness and hate the light. People love sin, and thus don’t want to hear or believe the message of God’s Messiah, even though he’s supreme, even though his message is supreme.

“People love sin, and thus don’t want to hear or believe the message of God’s Messiah, even though his message is supreme.”

Jesus and John the Baptist’s United Yet Distinct Witness

Side note: Do you notice how John 3:11 says, “We speak of what we know and testify what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony,” whereas John 3:32 says, “What he has seen and heard of that he testifies, and no one receives his testimony”?

Those statements are very parallel, except for one obvious difference: we have a shift from “we” to “he.” Why? What’s going on here?

I mentioned previously—it’s a bit of a puzzle in verse 11 as to what the “we” refers to. It’s difficult to interpret, but I believe Jesus in verse 11 was including John the Baptist as a fellow witness of the truth, ultimately rejected by the people of Israel.

Thus Jesus says, “We speak and you do not accept our testimony.” After all, back in John 1:34, this is when John the Baptist was giving earlier testimony. John the Baptist says, “I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God, for this is the chosen one of God.”

So Jesus and John are declaring what they’ve seen and heard, a revelation ultimately rejected by the people of Israel. However, when repeating the idea of rejected testimony from God, John the Baptist apparently doesn’t want to put himself into the same category as Jesus because he knows that his own witness was so limited compared to Jesus’ witness.

Therefore, John the Baptist only mentions his testimony rather than “our” testimony. This difference of approach between Jesus and John fits the pattern we see throughout the gospels. If you just look at the synoptics or pay attention to what we see here in this gospel, John the Baptist is always downplaying his own importance.

People ask him if he’s the Christ. “I’m definitely not.” Are you Elijah? “No.” He won’t even claim to be Elijah. “I’m just a voice. I’m just a voice in the wilderness crying out, ‘Make straight the way of God.’”

It’s interesting that Jesus does the opposite. He goes out of his way to point out John’s importance. Jesus declares that John is Elijah who was to come. He even declares John to be the greatest man born of a woman. That is to say, he was the greatest prophet and teacher up to that time.

But if even this great teacher, this foremost prophet, John the Baptist, the Forerunner of Christ, if even he sees himself as far below Jesus, not even worthy to be called a witness alongside Jesus, what are the implications for us?

Certainly, we should adopt that same humble attitude as a disciple of Jesus. Certainly, we should appreciate the united, consistent witness of Jesus and John the Baptist. But we must also certainly be careful not to come short of devotion to Jesus by merely devoting ourselves to John, some other Jewish or Christian teacher.

“If even the foremost prophet sees himself as far below Jesus, what are the implications for us?”

Plenty of Jews at that time were willing to follow John but not Jesus. But in doing so, they fundamentally failed to understand John’s mission. John always meant to point people, his followers, to the one who is truly above all, who is so far above who John himself was.

Receiving Jesus’ Testimony Certifies God Is True

Indeed, as John’s reply continues, he not only emphasizes Jesus’ supremacy over himself but also the profound implications of going all the way to Jesus or merely settling for an earthly messenger. Look at verse 33 now.

“He who has received his testimony has set his seal to this that God is true.”

Now at first glance, verse 33 might sound like it contradicts what we just read in verse 32: “No one receives this testimony.” But those who do receive his testimony, they get this thing. What is it? Don’t those contradict each other?

Well, no. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this kind of pairing in this gospel. If you might remember, John 1:11-12. We heard this: He, speaking of Jesus, the son, “He came to his own, and those who were his own did not receive him. His people didn’t receive him. But verse 12: ‘As many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name.’”

It’s the same idea here in verse 33. John 3:32-33: Generally speaking, no one receives Jesus’ heavenly testimony. People love darkness. They hate the light. However, there are some born of the spirit, some among the Jews, some among the Gentiles, later there are some born of the spirit who do believe. They do receive Jesus’ testimony, and they thus fulfill verse 33.

They set their seal to the fact that God is true. Now perhaps you’re wondering, “Wait a second, what does that mean?”

Well, to set your seal to something is a figurative way of saying that you certify or affirm something. Today, sometimes you’ll see a symbol on packaged food, maybe a star with a K in it, that indicates certified kosher, meaning that a rabbinic agency has inspected the ingredients of the food, the production facility where the food was made, and the actual making of the food, and has affirmed that there are no non-kosher traces of food in this food, nothing non-kosher inside this food.

Thus Jews and others observing ceremonial food laws can eat the food with confidence. They’re not becoming unclean. The rabbis have set their seal to the food that it is kosher. They’ve certified it.

“Receiving Jesus’ heavenly testimony is to certify something about God, namely that he is true.”

Similarly, receiving Jesus’ heavenly testimony is to set your seal or to certify something about God, namely that he is true or that he is truthful. But how does that follow? Don’t worry, we get the explanation in the first part of verse 34.

Jesus Speaks the Words of God

Verse 34: “For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God.”

I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about verse 34, but the first part of this verse presents a profound concept that we will see again and again in this gospel. Jesus is going to keep on repeating this idea that Jesus does not speak his own words but only speaks the words given him by the Father.

In the New Testament, especially in this gospel, the title “God” is often used to refer to God the Father specifically, especially if you have “God” in contrast to “the son” or something like that. “God” means the Father. That’s the way it should be taken here.

Verse 34 says that the Father sends the son from heaven into the world and gives the son the words to speak, words that are the Father’s own words. Or to say that another way, everything that Jesus declares on earth is really just a testimony given Jesus to declare by God the Father himself in heaven.

Jesus speaks the words of God. Therefore, if you do not receive Jesus’ testimony, if you do not accept Jesus’ words, what really are you saying about God who gave Jesus those words? That God is a liar and his word is untrustworthy and unworthy to be believed.

Sometimes we forget or fail to appreciate how high the stakes are when it comes to a person’s response to Jesus. Many among the Jews, perhaps even among John the Baptist’s disciples, thought that they could affirm God as good Jews while rejecting Jesus or at least leaving Jesus an open question: “I’ll devote myself to God, maybe even John the Baptist, but not Jesus. His words are iffy.”

God reveals that God and Jesus are one, and so is their word. Thus, if you accept the testimony of Jesus and devote yourself accordingly, you certify that God is true as you ought. But if you reject the testimony of Jesus, just treat him like another teacher, devote yourself to someone else, well, you affirm God to be a liar. And do you think he will escape the judgment that comes with that kind of settled blasphemy?

“If you reject the testimony of Jesus, you affirm God to be a liar.”

First John 5:10 affirms this same truth, same author, different book. 1 John 5:10: “The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. The one who does not believe God has made him a liar because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his son.”

The Spirit Given Without Measure

And it’s not as if Jesus’ testimony is unclear and people can’t really know for certain that it is from God, that it is the words of God. For the last part of verse 34 adds, “For he gives the spirit without measure,” or more literally, “He does not give the Spirit by measure.”

Now a key question for this verse is: Who is the “he” giving the spirit? Is this Jesus giving the spirit to his people without measure, or is this the Father giving the spirit to his son without measure?

The answer must be the latter: the Father giving the spirit to the son without measure. For the context here is all about what makes Jesus supreme over all earthly messengers, all earthly teachers. Not to mention Ephesians 4:7 specifically says that Christ gave spiritual gifts to his people by measure according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

The very reason that Jesus is able to give the Holy Spirit to his people is because Jesus himself possesses the spirit in a limitless capacity. Recall what John the Baptist said in John 1:33: “I did not recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the spirit descending and remaining upon him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’”

Unlike others in Old Testament history who had the Spirit come upon them for a time, God’s own Spirit came upon the son in a permanent and unlimited fashion.

So what are the implications of this? What are the implications of Jesus receiving the spirit without measure from the Father?

Well, first, it means that Christ’s words and works unquestionably represent the testimony of God. All people—there’s no excuse here. All people can be justly held accountable for their response to Jesus’ ministry because it was so Spirit-filled, it was Spirit-flooded. You can’t tell me that’s not the word of God. It’s too obvious because of the spirit that is just overflowing from him.

All those chosen by God, moreover, will recognize God’s spirit in Jesus and will repent and believe. But there’s another implication we see: second, how much higher Jesus is than John the Baptist or any other teacher.

John the Baptist was filled with the spirit from his mother’s womb. He was also granted further revelations by God’s spirit. No Christian teacher today can justly claim those things for himself.

Yet even John confesses that Jesus is so high above John. Jesus was given the spirit without measure. I don’t have that. You don’t have that. Jesus is the only one who has that.

“Jesus was given the Spirit without measure. I don’t have that. You don’t have that. Jesus is the only one who has that.”

Therefore, you cannot settle for devotion to John. You must go all the way to Jesus because he’s above all.

The Father Loves the Son and Gave Him All Things

Actually, this unmeasured gift of the spirit from the Father to the son is unsurprising when we see the kind of relationship that the Father and son have, which is what we see in verse 35. Look at verse 35 now.

“The Father loves the son and has given all things into his hand.”

Talk about a difference between Jesus and his messengers. God loves his creation. God loves the people of Israel. But God has a special, boundless love for his son, for the eternally only begotten son.

In that love, the Father gave all things into his son’s hand. Now what’s included in the “all things” here? I see nothing in the context that should cause us to understand a limitation to that expression. “All things” means all things—everything that the Father has, he has given to the son.

All riches, all glory, all life, all power, all judgment, all authority, all those specially marked out and chosen in Jesus before the foundation of the world—they’ve already been given to the son. God has given all things into the hand, into the possession of the son.

“All riches, all glory, all life, all power, all judgment, all authority — God has given all things into the hand of the Son.”

Now Greg was talking about this earlier. If you’re in Christ, you have also received God’s infinite love and everlasting dominion. Amazingly, what’s true for you is that all things, by God’s grace, belong to you as well.

But how? Not independently, not because you earned it or worked for it, but because you were connected to Jesus Christ. You receive all things through him who has already been given all things. You belong to Jesus, and he belongs to God, and God placed all things in Jesus’ hand.

Certainly, verse 35 marks off Jesus’ supremacy pretty uniquely, wouldn’t you say? And this is John the Baptist’s point, showing his disciples: “You may think that I’m really someone. You never saw a teacher like me. I’m the greatest. And I’m telling you the one that you should pay attention to is the one that the Father loved from eternity and the one to whom the Father has given all things, even the spirit without limit.

I can’t do much for you, honestly. I can’t do much for you. But imagine what the one who possesses all things can do for you.”

And the same can be said by any faithful Christian teacher: “Don’t have what you need. The greatest teacher you can think of doesn’t have what you need. But Jesus does because all things have been given into his hand.”

Jesus is supreme above all earthly teachers. Therefore, you must devote yourself to Jesus Christ alone.

Indeed, the fact that Jesus is so supreme and beloved in the eyes of the Father makes settling merely for a great teacher, even a great Christian teacher, instead of the son such a monumental error—a crime really. For notice the last part of John the Baptist’s testimony, verse 36.

Belief in the Son Brings Eternal Life

“He who believes in the son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Now this last verse sounds similar again to what we’ve already heard from Jesus, John 3:16, John 3:18. This once again shows us that John and Jesus have united testimony. They agree on that shocking, wonderful revelation: that simple belief, genuine belief in God’s son, brings a person eternal life.

That’s the truth declared both by the Messiah and by Messiah’s Forerunner. There was no mistake in that. It wasn’t lost in translation. That’s the truth. That’s good news.

“Simple, genuine belief in God’s Son brings eternal life — declared both by the Messiah and by Messiah’s Forerunner.”

But as we’ve seen, the context for this repetition of that idea in John 3:36 is the complaint of John the Baptist’s disciples about Jesus. What is significant about John declaring this to his disciples?

Well, John the Baptist is showing the most crucial difference between earthly messengers and Jesus: belief in Jesus will save. Belief in earthly messengers will not.

You can be the most devoted partisan of your particular religious teacher, whether it’s Moses or John the Baptist or a Christian teacher today. But if you stop short of the son, if you miss the son, you miss all of eternal life. You will not receive the everlasting life of Christ’s kingdom age.

Now I’ve been using the word “devotion” throughout these sermons instead of the word “belief” that we see at the beginning of verse 36. You might be wondering why. Well, there is a reason, and that reason is in the second half of verse 36.

The Wrath of God Abides on the Disobedient

Says, “He who does not obey the son will not see life, not experience life at all, either now or in eternity, but instead the wrath, the holy and angry judgment of God, abides or remains on that person.”

Do you notice that the word translated “abides” in verse 36 is in the present tense? This is not a future reality for those who refuse to believe. In the end, this is a present reality for those who refuse to believe and obey right now.

Again, Jesus said the same, right? “He who does not believe is judged already. The wrath of God already stands over it, already remains on those who have not come all the way to the son.”

It remains like a ginormous, growing storm cloud. That cloud rumbles the sky. Increasingly, the sky darkens above that person. And sometimes there is rain that comes down, but these are just the beginning of God’s anger.

One day, in God’s sovereign timing, that storm cloud will burst. The torrent will be released, and whoever is standing under it will be infinitely and eternally overwhelmed. All this is for the one who does not obey the beloved son, a chosen one of God.

“One day that storm cloud will burst, and whoever is standing under it will be infinitely and eternally overwhelmed.”

True Belief Produces Real Obedience

Now perhaps someone will say, “I thought salvation was by faith and not by works of obedience, right?” You are. Praise the Lord for that.

However, all true belief in Jesus results in real fruit. It results in a changed life. It results in new and lasting obedience, not staying where you are in your sin but actually turning from it. It’s not perfection, but it is a fundamentally new direction.

After Jesus, you cannot believe in Jesus without becoming devoted to him. And I say, “Yeah, yeah, Jesus, Son of God, Lord, yep, but I’m still going to do my thing, or I’m just going to follow what this teacher says”? Nope.

“All true belief in Jesus results in real fruit — a changed life, new and lasting obedience, a fundamentally new direction.”

You must be devoted to Jesus if you really believe in him, and he cannot be devoted to him if all your devotion has already been given to some mere earthly teacher, one of his messengers.

This is John’s sobering clarification, and it’s also a joyful exhortation, an invitation to his disciples. “My friends, you are zealous for me. The one who should be zealous for is Jesus. He is God’s son, as I testified, and he has the power to give you life if you believe in him. I cannot do that for you.

In fact, if you never go beyond me, you will remain under God’s wrath. Therefore, listen to this word and recognize that Jesus is supreme above all earthly teachers.”

Application: Do Not Stop Short of Christ

Now that same word is important for John the Apostle’s gospel audience. Remember, he’s preaching to Hellenized Jews and God-fearers, Gentile God-fearers. They couldn’t stop with Moses. They couldn’t stop with John the Baptist.

But this truth is also important for us today, brethren. We need to recognize that it is possible—it is possible—to devote ourselves to a great Christian teacher and still miss Jesus Christ. It’s possible to obey, to line yourself up under a great Christian teacher and find yourself disobedient to Jesus.

I preached two weeks ago, and it’s worth re-emphasizing, that many religious people—yes, even the most faithful adherents to certain Christian teachers—they don’t know Jesus Christ. They have deceived themselves because they were not willing to go all the way to Jesus. They didn’t love him. They loved the teacher who was sent from him.

We cannot afford to make that kind of mistake ourselves. God’s spirit desires better for us. And I believe that’s why he’s given that message to us today.

So let us be resolved. Let us be resolved to only believe in and give our ultimate devotion to the one who deserves it: to Jesus Christ. I’ll just be grateful for our earthly teachers and learn from them, but still to test what they say against what is truly authoritative: the word of Jesus.

“Let us give our ultimate devotion to the one who deserves it — to Jesus Christ — and test what teachers say by the word of Jesus.”

Let us be like the noble Bereans who test the word of the Apostles according to Acts 17:11, and they were called noble for this. Let us treat no man as a pope, nor let us attempt to become popes ourselves. I’m not supposed to have any other popes out there, so I’ll be my own pope? No.

But rather, let us study the Bible together as a community of faithful interpreters. It’s possible that you could be blind to something, but if you’re with a group of people who love and study God’s word seriously and are living it out, it will be hard for you to get off course or remain off course.

Let us not become a pope or treat any man as pope, but engage in the community of faithful interpreters who are eager to understand and put into practice the Bible’s original intent, the spirit, the Lord’s original intent.

And finally, as those called to serve one another, let us adopt the same mindset of John the Baptist: never believing or acting as if we are what people need. Yes, come to me for counseling because I’ve got all the answers for you. Come and hear my preaching because I uniquely have the answers for you? No, that is not our mindset.

We are determined to see every person finding where real life and help and joy is, and that is in Jesus Christ. We want to—we are determined—we are not satisfied until we see every person that we have the opportunity to minister to brought all the way to Jesus, to believe in him and be sanctified in him and be satisfied in him.

That’s what Jesus deserves. That’s what we were meant for. And that’s where we, like John the Baptist, will find our ultimate joy. Can you agree to that? Can you say amen to that?

Closing Prayer

Lord, so many things are going through my mind right now. These things that we’ve just heard from your word are true. Jesus, you came to the earth, but you were so different from other people. Yes, you were completely a man like us. You were 100 percent human, and yet your origin was not of this earth. Your essence was not earthly.

You are the eternal God, and you came with the very testimony and words of God. They bring freedom to those who believe, but bring judgment to those who will not believe. How dare we certify God to be a liar by rejecting your word?

Whatever else we may do, however religiously we may act, however much we may go to the synagogue or be in church or listen to teaching, if we don’t become devoted to you, Jesus, our heart is still testifying that God is a liar.

Jesus, you really do deserve all of us. You deserve all the honor. You deserve obedience. God, I pray that no one in this church, no one listening to the message today, would stop short. I know John the Baptist didn’t want that. John the Apostle didn’t want that. And Lord God, I know that you don’t want that.

You desire, even as you said to your own disciples, that your people would come, be where you are, so that they may behold your glory. How silly of us, how short-sighted of us, to settle for the glory of a mere earthly messenger.

“Say, behold this teacher. How wonderful he is,” when even the greatest earthly teacher, earthly messenger, is nothing compared to the supreme one from heaven. Lord, we are grateful for our teachers. We are grateful for those who do generally faithfully preach us the word of God, teach us, minister to us the word.

But they aren’t the savior. They aren’t Christ. And they’re always pointing us to Christ. So God, I pray that we would not be more zealous for a Christian teacher than we are for you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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