A Statement from John the Baptist's Disciples - John 3:26

John the apostle shared how, “there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying”, and in chapter three and verse twenty-six of his book, John shared how John the Baptist's disciples tell him, “he that was with you beyond Jordan … the same baptizes” where we read:

And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with you beyond Jordan, to whom you bore witness, behold, the same baptizes, and all men come to him.

The verse reads, “And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with you beyond Jordan, to whom you bore witness, ...” John began with the words, “and they came unto John” which means “and the disciples of John the Baptist whose name means Jehovah is a gracious giver approached him”, “and said unto him” or “and uttered, declared and proclaimed to John the Baptist”, “Rabbi” which means “teacher, master or instructor”, “he that was with you beyond Jordan” or “the One, Jesus, who was alongside and together with you, John the Baptist, on the other side or across the Jordan river which means the descender and was the one river of Palestine”, “to whom you bore witness” which means “about whom you, John the Baptist, testified, affirmed and gave an honorable testimony and good report”. John shared how the disciples of John the Baptist approached him and referred to Jesus to whom he gave witness about doing the following.

The verse goes on to say, “... behold, the same baptizes, and all men come to him.”. John added the word, “behold” which means “lo, look and consider”, “the same baptizes” or “the selfsame One, Jesus, submerges and immerses people in water”, “and all men come to him” which means “and each, every, the whole and everyone approaches and comes near to Him, Jesus”. John shared how the disciples of John the Baptist noticed how people were “coming” to Jesus to be “baptized”, and they told John about it.

When we think through John's words in this verse, we discover how Jesus and His disciples were “baptizing” more people than John the Baptist and his disciples. This concerned them, and they reported it to John the Baptist. John the Baptist will say more about this in our next verse, but for now let all who read these words understand, Jesus, the Son of the Living God, is the main “One” of interest and glory. He is God's answer to mankind's problem of sin, and because people need to be “saved” from the penalty of sin which is death, Jesus came to die on the cross for them. Jesus is to be exalted. Jesus is to be the One of focus, and Jesus will “save” every person who believes and trusts in Him as their personal “Savior and Lord”.

Next time John shares how John the Baptist tells his disciples, “a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".