John 3:27 The case against pride_

John answered and said, A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. ‭‭John‬ ‭3:27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

When John the Baptist said this, there was a transition happening – the baton of ministry being passed from John to Jesus. After he was killed, Jesus said of John that among those born of women there is no one greater (Luke‬ ‭7:28‬). Yet, his job was a short one: to be the forerunner of the coming Messiah, and he did that quite well. As Jesus began his ministry, John’s work was complete. There were men and women throughout history that have made significant impacts in our world. What made John the greatest?‬‬‬‬

The nature of man is to cling to our way, establish routines, celebrate traditions, and although John’s disciples were passionate followers, they may have been just as quick to protect this budding movement that John was leading. His disciples came to him wondering about this Jesus who was now baptizing and drawing men away from their ministry. But John understood his role and took time to point his disciple in the right direction. He made it clear that the influence and impact of Jesus was to increase and his would decrease. And while making this case he dropped this nugget:

A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.

John was filled with the Holy Spirit, had large crowds following him, and had incredible momentum in Israel. Today’s marketing people would have been all over it analyzing the nuances of the self-branding in which he reached the tipping point of public acceptance. But he knew where his favor came from – he received his gift and mission from God, before he had any choice in the matter. And the same could be said of Jesus: He received it from his Father, which John also recognized. He was the warm up act for the main attraction. The doorman for a grand entrance. The road sign pointing the donkey cart to the destination city. John had grace and favor, yes, but the main attraction was breathtaking! He would soon be a shadow to the sun whose brightness would change the course of history. What made John so great? His humility. He stepped aside so the Son may shine without obstruction.

Back to his comment. There are incredible abilities that people have. From music, to thinking, to leading, to business, to creativity… you name it. And in our world the media and pop culture recognize these extraordinary gifts and work hard to overlay “rock star” status on the gifted. But that’s just what they are: gifts. What is it that we have that we were not given? Just because I was born with a certain ability does it make me better than another? What is truly incredible is that those who start life with a talent, or good looks, intelligence, or money, somehow come to believe it is because of something intrinsically special about them. And they have help in their puffing faith from an adversary who has experience in self-glory.

Every human has gifts and abilities. They are reflections of our Father who has distributed little pieces of himself in all of us. None of us have it all. But together, as a body of Christ, we reflect the glory of the Lord in a way that dazzles!

In whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:21-22‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬

As incredible as his gift is to each of us, what is even more important is the filling of the Holy Spirit within. This is what John had received, and while still in the womb of Elizabeth. When the Spirit is filling us, his incredible radiance, brilliance, energy and life flow from the fleshly vessel that has been endowed with whatever gift we have big or small. It’s not enough to play the piano, but to be Spirit filled and playing it. It’s not enough to teach, but to teach with the presence of God illuminating the lesson. All that we have has been freely given by our Father. Who among us can take credit for the gift?

And the more or bigger the gift we have, the more responsibility we have to steward it. Jesus was truly the greatest, but wasn’t it he who washed the disciples feet as a lesson? If our Lord can do it, so can we.

When it comes to ability, we are inclined to make value judgments about individuals. Pride and the nature of man want to separate the better from the worse. And no wonder. The most amazing from among the creatures in the heavenly realm, the most gifted, somehow thought he was better and more deserving than everyone else… to the point that he even challenged God. Imagine. Lucifer, was the shining one. Now, he’s the accuser.

It’s good to recognize, as John did, that everything we have is given from above. There is a time to step aside and acknowledge and honor another. And John’s humility and honor of God and the Messiah made him the greatest. Then Jesus threw the challenge out to us as well: “yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

In the New Testament, there is additional encouragement to remember where our gifts come from.

For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? 1 Corinthians‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Paul discussing the ministry of the High Priest:

And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. Hebrews‬ ‭5:4‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Jesus standing before Pilot:

So Pilate said to Him: You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above…” John‬ ‭19:10-11‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Jesus recognizing the difference in abilities given:

For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. Matthew‬ ‭25:14-15‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

What about having faith? Does this make me more special than another?

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly… Romans‬ ‭12:3-8‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

When considering my gifts and abilities, I love the perspective from a few authors. Charles Martin in When Crickets Cry said:

People marvel at the genius of Mozart because he supposedly wrote “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” at the age of three and composed his first symphony at the age of twelve. And yes, of course he was a genius, but another way to look at it is that he just discovered early what it was God made him to do. That’s all. For some reason, God gave him a little extra, or a little something different, and Mozart found out what that was and then got a head start on using it. Of course he was brilliant, but that’s not the point. The point is he knew, and then he got to work.

From Demos Shakarian in The Happiest People on Earth:

“Friends,” I said, “I believe God has a particular gift for each of His servants, some special ability we’re to use for His Kingdom. I believe if we find that gift, and use it, we’ll be the happiest people on earth. And if we miss it, no matter how many excellent things we do, we’ll be utterly miserable.”

Amen!