John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire…” (Luke 3:16 ESV)
The Fish and Pride
One of my favorite cartoons shows a fish, eating a bigger fish, which is eating a BIGGER fish, which is eating a HUGE fish… which is… you get the idea.
There is always a bigger fish.
We like to be good at things… and we like that to be acknowledged.
John the Baptist was a powerful prophet, a dynamic preacher, a social influencer, and he drew huge crowds to the Jordan River.
But when he was noticed, he did the right thing… the only right thing, really.
He pointed people to Jesus. Amazingly, John pointed people to Jesus before Jesus was officially known. John could have basked in his glory for a time. John could have taken some praise, enjoyed his popularity, felt needed, appreciated, and wanted.
But he pointed people to Jesus.
Our pride sometimes stops us from doing that. Our pride, sometimes justifiable pride (some of you are GOOD at things…) makes us enjoy the occasional limelight.
But every such limelight appearance is a chance to point people to Jesus.
Be blatant about it, like John. Be obvious about it, like John. Maybe even be annoying about it, like John.
Because Jesus is always better.