John
3:22-30 (NIV) After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean
countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also
was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and
people were constantly coming to be baptized. 24 (This was before John was put
in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a
certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and
said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the
Jordan — the one you testified about — well, he is baptizing, and everyone is
going to him."
27 To
this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.
28 You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent
ahead of him.' 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends
the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the
bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become
greater; I must become less.
NOTE: There really
is no record of these early years other than these few phrases, like
"where he spent some time with them." We don't know specifically what
he said or taught, but we can be sure it had an effect, since God's word is
living and active (Heb 4:12) and does not return empty (Isa 55:10-11). Quiet
periods of learning are necessary before God can use people more publicly. We
also see John the Baptist again portrayed with a rare humility. John is in the
public spotlight, and he too probably spent years in the desert in quiet
beforehand. But now, in his public ministry, we see a decidedly mature response
to a dwindling following. He had his eyes on Jesus and on what was important,
and not on himself and his image or standing. We could all stand to learn that
lesson and stop measuring our success by the numbers in our church. The real
question should be, "are they growing spiritually?"
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