Hey, Carpool Crew, it's Pastor Justin. You're riding along with my great friend Cathi today on the third episode of Carpooling with Heroes of the Bible on John the Baptist. Cathi and I go way back. Before there was even Carpooling with Jesus, she was one of the first people to listen to any of our episodes. She believed in the podcast before there was a podcast. She's a great friend of mine, and she has a brand-new book out called Little Star. If you and your family love reading books at bedtime, a lot like mine do, you will love Little Star, and you're gonna love the theme and the message of the book. There's a link in the show notes. I'd love for you to check it out. Let's jump into the third episode with Cathi on John the Baptist. Hey, Carpool Crew. I'm Cathi, a friend of Pastor Justin's, and today we're back for episode three of our journey with John the Baptist. Last time, we met John in the wilderness, eating bugs and wearing some pretty strange clothing, telling everyone they needed to turn to God and that someone greater was coming. God used John just as he was to point people to Jesus. Today, that someone greater finally shows up. Let's get into it. John was at the Jordan River baptizing people like always, and one day, Jesus walked up and asked John to baptize him. John tried to stop him. Basically, John said, "Wait, I'm the one who needs to be baptized by you, and you're coming to me?" It would be like your favorite teacher asking you to grade her test. That's backwards. But Jesus told John it was the right thing to do, so John baptized him. And when Jesus came up out of the water, the Bible says the sky opened. The Spirit of God came down on Jesus like a dove, and a voice from heaven said that Jesus was His beloved Son and that He was pleased with Him. Can you imagine what that must have been like? And John saw it all. A little while later, John saw Jesus walking toward him, and he said this out loud for everyone to hear: "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." Now that's a declaration. Back then, people brought lambs to God as a way of saying sorry for the wrong things they'd done. John was saying Jesus is the one who would take care of all of it for everyone for good. The next day, John was standing with two of his own followers. Jesus walked by, and John pointed again. "Look, the Lamb of God." And those two followers left John and went after Jesus. One of them was a man named Andrew, and the first thing Andrew did was go get his brother Simon and bring him to Jesus. If you listened to our Peter series, you already know Simon. Jesus gave him a new name, Peter. So John's own followers were leaving him for Jesus, and this may sound a little strange, but that was exactly what John wanted. If you've ever had a friend who stopped hanging out with you and started playing with someone new, you know it can be really hurtful. In fact, some of John's other followers were really having a hard time with it. Later on, Jesus and his friends were baptizing people, too, not far from John. And some of John's followers came to him and said, basically, "Teacher, remember that man you told everyone about, Jesus? Now he's baptizing, and everyone's going to him." The Bible doesn't tell us exactly how they felt, but it sounds to me like they were jealous and feeling a little threatened. A lot like if your big sister has always had the busiest lemonade stand on the street, then a new kid opens up a stand right down the block, and suddenly everyone's lining up over there. You might run back and say, "Hey, they're taking all your customers." John's answer is one of the most famous things he ever said. First, he reminded his followers what he'd always told them. He wasn't the Messiah. He was sent ahead for the Messiah. Then he said he was like the best friend of the groom at a wedding. The best friend isn't upset when everyone's watching the groom. He's thrilled for him. He may not be the one getting married, but he absolutely gets to enjoy the party. John said his own joy was complete now that Jesus was on the scene. And then he said this. It's in John chapter three, verse 30. "He," meaning Jesus, "must increase, but I must decrease." Increase means get bigger. Decrease means get smaller. John was saying, "Jesus is the main one now. It's His time to be in the center, and my time to step to the side." Here's what John didn't do. He didn't stop being John. He didn't throw away his camel hair clothes or stop encouraging people to repent and turn back to God. He was still bold, still a little wild, still exactly who God made him to be. What got smaller was the spotlight. Fewer crowds, fewer followers. John let all of that go on purpose so that people would look at Jesus instead of him, and he wasn't sad about it. He said his joy was complete, full, all the way to the top. Some Bible teachers describe John like the morning star, that one bright star you can still see right before sunrise. As the sun comes up, the star seems to fade, but it hasn't gone anywhere. The sun is just so bright that everyone turns to look at it. And that's what the Morning Star was pointing to all along. Here's the big idea I want you to take with you: When Jesus gets bigger, our joy gets bigger, too. John isn't asking us to shrink back or pretend to be less than we are. Think about cheering for your friend when she wins the race, or letting your brother go first even though you really wanted to. That doesn't take any joy away from you. Sometimes it's the most fun part of your whole day. In the same way, when you use the voice God gave you to point to Jesus, it makes Jesus big, and it fills you up with joy. So here are two things to try this week. First, the next time somebody else does something great, cheer for them out loud, and mean it, and let their joy add to your own. And second, find one chance to tell someone something true about Jesus, like, "Jesus is my friend," or, "I asked Jesus for help and he helped me," and then notice how it feels. Join me next time when John finds himself in a tough situation after he tells a powerful king the truth, and it lands him in prison. And from that prison, John is gonna send Jesus a really big question. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. Thanks for riding along today on Carpooling with Heroes of the Bible.
