John's disciples become jealous

“And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.

John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.”

John 3:26-27 [KJV]

Loch Ard Gorge

A few years ago, I gave stickers to some children. One little girl shook her head at the sticker I offered. “I want the one she’s got,” the girl said, pointing to another child.

“I’m sorry, there aren’t any exactly like that left,” I said, “There are these three to choose from.”

The girl stuck out her lower lip and shook her head again. “No. I want hers.”

Uh-oh, I thought, the green-eyed monster of jealousy has struck again. In small children jealousy or envy (I’m using the words interchangeably here) is obvious. Its presence is usually revealed by statements such as “I want” or “It’s not fair she has/does something I don’t have/can’t do.” Our tendency to be jealous of others does not lessen as we become adults, but we grow better at hiding it. We say things like, “I don’t grudge her success, I just think it could have been done better (by me)”, or “I’m the competitive type, it’s just my nature,” or “Of course I’m not envious of her, but why hasn’t the Lord blessed me in the same way?” Oddly enough, we can be jealous of the strangest things. It’s all relative – someone simply has to have or be something we desire. For many years, I was envious of girls with straight hair – imagine my shock when a straight-haired girl told me that she wished she had wavy hair! We envy the oddest and smallest things: someone’s smile, children, spirituality, talents, experience, possessions, success etc.

Sometimes we treat envy as a minor thing. The Bible, however, says envy is a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21), and causes “confusion and every evil work” (James 3:16). It is “the rottenness of the bones” (Proverbs 14:30) and we are told, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another” (Galatians 5:25-26).

Unchallenged sinful thoughts of envy result in sinful actions. The Bible warns us of this. Cain was jealous of his brother Abel’s acceptance by God, and Cain’s envy led to him committing murder (Genesis 4). Even godly people are susceptible to the temptation to envy. Miriam and Aaron grew jealous of God selecting Moses to lead Israel, and said, “Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it” (Numbers 12:2). The psalmist Asaph saw the apparent wealthy, trouble-free lives of unrighteous people and complained, “For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked …They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men” (Psalms 73:3-5). Even John the Baptist’s disciples jealously saw the Lord Jesus’ ministry as a rival to theirs. “And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptiseth, and all men come to him” (John 3:26).

Today, I want to focus on two lessons from John the Baptist’s response to his disciples’ jealousy of the Lord’s ministry. John 3:27-30 states, “John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Firstly, John the Baptist recognised and accepted God’s sovereignty, and right to be first. John’s ministry had been very effective and gained followers, but now people’s attention had switched to a new preacher called Jesus of Nazareth. And John’s disciples were not happy. I’m sure we can all think of situations where we had people’s admiration or attention and then it shifted quickly away. Maybe your ministry, relationship or situation was received much focus, but then somebody else announced a baby, a new relationship, an exciting ministry venture or some news, and the attention shifted to them. Perhaps we have even worked hard in ministry and serving God, but people appear only interested in the efforts of others. How do we respond? Become jealous of our so-called rival and do something to gain attention back? Or, like John the Baptist, do we accept God’s sovereignty. “John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. … He must increase, but I must decrease.” John had the right perspective. The Christian life – and ministry – is not a competition. We are not rivals, but coworkers. The apostle Paul said, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building” (1 Corinthians 3:9).

Secondly, John the Baptist was thankful for the role God had given him. John said to his disciples, “Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled” (John 3:28-29). Some single people can’t stand weddings, because they aren’t the bride or groom. Some people without children are emotional wrecks when they hear of others’ pregnancies. Some people become resentful when they hear others praised. Some criticise even the most meticulously performed work because they didn’t do it themselves. Being thankful and rejoicing is the last thing on such people’s minds. But John could rejoice in seeing Jesus’ ministry, even when, from a secular perspective, Jesus’ success came at John’s expense. John the Baptist shared a beautiful illustration, a groomsman so happy and thankful to see their friend married that there is no room in their heart for jealousy. Jealousy and thankfulness cannot co-exist. John was so thankful he could declare, “my joy is fulfilled”. In everything – even when we feel we lack what others have – “give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Recognition of God’s sovereignty coupled with thankfulness for His work in your life are two key tools to counter jealousy. May we all, like John the Baptist, let the Lord deal with jealousy in our lives so we can press onward in service for the Lord.