Sunday Gathering - John 3 : 22-36 - Erica Lugg - Sermon Only

Erica Lugg takes the series into John 3:22-36, opening with a recap of the gospel so far: the Word who was in the beginning, John the Baptist, water turned to wine at Cana, the temple cleansing, and last week Nicodemus and John 3:16. Then the passage: Jesus and his disciples baptising in the Judean countryside while John baptises at Enon near Salim, where a debate breaks out over ceremonial cleansing.

She loves the human side of John’s gospel and finds it challenging, because its humans behave in ways humans are very good at. Enon means “many waters” and Salim means “peace” — a place of cleansing and preparation, and right in the middle of it an argument begins. She likens it to a harmonious Christmas dinner that disintegrates the moment politics or religion comes up, and to a candle shop at Crystal Peaks, ruined inside a minute by a two-year-old who wanted a stuffed giraffe. Washing was not new, but John was preaching an inner cleansing, a repentance, pointing to Jesus. She suspects the argument was really about whose way was better — “we’ve always done it like this”.

Their language gives them away: they call Jesus “that man” although they knew his name, and they complain that everybody is going to him instead of us. A disciple gave their whole life to a rabbi, their identity wrapped up in his; John was a big deal, so their worth came from his success, and the crowds moving to Jesus must have felt like losing themselves. She recognises it: she wants to feel significant, and she told Nick beforehand she wanted to go home because it made her feel insecure.

Her illustration is her childhood in Ghana: after the 1979 revolution she became convinced her father would die unless she was with him — a conviction that made school impossible until her parents locked her in a car. What the disciples wanted was reassurance; John neither dismisses nor agrees, saying a person can receive only what is given from heaven — you did not earn this and cannot lose it. He says plainly that he is not the Messiah, : insecurity is a matter of the heart and it takes a saviour. Her two asides land hardest — the people in your life are not your Messiah, and you are not the Messiah either. Then John changes their lens: the bride belongs to the bridegroom, so it was never about them — they are the friend at the wedding, close but not central. “He must become greater and I must become less” is the crux, and the antidote is letting the Holy Spirit fill the space fear has taken.

Bible passages

• John 3:22-36 — the passage for the morning
• John 3:16 — last week’s text, recited together again (and in French)
• John 3:1-21 — Nicodemus, last week’s passage (recap)
• Numbers 21:4-9 — the bronze snake lifted up, referred back to from last week
• John 1:20-27 — John the Baptist’s plain declaration that he is not the Messiah
• John 2:1-11 — the wedding at Cana, water into wine (recap)
• John 2:13-22 — Jesus cleansing the temple (recap)
• John 3:29 — the bride belongs to the bridegroom; the friend stands and listens
• John 3:30 — “He must become greater; I must become less”
• John 3:31-32 — heavenly and earthly language; he testifies to what he has seen
• Jeremiah 17:9 — “the heart is the most deceitful of all things” (quoted, not cited)
• Luke 6:45 — “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (quoted, not cited)

Key points

• Enon means “many waters”, Salim means “peace” — cleansing and peace interrupted by argument
• The complaint is “everybody is going to him instead of coming to us”
• They call Jesus “that man” though they knew his name, and they blame John
• Insecurity exaggerates, justifies feelings and says significance is scarce
• Erica’s Ghana story: aged seven she believed her father would die unless she stayed with him
• John neither dismisses nor agrees: “a person can receive only what is given them from heaven”
• He says plainly he is not the Messiah — what they wanted was beyond him
• The people in your life are not your Messiah, and you are not the Messiah either
• “It’s up to me to fix this” looks like care but is often insecurity taking control
• The bridegroom has the bride: we are the friend, involved but not carrying
• “He must become greater; I must become less” — the antidote to fear is the Holy Spirit filling the space
• Earthly language is about me; heavenly language says Jesus is enough
• We need critical friends who challenge our insecurity instead of validating it

Calls to action

• Stand and be honest before God about where insecurity and fear have taken root
• Recognise yourself in the disciples — retreat, control, comparison, exaggeration, distance
• Stop making people, situations or places the source of your peace
• Ask the Holy Spirit to take up the space filled with fear, striving and the need to be needed
• Allow Jesus to become greater in you, and let critical friends speak into your insecurity

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/uP2U0Z8S_48