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In John 1: 35-51 we see John moving into the background and Jesus coming to the fore-

front. John said “He must increase but I must decrease” (John 3:30). This should

be the same goal for you and I, we ought to keep decreasing and Jesus ought to keep

on increasing. Our lives should be less of self and more of Christ. Our task, our duty is

to present Christ as John the Baptist did.

John was preaching to great crowds and what a mighty preacher he was. He did not

speak in a church. He did not speak in a city. He did not speak over the radio or TV. He

preached out in the wilderness and whole cities came out to hear him as he gave the

message God had given him - “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

From head to toe John was saturated with love and admiration for the Lord God Al-

mighty. He used everything within him to draw people to Christ and the results of his

preaching were striking to say the least. At first John had great crowds and many con-

verts, but then they left him and followed Jesus. John was the only man who ever lost

his congregation because they believed what he preached. They believed his preaching,

and they left him to follow Jesus. But, after all, isn’t that the purpose of all true preach-

ing? That we want men and women to follow Jesus? That we must decrease and He

must increase? John is a pattern for all Christians everywhere in that it is the duty of

every believer to point others to Jesus Christ. We are not to exalt ourselves, we are to

exalt Jesus Christ. We are here to win others to Him. Does your life point anyone to Je-

sus? The world should be able to see a difference, the world should be able to see a

wonderful change in your life after you have met Jesus and welcomed Him into your

heart as your Lord and Saviour.

Notice that John referred to Christ as “The Lamb Of God” (John 1:36). What mental

picture do you think this brought to the minds of his listeners? To you and I we picture a

cute little lamb prancing and frolicking in the field and grazing on the hillside. But in

John’s day it brought to the minds of his listeners the picture of a lamb being led to the

temple to be slain on the sacrificial altar. And that is precisely what happened to God’s

Lamb - Jesus Christ - when He willingly gave his life upon the Cross as payment in full

for the penalty of your sin, and my sin.

John the Baptist is then soon arrested and beheaded. But there were two men who had

heard him say “Behold the Lamb of God” the day when he saw Jesus coming unto

him and those two were Andrew and John. They were waiting for the Messiah that John

the Baptist had talked about and when they finally met Him they left all that they had,

and they followed Him, and Jesus asked them “What seek ye?” (John 1:38) He was

not rebuking them, He was testing their motives. After all, many had followed Jesus just

for selfish reasons and many still do the same today. What are you seeking as you follow

Him? Are you seeking for a life of ease, or wealth? Jesus tells us to “seek ye first the

kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). First and foremost ours should be a seeking of

wanting to walk closer to Him and to serve Him better. So what did these two men an-

swer when Jesus asked them “What seek ye?” They said “Master, where do you

live?” They simply wanted to be with Jesus, to be in His presence, to have His compan-

ionship. And that’s always the way it is when you truly love someone, you seek constant

togetherness and companionship with them. These men wanted fellowship with Jesus,

and if you and I truly love Jesus then we, too, will want constant fellowship with Him - in

prayer - in His Holy Word - in service to Him - and in telling others about Him.

In John 1: 35-51 we see John moving into the background and Jesus coming to the forefront. John said "He must increase but I must decrease" (John 3:30). This should be the same goal for you and I, we ought to keep decreasing and Jesus ought to keep on increasing. Our lives should be less of self and more of Christ. Our task, our duty is to present Christ to the world just as John the Baptist did.

John was preaching to great crowds and what a mighty preacher he was. He did not speak in a church. He did not speak in a city. He did not speak over the radio or TV. He preached out in the wilderness and whole cities came out to hear him as he gave the message God had given him - “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” From head to toe John was saturated with love and admiration for the Lord God Almighty. He used everything within him to draw people to Christ and the results of his preaching were striking to say the least. At first John had great crowds and many converts, but then they left him and followed Jesus. John was the only man who ever lost his congregation because they believed what he preached. They believed his preaching, and they left him to follow Jesus. But, after all, isn’t that the purpose of all true preaching? That we want men and women to follow Jesus? That we must decrease and He must increase? John is a pattern for all Christians everywhere in that it is the duty of every believer to point others to Jesus Christ. We are not to exalt ourselves, we are to exalt Jesus Christ. We are here to win others to Him. Does your life point anyone to Jesus? The world should be able to see a difference, the world should be able to see a wonderful change in your life after you have met Jesus and welcomed Him into your heart as your Lord and Saviour.

Notice that John referred to Christ as “The Lamb Of God” (John 1:36). What mental picture do you think this brought to the minds of his listeners? To you and I we picture a cute little lamb prancing and frolicking in the field and grazing on the hillside. But in John’s day it brought to the minds of his listeners the picture of a lamb being led to the temple to be slain on the sacrificial altar. And that is precisely what happened to God’s Lamb - Jesus Christ - when He willingly gave his life upon the Cross as payment in full for the penalty of your sin, and my sin.

John the Baptist is then soon arrested and beheaded. But there were two men who had heard him say “Behold the Lamb of God” the day when he saw Jesus coming unto him and those two were Andrew and John. They were waiting for the Messiah that John the Baptist had talked about and when they finally met Him they left all that they had, and they followed Him, and Jesus asked them “What seek ye?” (John 1:38) He was not rebuking them, He was testing their motives. After all, many had followed Jesus just for selfish reasons and many still do the same today. What are you seeking as you follow Him? Are you seeking for a life of ease, or wealth? Jesus tells us to “seek ye first the
kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). First and foremost ours should be a seeking of wanting to walk closer to Him and to serve Him better. So what did these two men answer when Jesus asked them “What seek ye?” They said “Master, where do you live?” They simply wanted to be with Jesus, to be in His presence, to have His companionship. And that’s always the way it is when you truly love someone, you seek constant togetherness and companionship with them. These men wanted fellowship with Jesus, and if you and I truly love Jesus then we, too, will want constant fellowship with Him - in prayer - in His Holy Word - in service to Him - and in telling others about Him.

Jesus’ answer to Andrew and John after they had asked Him “Master, where do You live” was this........”Come and see” (John 1:39). That’s what Jesus says all through the Bible, “Come.” - “Come unto Me” (Matthew 11:28) - “Come and follow Me” (Matthew 19:21) - “Come, ye blessed of My Father” (Matthew 25:34) - “Come, take up the Cross, and follow Me” (Mark 10:21) - “Come, for all things are now ready” (Luke 14:17) - “Come hither” (John 4:16) - “Come and dine” (John 21:12) - and - His marvelous and wonderful promise “I will come again” (John 14:3).

From 10:00 in the morning throughout the rest of the day these two men, Andrew and John, were with Jesus. What a day that must have been for them. They came to Jesus, they saw Him, and they abode with Him. When they left Jesus at the end of the day Andrew was so excited he was about to burst. He had been waiting and looking
in great anticipation for the Messiah, and now He was here. He has seen Him, he has heard Him, he has been blessed by Him and he simply could not contain his joy. He had to share it with someone. So he ran all the way home and found his brother Simon and cried out “We have found the Messiah - the Christ.” Now that’s proof of salvation. When we surrender all that we have and all that we are, to Him, and we are saved by His atoning blood then we want to see others be saved as well. When you really have Christ in your heart you can’t help but want others to know Him too. Simon Peter became a great pillar of the Christian Church. When Andrew witnessed to his brother Simon about
Jesus he had no special training for the job, he had never read a book on “personal witnessing.” He simply knew what Jesus had done for him, and he wanted his brother to know Him too. And Peter had never heard any great sermons, he had never seen any mighty miracles. It was the simple testimony of his warm-hearted brother that led him to Christ. Have you ever tried to win anybody to Christ? All you need is the love of Christ in your own heart and soul - and a desire to see someone else have it too.

Those who know me know that I am just a simple old country preacher. the son of another simple country preacher. I am not capable of great learned discourses. But I can say to you in simple words, as John did - “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” As Christians we must use everything within us to draw people to Christ. Our pulpits must not compromise the Word of God. Our pulpits must not give in to the pressures of “political correctness.” Rather, our pulpits must adhere completely, immovably, and without hesitation or reservation to the pure, perfect, life changing, soul saving Word of God, and the results of such preaching will strike deep into the heart of man. At first John had great crowds and many converts, but then they left him and followed Jesus. John was the only man who ever lost his congregation because they believed what he preached. They believed his preaching, and they left him to follow Jesus. We need to lose more congregations today in this same manner. After all,
isn’t that the purpose of all true preaching? That we want men and women to follow Jesus? That we must decrease and He must increase? The most important truth I can tell you my friends is that God loves you and wants you to come to Him and become part of His family. I know this because He sent His only Son into the world to give His life for you. The Bible says, "For Christ suffered (died) for our sins, the just for the unjust (the righteous for the unrighteous), to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18). I encourage and invite you, by faith, turn to Christ today, confess your sins, and ask Him to come into your heart.

God bless you.
Mark Shutts

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