He Must Increase: Learning to Die to Self

Luke opens with Zacharias hearing what he had prayed for a long time: Elizabeth would bear a son, and his name would be John. The angel gives a wonderful promise, but Zacharias, though a priest who had taught Abraham and Sarah’s story, still asks how it can be. The sign becomes nine months of silence, and the silence itself shows how easy it is for even a godly man to know the truth and still stumble when God brings it close.

John himself is promised as a prophet from the beginning. The Spirit fills him even from his mother’s womb, and his life starts with joy when Mary’s greeting reaches Elizabeth and John leaps within her. The angel says John will go in the spirit and power of Elijah, turning hearts back, calling disobedient people to the wisdom of the just, and making ready a people prepared for the Lord.

John’s testimony in the wilderness is plain and timeless. John says, “I am not the Christ,” and he refuses to take a place that belongs only to Jesus. John calls himself “the voice of one crying in the wilderness,” and then points away from himself: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John knows Christ is preferred before him because Christ was before him.

John’s disciples later grow troubled when more people begin going to Jesus. John answers that a man can receive nothing unless it is given from heaven. The friend of the bridegroom does not grieve when the bride hears the bridegroom’s voice. John’s joy is fulfilled when people flock to Jesus, because John was never the pinnacle. Christ must increase, and John must decrease.

Jesus later receives John’s question from prison: “Are you the coming one, or do we look for another?” John’s persecution brings discouragement, and John does not fully see how Christ’s kingdom will come. Jesus answers with the works of mercy: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor receive the gospel. Jesus adds, “Blessed is he who is not offended because of me,” because God’s ways are higher than John’s expectations.

Jesus honors John as more than a prophet, yet says the least in the kingdom is greater, because John would not live to see the cross, the empty tomb, and Pentecost. Paul then gives the fuller word: “I have been crucified with Christ.” Christ’s increase is not only a principle for ministry, but a death to self and a new identity. Christ must live, and the old self must die.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. John’s joy was holy decrease John’s joy did not come from keeping attention, converts, or influence. The friend of the bridegroom rejoices when the bridegroom’s voice is heard, because the whole point was always the bridegroom. John’s decrease was not humiliation, but fulfillment, because his calling was completed when people ran to Christ. [20:18]
• 2. Doubt can rise in dark prisons John had once cried, “Behold the Lamb of God,” yet prison pressed him into a real question. Persecution, pain, and unmet expectations can make even strong faith ask whether Christ is working the way he should. Jesus does not crush John for asking, but sends him back to the works that prove the kingdom is moving even when it does not move according to human timetable. [27:37]
• 3. Christ’s mercy reveals his kingdom Jesus answers John by pointing to blind eyes opened, lame feet walking, lepers cleansed, deaf ears hearing, dead raised, and the poor receiving good news. The kingdom comes first through redemption, mercy, and life, not through the political overthrow John may have expected. Christ’s mission was deeper than shaking earthly rulers, because sin itself had to be taken away. [31:15]
• 4. Increase becomes crucified identity John says, “He must increase, but I must decrease,” and Paul carries that truth into its fullest form. Paul does not merely make room for Christ; Paul says the old life has been crucified and Christ now lives in him. Christian victory is not a spiritual accessory, a bracelet, or a slogan, but the surrendered life of Jesus actually lived through a believer. [38:32]
• 5. The world needs to see Jesus Peter’s first bold promise came from Peter, and it collapsed under fear. After the resurrection and the Spirit’s filling, Peter stands before the rulers and speaks with courage that makes them recognize he had been with Jesus. The world does not need a better display of human personality; the world needs the life and voice of Christ seen through surrendered people.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [09:47] - Zacharias Hears the Promise
• [11:14] - John Promised as a Prophet
• [13:21] - Turning Hearts Back to God
• [15:07] - John Denies Being the Christ
• [16:42] - Behold the Lamb of God
• [18:17] - John’s Disciples Notice Jesus Growing
• [20:18] - The Friend of the Bridegroom Rejoices
• [22:24] - He Must Increase
• [25:41] - John Questions from Prison
• [31:15] - Jesus Answers with Kingdom Works
• [34:54] - John’s Greatness and the Kingdom
• [38:32] - Crucified with Christ
• [42:59] - Christ Living Through Surrendered Lives

Bible Reading

John 3:30 — “He must increase, but I must decrease.” [22:24]

Matthew 11:2-6 — “And when John had heard in prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” [27:37]

Galatians 2:20 — “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” [38:29]

John 1:29 — “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” [16:42]

Observation questions

1. In John 1, how does John describe himself, and how does he describe Jesus? What does that contrast show about John’s role and Christ’s place? [15:52]
2. In John 3, what picture does John use when he calls himself the friend of the bridegroom, and what brings that friend joy? [20:18]
3. In Matthew 11:2-6, what specific works does Jesus point to when answering John’s question from prison?
4. In Galatians 2:20, what happens to the old life, and what new reality takes its place? [39:22]

Interpretation questions

1. John once said, “Behold the Lamb of God,” and later asked from prison, “Are you the coming one?” What does that suggest about how suffering and disappointment can affect even a sincere believer’s confidence? [28:46]
2. Jesus answered John’s question by pointing to mercy, healing, and good news for the poor instead of immediate judgment on corrupt rulers. What does that reveal about the kind of kingdom Jesus was bringing first? [31:15]
3. “He must increase, but I must decrease” was not a word of defeat for John, but of joy. Why would a life centered on Christ make decrease a fulfillment rather than a loss? [20:25]
4. Galatians 2:20 takes the truth of decrease even further: not just less of self, but a crucified self and the life of Christ within. How is that deeper than simply trying harder to act like a Christian? [42:45]

Application questions

1. John was content to lose attention if people were going to Jesus. Where is it hardest to live that way right now—in ministry, at work, in the home, or in friendships? What would joyful decrease look like there? [20:30]
2. Doubt can rise in dark prisons. When life has not unfolded the way it was hoped, what kinds of questions or disappointments have made it harder to trust Christ? How can the group help keep eyes on what Jesus is doing instead of only on what seems delayed? [32:12]
3. Jesus told John to look again at the works of Christ. When faith feels shaken, what helps most: returning to Scripture, remembering answered prayer, listening for the gospel again, or something else? What does it look like to “go and tell John again” in one another’s lives? [31:10]
4. “Behold the Lamb of God” is a simple and clear testimony. In everyday conversation, what tends to keep a believer from speaking that plainly about Jesus? Fear, self-consciousness, distraction, or something else? [16:42]
5. “I have been crucified with Christ” means the Christian life is not just self-improvement. What part of the old self most needs to be surrendered right now—pride, control, recognition, comfort, bitterness, or something else? [40:18]
6. Peter’s boldness only became steady when the life of Christ was at work in him. In what situations does reliance on natural personality still show up more than reliance on Christ? What might change if the prayer became, “Lord Jesus, live through me here”? [43:16]
7. The world does not most need human personality on display; it needs to see Jesus. If someone watched this week closely, what would help them see more of Christ and less of self? [45:21]