

John 3:26-36 - And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, He is baptizing, and all are going to Him." John answered, "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him.' The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease." He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what He has seen and heard, yet no one receives His testimony. Whoever receives His testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent utters the words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
This devotion pairs with this weekend's Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lhm.org.
It's the big day. The bride looked beautiful and walks down the aisle. The groom waits for her at the altar. Everything looks perfect. The couple faces the altar together, and the ceremony begins. Then, the time for the exchange of the rings comes. The bridegroom turns to his best man to ask for the rings. The best man puts his hand in his pocket where he had put them—or so he thought.
Suddenly, the happy occasion turns into a panic fest. Where are the rings? The best man looks frantically for them to no avail. The maiden of honor wants to help find them but does not know how or where to begin looking. The bridegroom gives his best man the "look." The bride is not happy either. The congregation is in disbelief. And then the best man remembers he left the rings in another pair of pants that he decided not to wear at the last minute: pants that are about an hour away from the church.
The ceremony goes on without the rings but not without making the misplacement of the rings the most memorable part of the wedding ceremony, from that moment forward. Many stories will be told in the future about this wedding but, for better or worse, the one that will stick in everyone's mind will be the one about the best man.
This best man did not do his job well and unfortunately became the main attraction in the wedding. A best man should never do anything to become the center of attention in a wedding. He's there to serve a supporting role. If he does his job well, things go smoothly, and people can focus on what matters: the marriage of the groom and his bride.
Today, the best man does not have much to do in a wedding except to provide support to the groom or the couple as needed. In many weddings, the one job that he gets—and everyone remembers—is the keeping of the rings. In Jesus' day however the best man known as the "friend of the bridegroom" organized the wedding festivities, including the ceremony itself.
One of his main responsibilities was to bring the bride into the bridegroom's chamber, and then upon hearing the voice of his friend allow the bridegroom to enter the chamber to be with his wife. In that way, the friend of the bridegroom could also testify to the consummation of their marriage. A best man is a humble servant to the couple. He is not to upstage but to set the stage for the bridegroom and his bride: to shine and be happy. He is not the main attraction but bears witness to their marital bliss.
To show that Jesus is greater than he, John the Baptist calls himself Jesus' "best man," the "friend of the Bridegroom," who stands and hears Him and rejoices greatly at the Bridegroom's voice. John is like the best man in a wedding who is unselfishly and exceedingly happy for his Friend the Bridegroom and His bride. Like the best man or friend of the Bridegroom, John's job is to prepare the way for disciples to become brides of the Bridegroom, for brides-to-be to be wedded to Jesus, united to the Son of God through belief in Him. John knows his place and he embraces his role with gladness. John teaches his disciples that in all he does Jesus "must increase, but I must decrease."
We too have been called to be like a John the Baptist in our lives: to bear witness to Jesus through our words and deeds, in order to bring many to blissful union with Jesus through faith in Him and Baptism in His Name.
WE PRAY: Heavenly Father, help us to die to self to make Jesus increase in our lives and help us also to die to self to introduce others to Jesus so that He may increase in their lives as well. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. Leo Sanchez.
Reflection Questions:
1. Have you ever been in a wedding party for either the bride or the groom? What do you remember most about that experience?
2. Why did John the Baptist say of Jesus, "He must increase, but I must decrease"?
3. If Jesus is the Bridegroom and we as believers are the bride, how significant does that make our relationship to Him?
Today's Bible Readings: Job 38-40 Matthew 15:21-39
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