John 3:26

John 3:26 Meaning and Explanation

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.

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John's disciples report with alarm that Jesus is baptizing and that everyone is going to him.

What Does John 3:26 Mean?

The disciples carry their grievance to their master. They do not use Jesus' name: he that was with thee, the one to whom thou barest witness — as if to remind John that the newcomer owed his platform to John's own testimony. Their report swells with anxiety: all men come to him.

Their loyalty is touching and their jealousy very human. They measure ministry by crowds and feel their master's eclipse as an injury. The same spirit still visits the faithful — resentment dressed as devotion whenever God blesses another's work more than ours. Yet their exaggeration, all men come to him, is an unwitting prophecy of the gospel's reach. John's answer will turn their complaint into worship.

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What does John 3:26 mean?

John's disciples report with alarm that Jesus is baptizing and that everyone is going to him.

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