Mind of Groomsman

Mind of Groomsman
John 3:22-33
Have you ever served as a groomsman or a bridemaid? Groomsmen or bridesmaids lead a bride or a bridegroom to the marriage ceremony hall. They help a bride(bridegroom). They take care of a bride(bridegroom). They are not the heroes(heroines) of the marriage ceremony. So Koreans do not like the word 'groomsman or bridemaid'.
When we say in Korean, "I served as a groomsman or a bridemaid.", it means "I acted as a setoff. or I did a meaningless role or meaningless work." But the word 'groomsman or bridemaid' are not the bad meaning but good meaning. In other English word, a groomsman is 'a best man' who is the best friend of the bridegroom.
Today we see a prophet John the Baptist who served as a groomsman for Jesus. John really enjoyed the role of the groomsman. Let me introduce John the Baptist briefly. He was born in the time of Herod king of Judea. His birthday is 6 months prior to Jesus. His mother Elizabeth and Jesus' mother Mary are relatives. So John and Jesus are cousins.
When John grew up, he shouted in the wilderness of Judea, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Lots of people gathered around him. People thought him Messiah. But John said, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'"
John met Jesus near the Jordan river. John introduced Jesus to the people, "He is the Messiah." From that time, people left John and followed Jesus. Even Johns' disciples left him and became the disciples of Jesus. And John was imprisoned by the King Herod. Some time later, he was beheaded. His head was exposed to the public view. His death was really terrible in the point of human view.
But Jesus told about John, "I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist."(Matthew 11:11) This means John the Baptist is the greatest man in the world till that time. But as you know, he is not a hero but a groomsman. But he was really highly valued by Jesus.
Right! It is okay that we are not the heroes. If we serve as the groomsmen well, we can be the great men like John. But nowadays, people do not have the mind of groomsman. They want to be heroes. But lots of our church members have the mind of groomsman. They do not have a big role like a hero. They do not receive a spotlight. But they clean up the garbages after a big ceremony. Jesus will say to these groomsmen, "You are great."
This new year, we want to be best men(groomsmen), groomsman for our church, groomsman for our neighbours, groomsman for our friends. What is the mind of groomsman? How can we be the good groomsman? Let's look at John the good groomsman. And let's learn it from John the Baptist.
1. Groomsman has to know himself.
Groomsman is not the hero of the marriage ceremony. He is the helper for the bridegroom. He has to take care of the bridegroom. John knew who he is. He got spotlight before Jesus' appearance. But the spotlight moved to Jesus. The disciples of John were not happy about that. So they said to John, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan--the one you testified about--well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him."(John 3:26)
Let me tell you an example. A movie star had a great popularity. But the other movie star appeared. People gathered around the new movie star. In that case, the old movie star get a big damage because of the new movie star. This kind of story happen everywhere.
If you were the old movie star, what should you do? John the Baptist, the old star answered to his disciples, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.'"(John 3:27-28)
What does this words mean? It means ; God sent many people to Jesus. So we do not need to envy Jesus. We do not need to be depressed. We are his groomsmen. Groomsmen must be groomsmen not bridegroom. How great words! John knew that he is not the bridegroom but groomsman.
2. Groomsman has to rejoice the bridegroom.
A groomsman is not a bridegroom. But he has to rejoice the bridegroom. Today's scripture says, "The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete."(John 3:29)
Jesus' appearance made John the Baptist smaller. But John was full of joy. Let's look at yourself. If you were in this situation, if you were smaller because of the other man, are you happy? are you joyful? don't you envy him?
There is a shameful word in Korea. "People feel upset when their cousin buy a good house." You know, Jesus and the John the Baptist are cousins. According to the Korean word, John must be upset. But John was full of joy. That's why Jesus told John is the greatest man. We groomsmen has to be joyful when we look at the bridegroom Jesus. I hope you to rejoice Jesus.
3. Groomsman must have the mind "He must become greater; I must become less."
John says, "He must become greater; I must become less."(John 3:30) This declaration is one of the greatest declarations in the bible. John the Baptist heard from Jesus, "You are the greatest man." because he said this word. If we say like John, we will be great men like John.
There two kind of the men in the church. One is the man who want to be great even if the church will be less. But the other one is the man who want to be less for the church, for the Jesus. Who do you think is the good man? Who is the greater man?
A music magazine reporter asked a question to an orchestral conductor, "What is the most difficult thing when you lead the orchestra?" He answered, "The most difficult thing is to find a good second violinist." It means people like first violinist because he shines brighter than second violinist. But we always need groomsman who has the mind "He must become greater. I must become less." Amen!