NOTES for Joh 3:22-33
For the apostles, especially those among them who had been disciples of John the Baptist, John’s testimony about Jesus was of the utmost importance. It is also significant, of course, that John the Baptist was among the first — after the Most Holy Mother of God, Joseph the Betrothed, and the elder Simeon — to confess Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One. But today, having, in the words of the apostle Paul, such a cloud of witnesses, we can turn our attention to the striking example given to us by John the Baptist.
The fact is that we are all very concerned with our own importance and closeness to God. Even the apostles, who knew Jesus intimately, argued shortly before the Passion about which of them was the greatest. Against this background, the words of John the Baptist stand out: “He must increase, but I must decrease... He who is of the earth belongs to the earth... He who comes from heaven is above all.” This is not merely a manifestation of astonishing humility; it is an example for every person of the right way to stand before God.