Magnify Christ
John 3
22 Then Jesus and his disciples left for a length of time into the Judean countryside where they baptized the people. 23 At this time John was still baptizing people at Aenon, near Salim, where there was plenty of water, and the people kept coming for John to baptize them. 24 (This was before John was thrown into prison.)
25 An argument started between John’s disciples and a particular Jewish man about baptism. 26 So they went to John and asked him, “Teacher, are you aware that the One you told us about at the crossing place—he’s now baptizing crowds larger than yours. People are flocking to him!”
27 John answered them, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless God bestows it. 28 You’ve heard me tell you that I am not the Messiah, but certainly I am the messenger sent ahead of him. 29 He is the Bridegroom, and the bride belongs to him. I am the friend of the Bridegroom who stands nearby and listens with great joy to the Bridegroom’s voice. Because of his words, my joy is complete and overflows! 30 It is necessary for him to increase and for me to decrease.
John 3 is a rich text, filled with beautiful parallels. John 3 begins with Jesus meeting at night, (hidden, secret) with a religious teacher named Nicodemus. It ends with a John the Baptist magnifying Christ.
Today we will be looking at these passages in order to gain greater revelation on how we can better magnify Christ.
The magnifying glass has roots that go way back in history. From the Egyptians, to the greek, to its more common conception in 1214 by the Brits. Though it has taken many forms, its goal has always been the same to enlarge, to make an object great.
The Psalms make many references to magnifying God in our lives, but the difference here is that we are not magnifying Christ to make Him big, he already is big. (He doesn’t need our help there). We don’t live to exaggerate how big he is, like when we look at a ladybug through a magnifying lens.
We magnify Christ in our lives because we want Him to be the person we see the most, we want His voice to be the loudest voice we hear, and we want His perspective to swallow up ours.
We magnify Christ to grow in His likeness and PUT HIM ON DISPLAY, not ourselves.
This takes us to John 3 where we have leaders and disciples of John the Baptist coming to tell him that Jesus, the one He had told them about was baptizing people, more than He was.
John the Baptist takes this opportunity (totally of the Spirit) to magnify Christ. He says:
28 You’ve heard me tell you that I am not the Messiah, but certainly I am the messenger sent ahead of him. 29 He is the Bridegroom, and the bride belongs to him. I am the friend of the Bridegroom who stands nearby and listens with great joy to the Bridegroom’s voice. Because of his words, my joy is complete and overflows! 30 It is necessary for him to increase and for me to decrease.
How beautiful? John the Baptist’s response is filled with “Philo-love” towards Jesus (we need more of this in ministry). He rejoices for his friend with great joy, recognizing that the victory of Christ means victory for him (It confirmed John’s words and entire ministry of preparing the way). Then He says, this is the point of it all, that I would become less, that I would decrease and He would increase, He would be magnified.
OR: “He is destined to become greater, and I must be pruned” (TPT)
John understood his place, he understood his destiny and purpose. It was to magnify Christ. (When we magnify Christ, we are operating in the Spirit)
Moments before Jesus confirms this message in his hidden conversation with Nicodemus.
Jesus is explaining mysteries to Nicodemus and in Jesus’ telling of having to be born again and heavenly minded/ eternally minded Jesus says this:
14 “And just as Moses in the desert lifted up the brass replica of a venomous snake on a pole for all the people to see and be healed, so the Son of Man is ready to be lifted up, 15 so that those who truly believe in him will not perish but be given eternal life.
Now Jesus’ words must have really blown Nicodemus away here. In this passage Jesus is referencing Numbers 21, where the people of Israel had been bitten and killed by poisonous snakes. They ask Moses to cry out to God for help and the Lord tells Moses,
8 Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” 9 So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!
This is powerful imagery Jesus is giving Nicodemus. The snake in the story of Numbers represented the sin crucified.
As TPT states: All of humanity has been bitten by the “snake of sin,” but Jesus was raised up on a cross for all people to see.
Jesus was explaining that just like the bronze snake was lifted up and people were healed He too would be lifted up, but the results would be greater.
This time Jesus would bear our sins and disease, he would bear all the brokenness and consequences in our place (just like He took Barabbas place, he took all our place). Jesus would be lifted up, he would be magnified and all we would have to do would be to look at Him and we would be saved, healed and delivered.
Now here is the thing, once we magnify Jesus to look at Him, we should never stop.
Just like John the Baptist, who had already received revelation of Christ, he understood that he could not stop. John understood that to live eternally minded, to live with kingdom purpose he could never stop looking to him, he could never stop magnifying Him.
He understood that in all things Christ had to be magnified and not just that, but that he had to become less and less. Less about him, less about his way of doing things because His ministry, His life served a greater purpose, to magnify Christ.
And isn’t this a message we need to hear today? We must become less and less and He must be magnified.
Our schedules must become about Him.
Our businesses must become about Him.
Our agendas must become about Him.
Our households must become about Him.
Our free time must become about Him.
Our marriages must become about Him.
It all exists to magnify HIM. We know we are maturing in Christ when it becomes less and less about yourself and more about Him, more about His preferences, more about His desires, more about His heart.
31 “For the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks from the natural realm. But the One who comes from above is above everything and speaks of the highest realm of all! 32 His message is about what he has seen and experienced, even though people don’t accept it. 33 Yet those who embrace his message know in their hearts that it’s the truth.
Our hearts for those who gather at BCF is to operate with a kingdom perspective. (The highest realm) When we magnify Christ we give room for the Holy Spirit to:
align our vision to Christ’s vision, by fixing our eyes on Him and allow us to see His ways.
This is so powerful because it leaves not room for bad attitudes, bitterness, self pity, victim mentality...you set yourself to take on His perspective and His perspective will leave you hopeful, encouraged, optimistic, capable, able, empowered and equipped.
So today, we are going to reset perspectives. Think of an area that is out of line, where the perspective is not on Christ magnified and today we are going to ask Him to align your perspective and be magnified in it.
Marriage
Businesses
Friendships
Co-workers
Work place
Submission
Be magnified Lord.
Takeaway: Magnifying Glass. Every time you see it, ask the Lord what area He desires to be magnified better. Invite Him into that area and ask Him to be magnified. (Repent if needed)
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, Luke 1:46
Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! Ps. 34:3
