Stand and Hear in Joy

...The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. (John 3:29)

What voice is John talking about here? Is it the audible voice that he heard whenever Jesus showed up one day and asked John to baptize Him? Or is it something much deeper than this, a voice that resonates with something deep within the soul and that has the ring of familiarity that cannot be described very well with words?

John had grown up filled with the Holy Spirit from the day he had been conceived. He had spent most of his younger life after leaving home in the desert communing with God and having his character and spirit formed and shaped by the presence of God and the Scriptures. John had a long history of listening with his heart to the voice of the right Spirit and so when Jesus, the Son of God showed up in person John instantly recognized the perfect match in what he sensed about Jesus with what he had himself been familiar with for so many years. He knew deep in his soul that had been trained in the school of heaven that this man had the same kind of spirit that he himself had been trained under.

Later on in His ministry Jesus said something that helps us to understand this better. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. (John 10:27) John knew more than anyone else on earth what the voice of God sounded like. And all those who allow their heart to listen to the inner voice of the Spirit of God drawing them will learn more and more to recognize that voice no matter through whom or where it comes from. And when it comes from the presence of the physical human that is also the very God who is the source of that voice to start with it will be unmistakable to those who have trained their hearts to listen to it ahead of time.

John's whole reason for existence, his sole purpose in life from before the day he was even conceived was to prepare the world for the appearance of the Messiah, Jesus the Christ. In order to be able to do this John had remained outside the influences of the world and of confused religion as much as possible. Even though the Jewish religion was the closest to the truth that there was on earth and the Jews were God's chosen people, they had become so infiltrated with false ideas about God and cluttered with added human traditions that John needed to be free of all that baggage in order to have as clear a picture as possible in his heart and mind of the real truth, the authentic spirituality needed in order to present to all his hearers the message from heaven given to him.

John knew from a very early age what his job description was. He knew that there was Someone coming after him who was to be the greatest One ever to show up on this earth and that was to bring salvation to light in a dramatically greater way than ever seen before. He also had a sense of the greatness and beauty and perfection that would be seen in this coming Messiah because he had learned nearly everything he knew about this Messiah directly from the Scriptures unfiltered and untainted by the philosophies and opinions of the religious leaders and teachers of the law. Because of this advantage John's message was much clearer and contained far more of the real power of God to convict and convince souls and hearts than anyone else had done for many years.

But I also believe that John longed to experience a personal encounter with the One for whom he was sent to prepare the way. John intuitively knew that this Messiah was going to be radically different than everyone's expectations and assumptions about Him. John had been taught by the Holy Spirit the real truths about God and about His character and holiness and he longed to see in person what was going to take place when this Messiah would show up. He also looked forward to the day when he could meet in person the Man who was the embodiment of the divine presence that he had already been familiar with all of his life. He very likely eagerly looked forward to the day when he could match a physical face with the Spirit that was already so familiar to him in his heart.

Long before John ever met Jesus in person he had been trained by God to be His best friend. John's heart and affections had for years been growing closer and closer to God. So when God showed up in human form John was eager to experience His presence in a more open and obvious dimension. I believe that is why John was ready to say the words that he is quoted as saying in these verses in John 3. He has finally met in person the One for whom his whole life and destiny had been devoted to and now it was time to step back and allow the real Bridegroom to engage personally in the work of drawing all those to Himself and His heart who were willing to respond to Him like a potential bride.

John's joy was to encounter the presence of the Bridegroom up close and personal and watch how He would work to draw the affections of His bride to Himself. John was finally seeing materialize everything that he had been sent to prophecy about and to prepare the world to experience. John was at last able to see for Himself just how the greatest Lover of the universe would treat those who were unfamiliar and suspicious of Him. John had done all he could to induce as many as possible to lay aside their mistrust of God formed by false ideas from religion and the world. He had done everything he knew how to reshape people's opinions about what God was like and to awaken them to their dangerous condition that sin had caused in their lives. Now it was time for Jesus to take over and continue the work of wooing His bride closer and closer into trusting and responding to His love.

And as John watched and sensed how Jesus masterfully and quietly dealt with people with amazing compassion, attracting them toward God in far more effective ways than John had ever been able to do, his own heart leaped for joy and even deeper love for this Messiah just as he had first done while still inside his own mother's womb when he had heard the voice of Jesus' mother. John's heart was always open to the heart of God and John was ready and eager to be the foremost in responding to the love that Jesus came to reveal to us.

When John said that the friend is one who stands and hears the Bridegroom, he was describing something deep within his own soul that was nearly impossible to explain with words. John had been preaching himself for some time and had attracted a great deal of attention, both positive and negative. But getting attention was not his primary desire for himself. He longed for the day when the real deal was going to show up, the One with the real message that would be far greater exponentially than anything the world had ever encountered before. So when Jesus finally showed up as foretold by John, John was eager to step back and turn all of the attention toward the One who could reveal the truth about God much better than anyone else could ever begin to do. John was ready to stand back and listen and allow the real Bridegroom to begin to speak and to show the world what joy was really all about.

John is an unsung hero of understanding joy better. I am starting to see that there is much more in John's life and example than I have ever thought about before. I would like to have much more of the spirit of John the Baptist myself, to have that same deep, burning desire to encounter the presence of Jesus much more fully, to rejoice spontaneously whenever I hear His voice and to do everything possible to attract others into an intimate relationship with Jesus for themselves. God, give me that spirit that leaps for joy whenever I hear Your voice.