They Must Decrease

25Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying. 26And 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. 27John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 28Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 29He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 30He must increase, but I must decrease. 31He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

Decrease:

to diminish or lessen in extent, quantity, strength, power, etc...

This is a word that is hard to accept. Nobody likes to take the lower seat, especially in this society where we are taught that in order to be successful, you must have more, be more, achieve more, even to the extent of taking from someone else what doesn’t belong to you.

In Jesus’ time, those Chief Priests, those Sadducees, the Pharisees, the scribes, they were loving those higher positions, manipulating what was written for their own selfish gain, until the Living Word entered the scene, often calling these religious leaders out for their hypocrisy and their ravenous thirst for power the people’s worship, wanting to be seen of men and regarded as holy. In the 14th chapter of Luke, Jesus is found at the home of one of the chief Pharisees, eating bread on the Sabbath, all eyes on him, Jesus uses this as an opportunity to teach those in attendance a lesson on humility with a parable. I’m sure they just loved that.

7And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Oh, The Horror: Reacher

Romans 13:4 KJV

“For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”

Our anchor verse which comes from the book of Romans is attributed to the Apostle Paul from his letter to the church in Rome. It has been said that, in this verse, Paul is speaking to how believers should relate to civil and governing authorities because they are instituted by God to maintain social order, reward good behavior and punish wrong doing. However, to those of us living today, I’m sure we can agree this seems like anything but true for those who are currently seated in positions of authority. Often times, in our society, these same authorities are some of the most corrupt and defiled, more the epitome of Isaiah 9:13-16 and Proverbs 29:2 than Romans 13:4.

13For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts. 14Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. 15The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. 16For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

2When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

One must also note that the stench of the head was also true back in Paul’s day and even that of Jesus‘day and beyond. It was the very government that Paul is said to be referring to in Romans 13:4 that crucified our Lord and savior. Jesus was always calling out the religious leaders for their hypocrisy and their leading God’s people into damnation instead of into salvation and they killed him for it.

The Roman government officially ordered and carried out the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, a distinct Roman method of capital punishment reserved for political rebels, seditionists, and non-citizens who threatened Roman order. Jesus was found guilty of sedition because they said he claimed to be the "King of the Jews," which was considered a political threat for which he was arrested, tortured and crucified.

44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 46Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God…

You know the saying speak of the devil and he will appear. It's a common idiom used when someone you were just talking about unexpectedly shows up. The phrase is said to have originated in England during the Middle Ages birthed from a superstition about mentioning the devil. It was initially expressed as "Talk of the Devil," and the belief was that speaking of the devil could cause him to appear, often with negative consequences.

In the Bible, according to various sources, the devil is said to have been spoken of 36 times in the New Testament and spoken of by the name satan 18 times in the old and 35 times in the new with his first appearance being recorded in Genesis when he is referred to as the deceptive and cunning creature, known as the serpent, that tempts Eve to disobey God. Later, the serpent is identified as Satan in Revelation 12:9 and Revelation 20:2.