“You yourselves heard me say, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only the one God sent to prepare the way for him.’ […] He must become more and more important, and I must become less important.” (John 3:28-30, ERV)
John the Baptist preached about the coming Messiah, the Christ. He made it very clear that he himself was not the Christ, and that all attention should go to Jesus. He compared himself to a friend who is present at a wedding. This friend does not put himself in the spotlights, but is happy to see the bridegroom and the bride get the full attention of the guests and of each other. Therefore, John says: “I am so happy that He is here. He must become more and more important, and I must become less important.”
Jesus says about John: “He was a burning and shining lamp” (John 5:35). He faithfully fulfilled his task to prepare people for the coming of the Messiah. He focused people’s attention on the light of the world. Once people had seen this Light, they did not need John anymore, since “he was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light” (John 1:8).
I think this is a characteristic of faithful discipleship. When you share the Gospel with somebody, your goal is to bring them to Jesus. Your goal should not be to “become more important” yourself.
John the Baptist was totally unselfish. How about you?