Number 2 | Matthew 3
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The Role Player | Lemuel Ayudtud
Chapter Notables:
John “the Baptist” - a moniker given because he was baptizing people.
John was a ruffian, not in the sense of violence, but in the way he lived, dressed and preached. He was a no-nonsense preacher, effective in bringing attention to repentance among the common people.
Read more about John here.
Playing “second” is an underrated thing. Because the highlight reels are filled by the super stars, the play of the second is not underscored. When we think of championships and parades, we think of the Michael Jordans, the Derek Jeters, and the Tiger Woods’ of the world. More often than not, we don’t put too much attention on the Pippens, the Rileys, and the LaCavas or Williams’ of the world. But there would hardly be a “Number 1” if there were no excellent “Number 2”.
John was a preeminent preacher of his time. He led many of the common people and even some of the elites to follow him. Probably part of a sect of teachers known as the Essenes, John lived apart from society; in fact, he preached most of his messages from the deserts of Judea where many people came to the wilderness to hear him.
John preached a fairly difficult message of repentance, too, telling people to abandon their evil works to follow God. That included not only the regular lying, cheating, killing stuff, but also abandoning wealth and pursuit of riches. And he often, like his Cousin will do later, rebuked the religious elites for their incongruence and self-serving use of God’s laws.
A beast John was. A very polarizing figure during that time. But as great as John was (Jesus calls him the greatest of all the prophets) he maintained that he was only playing his role.
John was the cousin of Jesus. They were 6 months apart, John being older. In most cases, the elder in the families, especially back in the days of Jesus, were the leaders. The Bible doesn’t tell us what started the ministry of John—maybe he was moved by their life in Galilee that he invested himself in trying to reform the system of religion that was being abused at that time—but whatever it was, he was viewed as prophet and a star and was ahead of Jesus when it comes to ministry. (Talk about a family of preachers!)
Though he had a major following and impact, John preached about the next One coming. He shared that he was not the “One”. John made a point in making sure that people understood that though he was powerful and impactful, the One coming after him is mightier and more powerful. We understand it now that he was speaking about Jesus, but back in those days (and probably in our day as well) most didn’t understand it.
Why would someone that already had a foothold in popularity and influence give up his place for someone else? Why would someone who was older and a leader in his family give way to a younger member? And why would he put so much effort and give 100% of his time and talent into what he was doing just to give way for someone else to shine?
Most people would not put such an effort if they knew they weren’t doing it for their benefit. Most people would not sell themselves all out if they knew that sooner or later they will play second fiddle and not be in the limelight. Most people would not consume their time and talent just to be a footnote in someone’s history of greatness. Most people would not give up everything just to be second. I mean, who would put his own life on the line so another would rise and shine? John did.
In fact John said, “I must decrease and He must increase.” John understood his role. He understood the plan of God for his life. He understood that being “number 2” impacts the play of the “number 1”. He understood that his role was not about himself, it was the way God drew it up in the beginning and that for God to be glorified, he had to deny his desires to be applauded and recognized so that the plan of God can be put to effect.
When we look into Scriptures, it’s the seconds that God uses to glorify His Name. Sure the Bible are filled with these incredible “firsts”, but God loves the humility that come with the committed, sold out “seconds”.
It’s the sacrifice of Aaron and Hur that brought about the victory of Israel back in the old days. It’s Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that brought us Daniel in the palace of the king. It’s the loss of Naomi that brought us Ruth. It’s the mighty men that brought David the victories over the brothers of Goliath. And, considering the other side, it was the refusal of Cain to be second that made him kill his brother.
Sometimes we wrestle to be number 1. We want to take the spotlight. If we’re going to put all our efforts and energies into a thing, we want it to benefit us first before anyone else. We despise the feeling of loss that comes with putting all our aggregate effort into “just” being a role player. So instead of self starting, we only do the minimum. Instead of being proactive, we only do what’s asked. We excuse ourselves for not doing more because we “don’t know” but we don’t want to know more to be more effective. Instead of innovating for the good of the group or the organization, we only show up enough to show support, blaming our inactivity or ineffectiveness on someone not telling us what we need to do. We say, “If you tell me, I’d do it,” but in reality we only do enough because we feel a certain way about someone shining brighter because of our efforts.
John the Baptist is the shining star for the power of number 2. He shows to us what it looks like to play the plan that God has for our lives—especially when we’re not the one playing the lead role. In John we find that it’s not about our names on the marquee that ultimately matters: it’s the purpose of God.
John found himself in prison and Jesus found Himself on the cross. John’s head ends up in a silver platter for his role in the plan of God; a crown of thorns ends up on Jesus’ head. John died while preaching the coming of Jesus; Jesus died preaching the coming of God’s Kingdom. John remained dead, Jesus rose again to bring power unto our salvation.
John played his role as Jesus fulfilled His. Thinking about it a bit deeper, we can surmise that it’s not that Jesus would not have been who He was had there not been John; but John would probably have died meaninglessly had there not been Jesus. John’s life’s work would most likely not even be known had there not been Jesus.
Sometimes our real purpose and significance is only if the number 1 becomes Number 1. Sometimes what we do in life would only mean something if we play our supporting role. Pippen would never have been the champion if he didn’t first champion making “23”, Michael Jordan. Joe Riley would probably not have championship rings had he not fully invested himself in making Dereck Jeter the Hall of Famer that he is today. There would be no “Number 2” if there wasn’t an exhausted yet dedicated number 2.
Lord, help me to embrace my role in Your plans. Whether it’s me on the “cross” or it’s me in jail, help me to give it all. Father, let me fall in love with Your purpose over my love for applause. Teach me, Lord, to not consider who’s getting the spotlight at the end but to consider how You’re using me. Give me the grace to be humble in my 100% even if it’s only 10% about me. Help me to fully embrace that playing second is a winning position. I pray this in Your Name, Jesus, amen.