What does John 3:22 mean?

According to this verse, Jesus spent time with the disciples. This is a subtle statement, and yet one of the more important aspects of being a Christian. The Bible gives believers many promises of knowledge, wisdom, and strength. Yet, these are in the context of a person who has spent considerable time communicating with Christ. Simply becoming a Christian doesn't automatically make a person spiritually strong. The disciples did not transform the world simply because they were sincere. Rather, their success came from being sincerely, deeply, intimately connected to Jesus.

John 4:2 clarifies that Jesus was not personally baptizing, but He was overseeing baptisms by His disciples. Here, "baptizing" is used in the sense that He was the one in charge of the operation. This is the same as how a general is said to "win" a battle, even if he never fired a shot himself. Or, that the owner of a business has "painted" many homes, albeit as a supervisor and not by holding a brush.

Eventually, John the Baptist will be arrested and executed (Mark 6:17–18, 27). Until then, the wide region around Jerusalem is home to the ministries of both Jesus and John the Baptist. The fact that these men are preaching in the "countryside" is interesting. Jesus went looking for workers, not priests, when He called the disciples (John 1:43). Here, rather than preaching in the urban areas, He and the Baptist are calling out to the common, everyday people.