Do You Really Want To See The True Jesus?
“Sir, we wish to see Jesus” (John 12:20 NKJV). That was the words of these Greek men as they approached Phillip. They wanted to see Jesus. He had just rode into Jerusalem on the young donkeys back triumphantly with the people crying out “Hosanna” which means “save us now.” Were these Greek men echoing the same cry that these followers had and that we have today? These were Gentiles seeking Jesus. They were the foreigners. They were not the children of Abraham: yet, they wanted to see Jesus. They had no doubtedly heard the stories of the Jewish Messiah coming to reign. He would bring victory and peace. He rode in on a young unbridled donkey to symbolize such peace. He had healed people, fed the crowds, and even had raised a man from the dead. Surely, He had come to bring peace, healing, and hope to a world that was filled with despair, bickering, affliction and wars. They wanted to see Jesus. Isn’t that the cry of our own hearts today? We want to see Jesus—the triumphant King who will wipe away all our tears. We want Him to heal the wounds of our heart, to bring us prosperity, to heal our families, and to heal our country. We want Him to set up His Kingdom today, this very moment to save us from all this pain, suffering, and sorrow.
Yet, are we prepared to hear Jesus’ response? “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor” (John 12 NKJV). What was that? Jesus said that He must die!! How is that victory? We want comfort now!! We want victory and glory today!! Yet, Jesus says that we must be willing to serve Him and follow Him even unto death so as to find life eternal. I must be willing to lay aside all my petty wants, wishes and selfish desires for pleasure so that I might gain glory in Him.
GOOD NEWS
Still in the midst of that statement, note this—Jesus said “If anyone serves Me, let him follow ME.” Anyone? Even these Greek Gentile Foreigners? It does not matter where I have come from. It does not matter what heritage or family I am from. It does not matter where I have been—the invitation is the same for me and for you. That is good news. Anyone can come. That is good news for you and for me.
AN EMPATHETIC KING
Still, to seek Jesus with all our hearts means I must be willing to die to all my own desires. Yet, even that Jesus intimately knew how difficult that would be. In the same breath in which Jesus says that He must die and that anyone who serves Him must follow Him into a death of self. In that same breath, Jesus says; “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name” (John 12:27-28 NKJV). We see here an empathetic, loving Jesus who knows how hard this is. We see a King who understands the anguish of our hearts. He knows our sorrows, our tears, our fears, our pains, and our temptations. He knows that we long to know the victory now. We don’t want to fight against sin and evil any longer. We are weary, tired and the battle seems too long. Yet, for this we were born. For this purpose we have come to this hour—this moment; that we might follow Christ even into death to self that we might see and receive His Glory as He glorified the Father and by such was Glorified.
VOICE FROM HEAVEN
“Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake (John 12: 28-30 NKJV). Some could recognize there was a voice and others only heard as though “thunder”. Today, we do have the voice of the Holy Spirit calling us to Him. Do you hear His voice? Do you “want to see Jesus?” Are you willing to die to all your pride, your selfish desires so that you might follow Him?
DO YOU WANT TO SEE CHRIST?
He has won the victory over sin and death. The hour has come. Do you want to follow Him where ever He leads? Do you want to serve Him no matter how tough the circumstances may become? In this lifetime, I have known great trials. I have lost many things. I have battled illness, pain, and suffering in this world. Yet, I can tell you—my loss has been my greatest gain because in the midst of it all I have found joy. [bctt tweet=”My Joy is founded in a relationship with Christ and NOTHING CAN TAKE THAT AWAY from me. “]I have found Unconditional Love that flows within me through Christ’s love for me. [bctt tweet=”NOTHING CAN SEPARATE ME from God’s love. What about you? Do you want to see Jesus?”]
The song I chose for you today is Lord I Offer You My Life and pray that this is your prayer today.
I must say a thank you to Isaac Villegas, a Mennonite preacher. Although he doesn’t know me nor I him. As I asked God for guidance in understanding why it was so significant that John mentioned these Greek men wanting to see Jesus–I found a sermon written by Isaac Villegas in 2006 which opened my eyes and helped me to understand. If you would like to read that sermon you can find it by following this link.
“we would like to see Jesus”: a sermon on John 12:20-33
March 29th, 2006 by isaac
New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.