Sir We Want to See Jesus

Rev. Steven D. Spencer, Pastor

Palm Sunday (April 1, 2007)

John 12:20-43

20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 27 "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. 34 The crowd spoke up, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this 'Son of Man'?" 35 Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. 36 Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. 37 Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: "Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" 39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: 40 "He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn-- and I would heal them." 41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him. 42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

I. The Greeks' Request

"Sir, we want to see Jesus." It's not some city residents from just around the corner who have pulled Andrew aside: These men have come a long way. As Greeks, they are likely lovers of logic, and they weigh the good and bad of anything based upon whether or not it makes sense. On the other hand, they're proselytes, converts to Judaism. To become a convert to Judaism requires much study, more than just being born Jewish. And the center of Jewish doctrine is the sure hope of the Messiah. They've made pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship at the feast, to celebrate the Passover. They know the Old Testament, its prophecies and signs. They've just witnessed Jesus' triumphal entry on Palm Sunday. And with their love for signs and wisdom, they want to see Jesus.

There’s no record that they meet Jesus that day, but they will see Him by the end of the week. All of Jerusalem will see Jesus lifted high on a cross. That exposure is part of the punishment. By then, the Savior's back will have been flayed by the scourge, His face worked over by the Praetorian Guard. He will be stripped and nailed to the wooden beams. He will speak but a few times, and then He'll breathe His last and die.

“Sir, we want to see Jesus.” The Greeks will see Him, crucified; for it is there that He draws people to Himself. But what will they think? According to their beloved logic, is it reasonable to say that this Man is the Savior? A man that cannot save Himself from death, certainly can’t save others, can He? It’s illogical, and the signs they see now confirm this. God has worked powerful signs of salvation in the past: Think of the Lord meeting Moses on Mt. Sinai, or sending the consuming fire on Mt. Carmel. At Calvary, there is no such power evident, just a mutilated Man on a cross.

"Sir, we want to see Jesus," say the Greeks, and that is what they'll see. The cross won't be a glorious sign, and it won't make sense to trust in Jesus at that time. But rejoice-for the Lord doesn’t leave us only with appearances and logic. He gives us a far better gift: His Word! For while the cross appears to be the accursed end that makes no sense, listen to what Jesus calls the cross as the Greeks clamor to see Him in John 12:23.

He calls it glory: "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified." Jesus is glorified in His death on the cross, and the Father's name is glorified by His Son's sacrifice! That makes little sense to us, because we're used to glory in human terms. A person finds glory when he is surrounded by obvious power, strength and prestige. When someone is glorious, he seems invincible, unbeatable. That's hardly the appearance of the beaten Man on the cross.

But God measures glory differently. In God's terms glory is achieved by doing His will. Against all appearances, God is glorifying His name at the cross because He is fulfilling His promise to save us from sin. Jesus is glorified at the cross because He is fulfilling His Father's plan of salvation; He is dying the death of sinners so that sinners can be raised to eternal life. We know this because the Lord says so. Don't go with your eyes: The crucifixion has all the glory and glamour of a prisoner led to the electric chair; it has even less, because death row inmates aren't subjected to a merciless beating by the guards first. But that dark-shrouded hilltop outside of Jerusalem is a more glorious mountain than any other; on Mt. Calvary, Jesus defeats sin, death and the devil for you.

Jesus also describes His cross as the planting of grain: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." Planting a seed seems silly enough: Why would burying a dead grain benefit anyone? Yet every year, farmers plant grain. Why? Because, by the miraculous will of God, one grain of wheat produces many grains of wheat, and thus the whole world is fed. Jesus declares that He is the grain of wheat to be planted; by His death, a harvest of saints beyond calculation will be raised up for eternal life. Indeed, St. Paul calls the risen Lord "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep," and declares that He will raise up His people on the Last Day (I Cor. 15:20, 23).

Please listen carefully: Farmers plant grain with confidence every year because they've seen the results. They've seen more than a bit of grain buried into the dirt. They have hard evidence that a planted grain will yield much. When Jesus is "planted" on the cross, there is no sign of life at His death. But three days later, He will be raised from the dead-the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Thus, the world has proof of the resurrection; however, many in the world deny that this ever happened, because people don't rise from the dead every day. But you know better.

Finally, Jesus calls the cross a judgment: "Now is the judgment of this world." This part is logical: It makes sense. Judgment often means condemnation, and a man is judged by his actions. Logically, it only makes sense that the cross would condemn the world: When man takes God and puts Him to death that would seem that man earns God's wrath forever.

But the cross isn't about logical consequences; it's about salvation. Jesus is speaking of His Father's plan of salvation, not the condemnation that mankind really deserves. Listen to more of the verse: "Now is the judgment of the world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out." The "ruler of the world"...that would be the devil, the Accuser. He is called the Accuser because that is his history in the Old Testament. In Job 1 and Zechariah 3, the devil goes before the Lord and accuses Job and Joshua the high priest, pointing out their sinfulness: "You can't love these men, God, because I have a list of their sins. Therefore, they are guilty. They belong to me, hand them over and I’ll see to their death and torment." The devil would love to accuse you before the Lord, but he’s lost that power at the cross. Why? Because Jesus has been crucified for the sins of the world! He has atoned for all of them, including yours. Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Rom 8:1)

The devil has nothing left to accuse you with. Were he still able to stand before God, he might say of you, "I've been watching and here is a list of your sins. You're guilty, and they deserve death and judgment. I'll take it from here God. But instead because of Jesus, you are declared not guilty. Your sins did count, and required punishment, but they were laid on Jesus.

This is the judgment of the cross. Because of Jesus' death, God the Father does not say, "You are guilty of My Son's death, and I will see to it that you die." Quite the opposite! Because of Jesus' death, God the Father declares, "Because My Son has died your death and been judged for your sin, I declare you 'Not guilty."' The devil has no more power over you, because he has no evidence left to bring to trial, he has no sins to accuse you with. At the cross, Jesus has conquered the devil; there, the ruler of the world is cast out of heaven, persona non grata, never to accuse again.

But once again, it doesn't appear that way. Jesus doesn't look like the victor on Golgotha, but the loser. If those Greeks go by their logic or the signs that they see, they will turn from the Savior and leave Him hanging on the cross. But by the Word of the Lord, they have something far more certain than logic or appearance: They have the promise of salvation. It’s at the cross, when Jesus appears the goriest, He is in fact most glorious. It is at the cross, when He appears ready only for burial, He is planted to raise a harvest of saints for eternal life. It is at the cross, when it seems that man condemns himself by his hatred for the Son of God, that God is accomplishing man's salvation.

"Sir, we want to see Jesus," say the Greeks. Let them not turn their eyes away from the cross. It doesn't make sense, and it doesn't look like a wondrous sign; but that Man in the middle is their Savior, and His death is their salvation. If they really wish to see the Savior and His love for them, they will look nowhere else than the cross at Calvary on that dark Good Friday afternoon.

II. Seeing Jesus

So remember the glory, remember the cross. Here Jesus says once again, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified." Jesus' glory is to do His Father's will, to save you from your sin. His death is glorious, because by His death He saves you from sin, death and the devil.

Remember the glory. Remember the grain. Remember the judgment. In other words, remember the cross, because that is where the Savior saves you. By gloriously fulfilling His Father's plan for your salvation, He takes your sins away and gives you eternal life. He rescues you from tribulation, from guilt, and from death. He declares you His holy, innocent child, and makes you an heir of eternal life. All of this is yours because of the cross; that is why, if you want to see Jesus – then look for Him there (on the cross). For it there that your sins are forgiven, in Jesus name, Amen!