Oh, Come and See :: John 12:21
Now there were some Greeks among those who went to worship at the feast. Therefore they went to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip likewise spoke to Andrew. Andrew and Philp went and spoke to Jesus, who answered them saying, The hour has come in order that the Son of Man might be glorified.
I have it taped to my lampstand right here. Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Every time I climb into the pulpit, I want this note to remind me why you are here today, why you wish to be here today, with me. Sir, we want to see Jesus. Every time I preach, I long to do nothing but to show you Jesus.
I pray that’s why you are online today ... watching this ... you want to see Jesus.
So close your eyes for a few moments and listen.
Have this in mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus
He was in the form of God,
though he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
He made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant (Phil 2:6-7)
He had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
He had no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised; He was one from whom men hide their faces,
He was crushed ... oppressed ... afflicted ... slaughtered (Isa 53:2-7)
Now ... are you really ready to see Jesus?
Open your eyes, and thank God now.
THE HOUR HAS COME FOR YOU TO SEE JESUS
But pastor, tell me now, how do we see Jesus? We are trapped in our homes, under shelter in place orders. How can we see Jesus here? It’s not like we have the Lord’s Supper here. Where is he?
Sir, we want to see Jesus.
To do that, we need to take a step back.
For six weeks now, we’ve been plodding through this penitential season of Lent, reflecting on our sinfulness and our need to see Jesus. We now know that nothing good dwells within us. ... We do not do the good we want, but the evil we do not want is what we keep on doing (Rom 7:18-19). If you have been examining yourselves prop[erly, you recognize just how much we have become lovers of ourselves, proud, l adulterous, ungrateful people ... unholy, heartless, reckless people.
We know we are poor, miserable sinners. And we know the wages of being a sinner is death.
As if all of that wasn’t weighing on you to begin with, now we have to deal with fear and anxiety of things we can’t control. We've become afraid we might catch the coronavirus and due even later. We’re losing our health and wealth and jobs. And there seemingly is no end in sight.
We need to see Jesus.
The good news is, the events of this coming week are leading us straight to him. Today is Palm Sunday, also known as the Sunday of the Passion. Jesus has just entered the city of Peace known as Jerusalem to great fanfare. Thousands of people have gathered on the streets to welcome Christ the King.
Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. These Greeks saw the parade with all the pomp and circumstance. They saw the palms waving. They heard the children singing. Hosanna! That is Lord save us. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel (v.14).
Oh, what it must have been like to see Jesus that day!
Some scholars have speculated that these Greeks must have been proselytes. But, you know, I’m not so sure. I bet they were more like you. Greeks were well-known as seekers of truth. You’re a seeker of truth too, aren’t you? You already know the truth about yourself, don’t you? You’ve come to know the law shows you the truth about yourself. You’ve come to know the gospel tells you the truth about God.
So they sought out Philip, whose name incidentally is Greek. And they asked him: Sir, we want to see Jesus.
What a beautiful moment we have in front of us!
Brothers and sisters in Christ, these Greeks get it: Jesus isn’t just a good man with ONLY a good word about good living. He isn’t simply some bread king who will give everyone a ring. While many think Jesus is parading into Jerusalem to set them free from a government that has all but shut down their religious activities, these Greeks recognize there’s something different about Jesus.
Do you, too? Do you think maybe they heard the news about how he’s able to give new life to those who once were dead, new eyes to those who once were blind, new ears to those who once were deaf?
Sir, show us Jesus. We long to see Jesus.
Amazingly, not everyone believes these signs. Though he had done so many signs before the people, they did not want to believe, they could not believe, they would not believe ... For they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God (vv. 37-43).
I pray that you believe.
You trust Jesus, don’t you?
So let's go see Jesus.
Phillip and Andrew didn't know what to do about it, but Jesus did. Jesus has come to us for such a time as this. Our Immanuel has come to us, to be seen by us and heard by us. He has come to fulfill everything that God had promised to us.
He has come to us to be with us, to call us out of darkness of death. Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God has come to be seen ... not as just some king, some righteous ruler ... but as the king of glory who sets you free from all the sin that binds you and burdens you ...
Jesus has come to die, to lay down his life on the cross, thereby giving us peace.
Thank God we get to see Jesus .... on the cross.
All through this season of Lent, God has been focusing your attention on your sin so that you understand your need for a savior. And ...
Brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus is that savior. And he has become your savior by living a life without sin for you and then bearing the full wrath of God for your sin for you.
Today, we see Jesus entering the city of Peace to give us peace by dying on the cross.
The one who wishes to see Jesus cannot fail to see him this way.
To fail to see Jesus losing his life on the cross, suffocating to death on a cross, is to fail to see the fall of man into sin, to fail to see yourself as a sinner ...
To fail to see Jesus losing his life on the cross is to fail to see the purpose of the incarnation, which we celebrated just two weeks or so ago. To fail to see Jesus losing his life on the cross is to fail to see the reason for the crucifixion and the victory of bodily resurrection and that God did this for you.
Thank God that all of you Greeks long to see Jesus, and that you see the reason he went to the fries. Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.
In the Gospel of John there is no greater glory than this. John has written this so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ and that by believing you will have life in his name.
God recognized that it is not good for man to be alone.
In sin, we were dying alone. So God came to us in the flesh so that e wouldn't be alone. He was born in the likeness of men so that we wouldn't be alone.
He humbled himself this way becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Jesus did this for us so that he could do the unthinkable by us, going silently and alone to the cross to put sin to death forever.
He who knew no sin became sin for you, and in the great exchange, he gave you all of his innocence, so that you can be declared not guilty and live forever with him in paradise.
Amen, Amen, I say to you unless a seed of grain falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
And you, brothers and sisters in Christ, are that fruit because you have faith in Jesus. And in faith you can see Jesus.
God has opened your mind’s eye to this Saving truth of who Jesus really is. He is the Lamb of God who took your sins away. Through his Word, you can see now how Jesus lived for you, died for you, and overcame death for you, rising to be life for you.
You can see now how Jesus comes to you in the Lord’s Supper, feeding you and nourishing you with his body and blood in, with, and under his bread and wine.
Now we can see Jesus. Now we can see how the forgiveness of sins is yours forever.