3. Wanting to see Jesus

The way of the cross in John

29 March 2009

John 12:20-33

In our journey to the cross, I have chosen to use windows from John’s gospel. We move apace to John 12 and discover Gentiles, described as “some Greeks” … who come to Philip asking to see Jesus. Perhaps they wanted to investigate the possibility of becoming disciples of Jesus.

This passage is positioned after ‘the triumphal entry’. There has been much interesting discussion about the position of the entry into the city in John, as it is presented quite differently in the Synoptic Gospels.

Bruce Milne, in his commentary, describes the section in John which begins here and runs to Chapter 19 as “one of the profoundest and most demanding sections of the whole gospel.”

F F Bruce said, “These Greeks may have come from any part of the Greek-speaking world, possibly from a Greek city in Palestine itself.” Throughout the New Testament, the word Greek is used of Greek-speaking Gentiles. These were likely to be God-fearing Gentiles and could be similar to those who met at Cornelius’ house in Acts 10. They were a particular group who embraced the Jewish way of life and even synagogue worship – but, at the same time, they may not have actually become proselytes to Judaism.

The searching out of Jesus resonates with the familiar words of the Old Testament: “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)

We have already noted in John 2, when Jesus overturned the tables, there was actually an area called ‘The Court of the Gentiles’. It was forbidden for Gentiles to go into the Inner Court and signs were placed to make it absolutely clear where they could not go. Punishment for entering such areas of prohibition was ‘on pain of death’.

I recall reading such words for the first time around the Temple Mount. They were posted in Greek and Latin and said, “No alien must pass within the fence round the Temple and the Court. If anyone be caught doing so, he must blame himself for the death that will follow.” This helps us to understand some of the tensions that surround the Temple Mount even today.

These Greeks were curious about Jesus. Their desire was not to admire him, or just to get sight of him, as the words in English might imply, but rather to have a conversation with him and to explore issues of common concern.

This passage will open the way for what is the clearest indication of the centrality of the cross, outside of the actual events of the Passion.

Philip goes to Andrew with the request. You may recall it was Andrew who introduced Simon Peter to Jesus. Philip and Andrew, in turn, approach Jesus. The response of Jesus serves as a focus on the link between his sufferings and his glorification.

Whilst the Synoptic Gospels identify the resurrection as the time of glorification, John sees both the cross and the resurrection in the same frame. The cross lifts up Jesus in all his glory and power.

Jesus had a way of drawing people to himself and so the request of the Greeks was not surprising or unusual. The enquiry is not in any way to be understood as an indication that Jesus was inaccessible, but they desired an introduction. In fact, I believe that most people, recognised or unrecognised, desire an introduction to Jesus.

Text: John 12:21 and 22 -
“They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we would like to see Jesus.’ Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.”

Our focus is not so much upon the Greeks who came to Jesus, but upon what this moment ushered in, in terms of understanding the impending nature of the cross. The appearance of the Greeks defines a crucial moment in the ministry of Jesus.

Philip is identified by someone who already knew him. He hadn’t expected that to occur. Perhaps the disciples were moving around Jerusalem incognito, along with literally thousands of others at the time of the Passover.

Our text takes the trouble to define Philip as being ‘from Bethsaida in Galilee’. Philip and Andrew are the only disciples to have Greek names. It is likely that Philip came from the ethnically-diverse region of the Galilee and perhaps even spoke Greek himself. But as we look at the request of the Greeks who came to the disciples, we shall focus our attention upon the One they were seeking.

The overriding purpose which motivated them

John’s gospel concentrates on a whole variety of different groups. There are the Jews in general, the Pharisees in particular, and the band of disciples. These groups appear and re-appear throughout the gospel. However, this is the only time that the Greeks appear. Some have suggested that they represent all the peoples of the world and that sooner or later we all come to a place of inquiry and ‘want to see Jesus’.

They took the first, bold step

It is one thing to want to see Jesus and quite another to make the first step to seek him. Very often that step requires the help of meaningful friends and people who know him. The desire to see Jesus was made in a polite form; it was not an unhealthy insistence. We know all too well that the crowds that pushed up against Jesus and his disciples at the festival time contained a wide variety of people and personalities … just as many today pursue Jesus for different reasons.

People’s agendas are many and varied. Some look to him for what they can get from him and to these he may be merely ‘a healer’; some wanted him to reform the world as a kind of ‘revolutionary’. In all these ways, Jesus is the focus of their own self-interest.

Seeking is important. Blaise Pascal put it in an interesting way: “There are three kinds of people in the world: those who have sought God and found him and now serve him, those who are seeking him but have not found him, and those who neither seek him nor find him. The first are reasonable and happy, the second reasonable and unhappy, and the third unreasonable and unhappy.”

They articulated their sense of interest

It has been suggested that Greek people were amongst the first of the ancient peoples to wander the known world in search of truth. These particular Greeks had heard of Jesus; some may have even listened to him teach, or observed one of the signs which caused amazement.

The Greeks were curious about Jesus. We note that Jesus is not now on the road, but teaching in the Temple precincts and curiosity would be stirred by everyone talking about him.

There is clarity about their enquiry, which is plain for all … and the nature of Jesus’ response must not be understood to be his ignoring their request, but giving them an equally clear response to the enquiry.

The sensitive people who facilitated the introduction

Philip and Andrew took the enquiry of the Greeks to Jesus. At the appointment of the Twelve, Andrew is named second to Peter without explanation. It is Andrew who, at the Feeding of the Five Thousand, noticed and brought to Jesus the lad with the loaves and fishes, in the complete confidence that Jesus would know what to do with them. It may well be because of these qualities that Philip turned to him when the Greeks asked for an introduction to Jesus.

I do not share the view of some who suggest Philip is slow and indecisive throughout the gospel and not certain what to do. Quite the contrary – he shares his concern with one he trusts and together they take the request to Jesus.

Such people are so important in terms of Christian witness. They must be cherished and given opportunity to exercise such a ministry. Philip was one of the early evangelists of the Christian community.

A witness has been described in these terms: “God has called us to shine. Let no-one say that he cannot shine because he has not so much influence as others may have. What God wants you to do is to use the influence you have.”

They had some sense of attraction to Jesus

If Philip was an evangelist, he had the kind of nature that would reach out to others, build the bridges to enable the possibility of a conversation, and would be looking for the opportunity to point to Jesus Christ.

People may have many deep questions about the meaning of life as they come to Jesus Christ and I am always interested in discovering what it is that first drew them to that place. William Barclay described the Greek as ‘characteristically a seeker after truth’. It was not unusual to find people who passed through one philosophy or religion to the next. In this context, they represent, ‘a searching mind’.

This was a critical moment in the development of the gospel and we see more than a hint that the gospel will be taken out to the whole world.

They were assisted by the helpfulness of the disciples

The disciples had been with him long enough to know that Jesus did not consider people a nuisance. He always had time for them – for example:-

In the press of the crowd, he had time for a woman who had been ill for years, even though he was on an urgent journey.
He stopped to share a meal with a tax collector, who would then change his ways.
He would see a Pharisee by night … in his search for truth.
He would reach out to lepers by day … normally ignored by such teachers.

The disciples had their moments when they would spend time with him. We hear little of the intimacy of such conversations, but there must be no doubt in our minds that Jesus gave himself to them. It was here that some of their mistaken ideas would be straightened out. It is here that he would touch their pain, and bring strength to the weak places of their following. Philip and Andrew’s response was exactly opposite to their attitude on occasions when they wanted to send the crowds away – even the children!

One evening just before the great Broadway musical star, Mary Martin, was to go on stage in South Pacific, a note was handed to her. It came from Oscar Hammerstein, who at that moment was on his death bed. The short note simply said:

“Dear Mary,
A bell’s not a bell till you ring it.
A song’s not a song till you sing it.
Love in your heart is not put there to stay.
Love isn’t love till you give it away.”

So we must give away our faith and reach out in love to others … and, with sensitivity, introduce the seekers to their Saviour.

The openness of Jesus Christ who met them

Once again we are met with the puzzle of trying to discern John’s commentary upon the words of Jesus as opposed to the actual recorded words of Jesus. The Greeks aren’t addressed directly by Jesus, but what follows is John’s version of the ‘whoever would save their lives will lose them’ teaching which is found in the other gospels (Mark 8:35; Matthew 16:25; Luke 9:24). A call to discipleship is a call to suffer, sacrifice and even to die … and Jesus will provide the supreme example: “unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies …” (12:24-25).

The grain of wheat falls to the ground and is an illustration of how out of death comes life. It was when the seed was thrown into the cold earth, and buried as in a tomb, that it bore fruit.

This unprecedented pattern of messiahship embraces servanthood … and dying is not an easy thought to contemplate, even for Jesus – which is why we read, “Now is my heart troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’?” (John 12:27a)

The significance of ‘the hour’

When Philip and Andrew approached Jesus, the Lord announced, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” (12:23) There is a real sense of destiny here. The hour had come for him to commit himself to the supreme act of love upon the cross.

There are times in the earlier parts of Jesus’ ministry when he purposely withdrew from conflict because his time had not yet arrived. Not now! … for we have reached the time, that appointed time, a time of grief and sorrow which would pave the way for glory and victory (v.v. 27 and 28).

There is no turning back from the decisions made in the eternal purposes of God. Jesus has come to this place in loving obedience to the will of God the Father. In this hour of struggle, Jesus moves to the heart of the battle. John does not recoil from a bold assertion that Jesus is in anguish at what lies before him. There will be no turning back now!

The saving power of the cross

There is no authentic Christian message without the word of the cross. It is our strong message to the world.

It may be a stumbling block and foolishness to both Jew and Greek (1 Corinthians 1:23).
It was unthinkable for disciples to imagine his death.
It is inevitable as a consequence of what he said and what he did.
It would bring together in a great climax all the promises and all the rejection of the human race.

Our text begins with a request to see Jesus. Later in the passage, Jesus speaks about all being able to see him in the cross (v. 32).

The cross is inevitable because of our sin.
The cross is the fullest possible picture of love.
The cross is the means by which we find God.
The cross is the constant stay of our lives.

Despite the fact that Jesus struggles and agonises at what lies ahead of him, he embraces God’s will and a voice from heaven confirms his decision (v.28). Not everybody heard that voice, but then again, not everyone does!

Kenneth Osbeck refers to a famous hymn, as he recalls how in the annals of history, on the South Coast of China, high up on a hill overlooking the harbour of Macao, Portuguese settlers built an enormous cathedral. They believed it would weather time, and they placed upon the front wall of this cathedral a massive bronze cross that stood high into the sky. Not too many years later, a hurricane came and the cathedral was pushed into the ocean and down the hill as debris, except the front wall and the bronze cross that stood high.

Centuries later, there was a shipwreck out a little beyond the harbour; some died and a few lived. One of the men hung onto wreckage, moving up and down in the swells; disoriented and frightened, he didn’t know where land was. As he came up on the swell, he spotted the cross, tiny from that distance. His name was Sir John Bowring.

When he made it to land and lived to tell the story, he wrote:

In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.

And the last stanza:

When the woes of life o’er take me,
Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me:
Lo! It glows with peace and joy.

And when all of life seems to crush in on top of us, we just need to go back to the cross and remember the empty tomb and call to mind the fact that a Man is neither on the cross nor in the tomb, but He lives and He stands ready and able to give us victory over whatever we are going through at the time. Come by grace to the cross and say, “That is my sufficiency. That is my only hope.”

Do you want to see Jesus? Do you want to know him? Still, the greatest moment in a person’s life is the discovery of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. The power of love can attract a person to another; hunger and loneliness can certainly set a person on a search for satisfaction; and God calls us to seek and find him.

Martin Luther once contended: “If you want to understand the Christian message, you must start with the wounds of Christ.”

That’s where the search ends … and begins anew!

Christian Life