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Please turn in the New Testament
to John's Gospel, chapter 12. We're studying John's Gospel
in our evening services and I want to read at this point from verse
12 to verse 26. John, chapter 12 and verse 12. The next day the large crowd
that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem
So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him,
crying out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord, even the king of Israel. And Jesus found a
young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, Fear not, daughter
of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's
coat. His disciples did not understand
these things at first. But when Jesus was glorified,
then they remembered that these things had been written about
Him and had been done to Him. The crowd that had been with
Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from
the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went
to meet Him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the
Pharisees said to one another, You see that you are gaining
nothing. Look, the world has gone after
him. Now among those who went up to
worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip,
who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, We wish to see
Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew.
Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them,
The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth
and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much
fruit. Whoever loves his life, loses
it. And whoever hates his life in
this world, will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves
me, he must follow me. And where I am, there will my
servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father
will honor him. This is the holy and infallible
word of the living God. The little city of Jerusalem
was packed to overflowing with over 150,000 visitors from all over the known
world come for the feast of the Passover. And John tells us that
among those who went up to worship the feast were some Greeks. These would have been the people
known as God-fearers. Gentiles but worshipping in Jewish
synagogues, attracted by the God of the Jews. People who would
have been allowed to enter the court of the Gentiles at the
temple and worship there. Tourists always want to see the
sites and the famous people. When visitors come to London,
They're very happy if they can see the Queen while they're there.
And in Jerusalem at this Passover, no one in the city was more notorious
than Jesus of Nazareth. Everybody was talking about him. There was a strong rumor that
he had raised a dead man named Lazarus and brought him back
to life. There were people who had said
they had seen this happening shortly before he had entered
the city in a triumphal procession, surrounded and cheered by hundreds
of supporters. It was widely known that the
authorities hated him and wanted to arrest him. Who was this Jesus? And what was he going to do next?
These Greek visitors decided that they would try to meet this
famous person. They found one of his disciples
with a Greek name, Philip, who came from the Greek-speaking
village of Bethsaida. And they said, Sir, we wish to
see Jesus. What was on their minds? How serious was their interest?
We don't really know. Was it just curiosity? Were they struck by the way he
had cleansed the court of the Gentiles and opened it up again
for them to worship? We're not told and it doesn't
really matter. were not even told if they did
meet Jesus. I like to think that they did. But what is important, and this
often happens in John, is a sort of a double meaning, a symbolism. John's a very profound thinker.
And often in these incidents, there's a meaning beyond what
those involved could have understood. In this request, there's a message
conveyed to the Lord Himself and to us. And I think that's
why John includes this request. It's the only gospel to mention
this incident. These Greeks and their request. What can we say about the request
from these Gentiles? Sir, we wish to see Jesus. The three things I want to note. First here we have a prophecy
for the Savior himself. A prophecy for the Savior himself. Imagine the conflict, if you
like, that he's now undergoing. He's still a young man. He knows
that he is about to die horribly. The crowds are cheering him. But he's not taken in by that.
He knows that those who cheered and shouted Hosanna yesterday
will shout crucify him tomorrow. Their support is shallow. His disciples are loyal, but
they're not strong and they're not stable. And He knows that
they're soon going to run away. He knows that He has powerful
enemies. He's absolutely committed to
doing His Father's will. But He's also a true human being.
And together with His commitment, He knows loneliness and sorrow. Both can exist in our minds.
At once, we can be committed to doing the will of God, and
at the same time, trembling, fearful and sad. John expresses the pathos of
his mission. He came to his own, and his own
people did not receive him. The crowds are going to turn
against him. He is going to be nailed on a cross, despised and
rejected of men. He himself will say in verse
27, Now is my soul troubled. Suddenly, the disciples tell
him, There are Greeks who want to see you. And it's as if a window opens
in the dark tunnel of the road to Calvary. And through that
window, for a moment, the Lord sees a wide, beautiful prospect. For you see, in symbol In these
few Gentiles, He sees the nations of the world. He sees men and
women of every people and every tribe and every language coming
to the Messiah of Israel. And they all have one request.
We wish to see Jesus. The people have come from nowhere.
from outside the covenant. And now they're coming. They
want to see Him. The Greek word means to meet
Him. Not just to set their eyes on Him, but to talk to Him. To
get to know Him. In these few Greeks, He sees,
as it were, the first fruits of the great harvest that's going
to be reaped throughout the century. You see the paradox here. The
Jewish leaders want to kill him. The Gentiles want to meet him. The Pharisees snarl in verse
19. Look, the world has gone after
him. But they're speaking more truly
than they realize. Jesus sees the whole world here. In this incident, God the Father
is saying to God the Son, Your work is going to succeed. Your death is going to bear fruit. The peoples of the earth will
come in faith to Israel's Messiah. And so in an outburst of solemn,
holy joy, in verse 23, Jesus answered them, The hour has come
for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say unto you,
unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains
alone. But if it dies, it bears much
fruit. That's his answer to this request. You remember how this truth was
set forth by Gentiles at the very beginning of his life. Gentiles
from the East came and said, We have seen his star when it
rose, and we have come to worship him. When He comes to earth,
the Gentiles bow before Him. Now He is about to leave this
earth. The Gentiles come with the same
desire. We wish to see Jesus. This is the graciousness of God
the Father. He sends encouragement to His
beloved Son when He needs it. What must this have meant to
the Son of God as He looks towards Calvary and suddenly the Gentiles
are there. The peoples of the world, we
want to see you. There are seeking Gentiles at
the cradle and at the cross. A wonderful thing. The rest of
the New Testament is here. The growth of the early church
is here. The history of the Christian Church is here. Missionary expansion
is here. New continents opening up. You and I are here. Gentiles,
most of us, seeking the Saviour. Here is the heart cry of the
elect. The future of the faith is here. Many of us born outside the covenant,
but brought in by the mercy of God. No matter how discouraging
the situation, there will always be those who will come with this
request, we want to see Jesus. This is a prophecy for the Savior
and it has been fulfilled and it's being fulfilled today in
thousands of places on the surface of this planet. There are men
and women coming for the first time saying, we want to see Jesus
and it's going to be fulfilled until He comes again. A prophecy
for the Savior. But secondly, we have here a
program for the church. A program for the church. We sometimes need to ask ourselves
basic questions. Why are we here? What are we
doing here this evening? Why do we want to maintain this
church? Well, we could give a number
of reasons, I expect. We have various activities, and
we think they're worthwhile. But is there one dominating goal? Is there one guiding principle? by which our life as a church
should be directed. Surely no church could do better
than to make this their program. We want to show Jesus. We want
to see Jesus. This is, of course, in line with
the everlasting purpose of God. This fits in with the flow of
history. It's God's purpose that in everything,
He might be preeminent. God has highly exalted Him, that
at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. That's what you're saying to
me, as your minister. Sir, we wish to see Jesus. For many years, I had those words
printed out and stuck here on the top of the pulpit. The little
label fell off some years ago. Perhaps it's time to put it back.
So that every time I stood up in every service, these words
were at the top. Sir, we wish to see Jesus. That's what preaching is for.
You've got varying personalities and interests, your different
ages, different circumstances, different stages in the Christian
life. How can I feed you all at once?
This is the only way we wish to see Jesus. In the word of
God, we have the scriptures, he says, that testify about me. That's why the architecture of
Reformed churches is as it is. At the center of the church,
at the focus of the church, is not an altar. It's a desk on
which is the Word of God. And the Word is over the sacraments. And the Word is over everything
else. And the Word is the focus of
everything. And all the sight lines fastened on the Word Because
the Word brings us Jesus. We find the Savior in this book. And it's through the steady,
patient, faithful teaching of the Bible, the whole counsel
of God, that we see Jesus. And that's why I love Reformed
doctrine and why we're committed to it. Not because it's profound,
though it is. Not because it's satisfying,
though it is. but because it shows us Christ
in His majesty and His glory. This is what you as a people
ask of your elders in the church. You want to see Jesus in them. You want to see Jesus in their
faces, in their lives, in their counsel, in the way they treat
you and behave towards you. And we can think this evening
of men who served as elders in this church and are now in heaven. What do we remember? What do
we remember about them? Most of all, first and foremost, isn't it the Christ that we saw
in them, with whom they walked and whom they exemplified in
their lives. Very often our elders show Jesus
in ways that they themselves don't realize and wouldn't acknowledge. And I say to you, my fellow elders,
you show Jesus to our people more than sometimes you think
about yourselves. And this is what we in turn desire
for you who are members of this church. Not just that you will
participate in the programs of the church. Not just that you'll
be easy to manage. What we want from you, we want
to see Jesus. That's what it's all about. You
remember Paul to the Galatians 4.19, My little children, for
whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is
formed in you. Until Christ is formed in you. Cooperate with your leaders.
Their desire is to see Christ in you. Those of you who are
parents, this is who your children need to see in you. This is what
your children are saying to you fathers and you mothers. We need
to see Jesus, to see Him in your faces, to hear Him in your voices
and in your counsel. Sabbath school teachers, youth
leaders, this is the request from those for whom God has made
you responsible. We wish to see Jesus. This is who we need to see in
Christians, with whom we have a problem. At times we get irritated
with one another. We're all imperfect. And at times,
sadly, we offend one another and hurt one another. And at
such times, try to see Jesus in the other person. Try to see
them as one whom He loved and for whom He died. Look past the
faults and the eccentricity. In 10,000 years they'll be gone
and there'll be nothing but the likeness of Jesus. Try to look
at them now as they will be in heaven. And in all our interaction,
that's what we need from each other. In every church meeting,
that's what we need from each other. When the elders meet,
when the deacons meet, when the various committees meet, when
the congregation meets, Let us hear Jesus from each other. Let
us see Jesus in each other. Let that be our motivation of
every one of us. I will seek to show Jesus. I will seek to speak like Jesus,
to love like Christ. Let it be our ambition that our
church will be a place where Christ is seen in the worship
and the preaching and the sacrament in the fellowship, in the lives
and faces of the members. This is the secret of peace and
unity and prosperity. Without His presence, this is
just an empty shell. With His presence, it is more
beautiful than any temple. Do you remember Psalm 84? I can only remember the old version.
How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts to me! The tabernacles
of thy grace, how pleasant, Lord, they be! What a noble program
for a church. We wish to see Jesus. We wish
to show Jesus. The church who does that will
be certain of God's blessing. A prophecy for the Savior. A program for the church. And
thirdly, a priority for the world. A priority for the world. We
wish to see Jesus. And you'll say, now wait a minute.
Your neat little headings begin to break down here and your application
of the text begins to break down, if only that were the case. If
it were only true that crowds of new people were coming up
to us all the time and saying, we wish to see Jesus. Surely you'll say to me, our
problem is the reverse. Nobody seems to want to see Jesus.
We go out on doors. We give out literature. We speak
to people. And very few seem to show the
slightest interest. We're going about saying, would
you like to meet Jesus Christ? And they're saying, in effect,
no thank you. We're not interested. How many
tens of thousands of homes have we visited in the last 35 years
in this community? What has been the response? Almost nothing. Now that's true
to some extent. People are not interested in
Jesus. And it would be foolish to pretend they are. It would
be a sort of evangelical romanticism, imagining that there are tens
of thousands of people hungering for the gospel. That's not the
case. And yet, He's the one whom they need to
see. And I believe that more people
may want to see Him than we may realize. And I give you this
to think about. Not everybody who rejects church
or who rejects religion is consciously rejecting Jesus Christ. Not everyone who rejects us is
consciously rejecting Jesus Christ. They may think they are. We may think they are. But they may not have seen Him. We may not be showing Him as
clearly as we imagine. And they reject us and we say,
well, they've rejected Christ. But are we sure they've seen Christ
and heard Christ? Maybe it's just us they're rejecting. Sometimes we're just too remote
from them. We're not really interested in them. Could it be that our lives don't
really measure up to our profession? Do they see in us sometimes a
dull, lifeless traditionalism? Religious people doing religious
things. But are we sure they hear and
see the Lord Jesus? Is it possible what they're rejecting
is substandard Christianity? That's a frightening thought. Paul, you remember, speaks searingly
to some Jews in Romans 2.24 where he says, The name of God is blasphemed
among the Gentiles because of you. because of you. You're such poor
ambassadors, he says. There's so much hypocrisy and
unbelief that they turn away from God and it's your fault. And sometimes I think we're a
bit too quick and it's a bit too comfortable for us to say,
oh well, they're not interested in the gospel. They've no time
for Jesus Christ. That is often true. Don't know that it's always true. And we really must listen to
the confused murmur of lost men and women around us and what
they are in effect saying, even if they're not saying it. We
need to see Jesus. They need to see Him in our lives
and faces and conversation. And it's our calling to show
the best, the greatest, the kindest person who has ever lived. And to show how God the Father
sent Him to earth in love for lost sinners like ourselves,
and to show and explain what He has done for our salvation,
and how glorious it is to trust Him and love Him, and what a difference it makes
for this life and for the next life, and how He can meet the deep
hunger of our hearts. Do you children and you young
people in this congregation understand that? Do you understand that
church isn't just about doing things and keeping rules and
being good? Although it is these things,
but before all that, It's about coming to know the best friend
that anyone could ever have. The one friend who will love
you, and he'll never fail you, and he'll never leave you, and
he'll never let you down, and he'll save you, and he'll be
everything to you that you could ever want. That's what it is.
That's what it is. And if we who are older If we
have made it seem dull to you, I'm sorry. And I want you to
forgive us. We don't mean to do that. We
don't want to do that. We want to try to show you how
wonderful it is to know the Lord Jesus Christ. The world is entitled to ask
this from us. We're Christians, after all.
Men and women dominated by a commitment to Jesus Christ. And that's why
we're here. As you go to work tomorrow morning,
that's your motivation. I want to show Jesus Christ.
The people who meet me will see Him and hear Him. As you talk
to your neighbor at the school gates or over the fence, let
this be your priority. Lord, help me to show you to
other people. A novel was written, must have
been a hundred years ago now, by Charles Sheldon called In
His Steps. We smile at it now when we read
it. It's naive. It's romantic. The theology is terrible. I wouldn't
recommend it. And yet there's a grain of truth
in it. People trying to live as Jesus would live. You don't need to be clever. You don't need to be gifted.
You don't need to be able to argue. You don't need to have
your head packed full of knowledge. You need to love your Lord. and
be growing more like Him. And this is the evangelism that
will count. This is the only evangelism that
will count. People won't be won by campaigns
and gimmicks and strategies, but by men and women who are
like Christ and who tell of Christ. And this is the mainspring of
our lives as believers. We wish to see Jesus. And it's
simple. And yet it's so profound that a billion years from now,
if we're still counting years, we'll not have come to the end
of it. There'll still be more to learn, more to see, because
we're talking about a person And while you can get to know
something about a person quite quickly, you never get to know
everything. Even with a human being, there's
always something new to find out. Do you still have that passion
every time you open your Bibles? I want to see Jesus. Every time you kneel in prayer,
every time you come in this building, we wish to see Jesus. Is that
true of you? Is that what you want? And what is so special about
our salvation is that this longing is going to be satisfied. For
at the last, in heaven, you and I and all God's children will
make this request for the last time. And we will never need
to ask again. For we'll see Him forever and
ever and ever and ever. For although what we will be
has not yet appeared, we know that when He appears, we shall
be like Him because we shall see Him. as He is. Amen. Let us bow in prayer. Lord, many of us can say that
we once were lost, but now are found. We're blind, but now we
see. For you who spoke into the darkness
and caused the light to shine have shone in our hearts to give
us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. And we thank you for revealing
your Son. And we pray for any here who have not yet seen the
Lord Jesus, that you will open their eyes, that in repentance
and faith they may see Him and love Him. And help us, O God,
to gaze at Him day by day. And as we gaze to become more
like Him, help us to show Him in the world that others may
see Him in us and be led past us to the Savior Himself. And we thank you, O God, that
at the end we shall see Him forevermore. In His name we pray. Amen.
We wish to see Jesus
Series Portraits of Jesus
| Sermon ID | 122309179521 |
| Duration | 38:27 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - PM |
| Bible Text | John 12:12-26 |
| Language | English |
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