Sirs, We Would See Jesus
John 12:21
    Mark 16: 1-5

[This message is excerpted from Bishop Nelson Jones's Easter Sunday message. Apostolic Faith Temple, Oakland, CA.]

Although I do not talk about the Easter Bunny and all of the commercial foolishness that is associated therewith when it comes to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, I do talk about this event, and I talk about it not only during this commercial season  we call Easter, but throughout the year.

Christ rose, that is sure. He not only historically rose, but he has risen in us who believe in him. With that said, let's look at this Scripture in Mark. 

We see in Mark 16, that the women who were followers of Jesus went to the tomb of Jesus with various spices to anoint his dead body. They did not know how they were going to get round the guard who had been posted at the entrance or who was going to move the stone that was the door to this tomb. And, the Bible says, it was a great stone. But they desired to go and see Jesus, even though he was dead, they supposed.

This desire to see Jesus is a marvelous one. It would be marvelous if men would see Jesus as these women wanted to see Him. They went to see Him knowing that there was a large stone that they did not have the power to move. But sometimes we don't know the power we have.

These women went in faith and did not trouble themselves about mere formalities, such as their inability to move the stone. Sadly for us today, too many of us pause, wondering who will remove the stones from our way. And that pause, if never abandoned, becomes a stop. 

These women had a desire to see what they assumed was a dead Jesus more than many have a desire to see a living Christ.

In John 12:22, Philip was confronted by certain Greeks who desired to see Jesus. They were Greeks and Philip knew that Jesus was sent to the Jews first. Jesus had not completed his mission to the Jews. But these Greeks, knowing that it was not permitted for the Jews to congregate with the Gentiles, wanted to see Jesus in spite of the rules and customs.

Like the women who went to the tomb of the supposed dead Jesus, these Greeks, too, had such an urgency to see Jesus that they went and frontally tackled the issue, regardless of the rules. They did not trouble themselves with such matters as the rules and customs of that time, they simply made one of the most beautiful declarations in the Bible: "Sirs, we would see Jesus."

Without regard for the ethics of their position or the conventions of their time, they wanted to see the Living Christ. There is more virtue than one can imagine in seeing Jesus. To see Jesus, the song once proudly proclaimed, just one look will turn me away from sin. To see Jesus is to turn men to God and from sin.

If this nation and the world were to look at Jesus, it would  transform the world. Jesus is the light of the world, but, sadly, men love darkness rather than light....so they don't have a desire to see Him. (John 3:19 & John 9:5)

But looking further at John12, we see that these Greeks were doing more than requesting an audience with Jesus. Their request functioned as a wake-up call, as it were, to Jesus that Calvary was soon upon him--the purpose for which he had come into the world.

Look at the response of Jesus to their request, when it finally got to him. Note, Philip knew the custom of that day and so he took the Greeks' request to Andrew, and Andrew, not Philip, finally told Jesus. But notice the almost cryptic response Jesus issues to Andrew's statement of the Greeks' request:

The hour is come, that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

This desire of the Greeks to see Him was a clear indication to Jesus that He was soon to die. He said the time is come that the Son of Man--the body he inhabited--had to be glorified. But final glorification could not come before crucifixion. After crucifixion, a disciple desired to touch Jesus, and He prohibited him because he had to ascend to the Father first and offer his sacrifice--the crucifixion of His body--to the Eternal Spirit for mankind's sin. (John 20:17) That was the purpose for which he had come into this world, to offer himself as an atonement for man's sins. The thought of what he would have to go through was brought home by the Greeks' request.

Notice further, that Jesus said that except a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone--it does not reproduce; it does not beget other wheat. How could He raise up a church that is begotten and purchased by his blood, except through his death? And since he has died, he has brought forth much fruit. 

In reality, the Greeks were knocking at heaven's door, and Jesus knew this: that before they could see Him unto salvation, which is what they  wanted and needed, he had to destroy the middle wall that partitioned them from the Jews and from God. That middle wall could only be destroyed, as Paul said, by His flesh. (Ephesians 2:11-18) The gentiles, represented by these Greeks who came to Philip, could not see God until the way was prepared. Therefore, they could not see Jesus at that time because Jesus had not died--the way had not been prepared--and Jesus is God. (John 14:6-14)

So, cryptically to us, but plainly for Jesus, God was saying to Him that Calvary is upon you, get ready. This is why Jesus' response seemed strange to us, because he was actually responding to God, who was actually talking to Him through the Greeks' request to see Him.

There are many such cryptic expressions that are confusing to us, but plain to those who have the understanding of God. Notice, however, that Jesus never gives an answer to the Greeks concerning their specific request. God used them to provoke a point and to notify Jesus that His hour was upon Him. If you continue reading this chapter of John, you will see that Jesus continues to talk about His death and glorification. He never does respond to the literal specifics of the Greeks. The literal request that they made was of secondary importance. The primary use of the Greeks here was to inform Jesus of Calvary and why it was necessary--to break down the wall between Jews and Gentiles, bond and free, between those who were could come to God and those who couldn't, and to open the way to God again to all mankind.

In conclusion, the Greeks wanted to see Jesus, and it is a good thing that they did because these Gentiles were pressing Jesus to get ready for the sacrifice that would open the door to God for all humankind. Their plea was the plea of humanity to God: "Sirs, we would see Jesus." []

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