We Would See Jesus

John 12:12-23

A Powerful Request: We Would See Jesus

There is a small plaque on the pulpit, on the side facing the preacher with the words of John 12:21: “Sir, we would see Jesus.” It’s not meant for you to see, but serves as a reminder to any man who would stand in this pulpit.

Whatever the passage, whatever the occasion, the preachers’ task is to set Jesus Christ before you, to show you who he is, what he has done, and why he is worthy of our faith and obedience.

These words come from some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover. They came with a simple request: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” What a wonderful desire!

Is it one that we share. Many people saw Jesus during his earthly ministry. They witnessed his miracles and heard his teaching. They saw him enter Jerusalem. Yet many failed to understand who he truly was. Does that still happen?

Do you desire to see Jesus? Many are interested in the blessings Jesus gives but don’t make it a priority to know Him. Some are content with getting a little glimpse, so long as it doesn’t require a lot of effort. The Christian life is about knowing Jesus as he is revealed in Scripture, trusting his saving work, and growing in fellowship with him.

How can we even see Jesus today? We cannot see Him with our physical eyes as the people in Jerusalem did, but through the Scriptures, by faith and the work of the Holy Spirit, we behold our risen Lord.

So let us come to this passage with the desire expressed by those Greeks: “Sir, we would see Jesus.”

How the People Missed Jesus

John describes the crowd that gathered when they heard Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. Many heard how he raised Lazarus from the dead, so they came out to meet him with palm branches, crying, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” Jesus was indeed their King, the promised Messiah. But the people did not fully understand what kind of King he had come to be. Consider the different perspectives John gives us.

The disciples

Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a young donkey, fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy. Jesus was deliberately presenting himself as the promised King.

Yet John tells us that even the disciples did not understand these things at first. They understood only after Jesus was glorified. They had seen his miracles and heard his teaching. Jesus had told them that he would suffer, die, and rise again. Yet they still did not grasp how the cross would reveal his glory and accomplish his saving work. They saw the King entering Jerusalem, but they did not yet understand the road his kingship would take.

The crowds

Many came because of the sign of Lazarus. They had seen or heard about the remarkable power of Jesus.

But they could easily mistake the sign for the whole message. They might want a King who could defeat Rome, restore Israel’s earthly glory, and provide the blessings they desired. They welcomed a powerful King, but did they understand that he had come to deal with a deeper problem than their political oppression and hardships?

We face the same danger. We may turn to Jesus when we need help, when life is difficult, or when we want something to change. But do we also come to confess our sin, receive his grace, worship him, and submit our lives to him? Jesus cares about our needs, but he came to do more than serve our plans. He came to reconcile sinners to God.

The Pharisees

Seeing the crowds, they complained, “Look, the world has gone after him.”

They were frustrated that Jesus’ influence was growing. But their words carried a deeper truth than they realized. Jesus had come to gather a people from every nation. His kingdom would not be confined to Israel. The Greeks who appear in the next verses are a sign of that worldwide purpose.

The disciples did not yet understand. The crowds risked seeking Jesus for the wrong reasons. The Pharisees opposed him. All were confronted with Jesus, but seeing him was not the same as understanding him. This serves as a much needed caution: We can admire Jesus, be impressed by his works, and speak warmly about him without truly understanding why he came. What kind of King are we looking for? One who will fulfill our expectations, or the King who saves us from our sins?

How to See Jesus:

As if to drive the message home, John tells us of the Greeks who came seeking Jesus. Their arrival was significant. People from outside Israel are seeking Christ, anticipating the day when people from all nations will be gathered into his kingdom. And when their request reaches Jesus, he responds: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Notice three things in his statement.

First, Jesus says, “The hour has come…” Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus has spoken of an hour that had not yet come. Now he declares that the hour has arrived. Jesus is approaching his betrayal, arrest, trial and crucifixion. The King who entered Jerusalem amid the praises of the crowd is moving toward the cross. He is not a helpless victim swept along by events beyond his control. He has come to do his Father’s will, and he knows what lies before him.

Second, “The hour has come for the Son of Man…” This title recalls Daniel 7, where one like a son of man receives dominion, glory, and a kingdom, and people from every nation serve him. Jesus is the universal King whose reign will extend to the ends of the earth. But the people did not understand how this King would establish his kingdom. Before exaltation would come humiliation. Before the crown, there would be a cross. He would gather his people not by military conquest, but by giving his life for them.

Third, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” About glory - we use the word but rarely stop to think about what it means. To give glory to someone is to publicly recognize their accomplishments, like giving the Medal of Honor to a war hero, or the crown to the victor. The Roman General would parade his conquests when returning for war, displaying his glory in battle.

But Jesus is speaking of his coming death. The cross is not an interruption of Jesus’ glory. It is the supreme display of it. There we see God’s holiness, the seriousness of sin, the depth of divine love, and the wisdom of his saving purpose:

We are sinners who cannot remove our own guilt. Good works, religious observance, and sincere intentions cannot reconcile us to a holy God. We need a Savior who can bear our judgment and bring us near to God.

Jesus came to give himself as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. As Paul writes in Romans 3, God put Christ forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. At the cross, Jesus bore the judgment our sins deserved, satisfying divine justice so that God might be just and the justifier of those who trust in Jesus.

And the cross was not the end. Jesus rose from the dead. As Romans 4:25 says, he “was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” His resurrection declares his victory over death and confirms the sufficiency of his saving work.

Here is the glory of the Son of Man: the King gives himself for his people, bears their sins, defeats death, and rises in triumph.

The world may see the cross as weakness and defeat. But the eyes of faith see the wisdom and power of God. We see the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

The Greeks wanted to see Jesus. Jesus points us to the cross because there we see most clearly who he is and why he came. The nations are gathered to him through his death and resurrection.

Why does Jesus respond to their request by saying this? Because the way the nations will come to know him depends on what he is about to accomplish. To see Jesus in his glory, we must see him as the crucified and risen King. We cannot truly understand Christ’s glory while ignoring his cross. He is not merely a teacher to admire or a miracle worker to seek when we need help. He is the crucified and risen King, the Savior who reconciles sinners to God.

Would You See Jesus?

First, do we desire to see Jesus? Is knowing Christ one of our chief desires? Do we seek him in his Word and come to him in prayer? Do we want to know him more deeply, trust him more fully, and become more like him?

John Owen - No man shall ever behold the glory of Christ by sight hereafter who does not in some measure behold it here by faith.

If seeing, knowing, and communing with Christ is not our priority now, we will know see, know, or commune with him in the life to come.

Second, do we see Jesus as he truly is? The crowds welcomed a King, but many did not understand what kind of King he was. Do we trust Jesus as the Savior who bore our sins? Do we rest in his finished work rather than our own righteousness? Do we see him glorified in the cross and resurrection?

If we do not come through faith in Christ, we have no place at the table.

Do we see his love, his sacrifice, his grace, and see him as more worthy, more lovely, more desirous than anything else that would occupy us?

Third, are we showing Jesus to others? Remember Lazarus. Jesus had raised him from the dead, and his living presence drew people toward Jesus. Lazarus did not save anyone, Jesus did. But his life bore witness to the power and glory of the one who had called him out of the tomb.

We, too, have been given new life in Christ. We have been forgiven, reconciled to God, and called to walk in newness of life. Do our words and actions point others toward our Savior? Does our love, patience, holiness, and hope bear witness to his grace?

We do not point people to ourselves as though we were the source of life. We point them to Jesus, who died and rose again.

“Sir, we would see Jesus.” May that be our desire as we gather around his Word and his table. As we come to the Lord’s Supper, let us look by faith to the crucified and risen Christ. Let us remember the Savior who gave himself for us and who now lives and reigns forever. Let us see Jesus, and let us make him known.