“We wish to see Jesus”

Meditation on John 12:20-36

March 22, 2015

    

     Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

    

     ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains for ever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’ Jesus said to them, ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.’

     

    After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.

***  

     Driving back from Willmar on Friday--on the First Day of Spring-- the fields looked different to me. One field in particular looked like a farmer had just turned the soil to prepare it for planting. But of course, it’s a little early for that. The calendar may say that winter has gone and spring is here, but we in Minnesota know that it will still be a while before planting time!

    When it is finally time to plant, farmers will spring to life like hungry bears awakening from a long winter’s nap. Big machines will roll over the fields, drilling seeds precisely into the earth. And all the while, the farmers will not really be seeing the corn seeds. They will have visions of tall, green stalks bending and whispering in the breeze. They will not be seeing the bean seeds; they will envision the sturdy plants sprouting from the earth, reaching up to the sun. And when the seeds have grown to be plants, farmers will already be imagining the harvest, when the combines lumber across the fields night and day, and truckload after truckload of grain are delivered to grain elevators and farmers’ bins. In fact, I would be surprised if farmers were not already thinking about the harvest before they purchase the seed, let alone plant it!

***

    We don’t grow wheat around here on a large scale anymore, but on an organic gardening Website, I found encouragement for people to grow wheat in family gardens; only a few pounds of seed, the author said, would produce 8 times as much “edible grain.” Another Website, “Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom,” says that every head of wheat has 50 kernels, and 1 kernel of wheat, when planted, may yield several hundred new kernels.

     Wheat has been around for about 9,000 years, originating in the Fertile Crescent, which would include land in modern day Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Cyprus, Egypt, Turkey, and the western fringes of Iran. Bread was a staple in the diet of Jesus’ time; people who didn’t make a living at farming still grew wheat in their family gardens. They didn’t buy special seeds from a seed company, though. They set aside some of the kernels from the harvest to use for seed for the next growing season. This had to be done in both good seasons and lean seasons, when the harvest wasn’t plentiful and drought or pestilence plagued crops. So in a way, grain that wasn’t ground and baked into bread and was, instead, kept for seed for next year’s garden was bread given up or sacrificed this year so they would have more bread to eat the following year.

     When Jesus uses the illustration, then, of the wheat seed that had to fall to the ground and die to bear more fruit, his audience knows what he is talking about. The disciples do not understand, though, why Jesus keeps talking about dying! Surely the one who raised Lazarus from the dead would himself never die! Besides, Jesus has many new followers after Lazarus is raised from the dead. Word spreads of the miracle and people ask, “Is this the Christ? The Messiah we have been waiting for?”

      But at the same time, Jesus is making powerful enemies. The chief priests and Pharisees see that they are losing control of the people and resent this man who has become so popular, who is doing so many miraculous things. Jesus incenses the Jewish leaders when he says that not all of the descendants of Abraham would be saved and that salvation is now offered to those who are not descendants of Abraham--and not by adhering to the rituals and laws of the ancient faith but by being his followers! In John 8, Jesus says to those who believe in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!” “I am the Light of the World!” he says in John 8:12. “I am the Good Shepherd!” he says in John 10:11. “I am the Bread of Life!” he says in John 6.

    Speaking about the grain of wheat that falls and dies, Jesus is trying to prepare his disciples for the horror of the cross and comfort those who will witness his terrible death--that though it might seem like the end of everything they have been working for, it will be only the beginning! One will die so that many others will live, rather than perish in their sins. His death will open the door to eternal life to all people, including the Gentile “Godfearers” who believe in and worship the God of Israel, “the Greeks” who come to Philip and ask to see Jesus. And Philip, so amazed at this request from Gentile strangers that he talks to Andrew about it before going to Jesus. You can imagine them wondering, “What’s going on? What should we do?” With the visit from the “Greeks,” the fears of the Pharisees seem to be coming true. In John 6, Jesus astonishes the people with his teaching and tells them that he will be with them only a little while longer--that he would soon be returning to the One who sent him. “You will search for me,” he says, “but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” The Jews are baffled by his words and assume that he intends to go out into the Diaspora to live among and teach “the Greeks.”

    When Philip and Andrew bring the news to Jesus of the “Greeks” wishing to see him, the Lord sees their request as a sign that his work with them is almost over; the cross looms ahead. He says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

      One can’t help but be moved by the verses that follow his call to discipleship and assurance of everlasting presence with his followers. “Now my soul is troubled,” Jesus says of the death he is to die. This is the one who will assure his disciples in John 14, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.” This is the one who teaches us in Matthew 6 and Luke 12 not to worry about anything--for our heavenly Father, who clothes the lilies of the field and tenderly cares for the birds of the air, will surely take care of us! And yet, here Jesus is also struggling with emotion--He is “troubled” as He seeks to obey the one who sent him.

     This is not a God who is far removed from us, my friends! This is a God who emptied himself of his divinity and became one of us so that he might suffer and die for us. He would experience every sorrow, pain, struggle and temptation that we experience! And yet, as Hebrews 4, I John 3, 2 Cor 5, and I Peter 2 assure us, he would not sin!

      Jesus shows us the way--the path we ought to take when we are tempted, when we, too, are struggling as we seek to obey. When we are anxious and afraid, unsure that we can bear all things that the Lord says we can bear--with His help. Jesus doesn’t ask God to take away His pain or to spare Him the death that he will suffer. He doesn’t say, “Father, save me from this hour.” He seeks to do God’s will and trusts that the suffering He will bear is what God wants for him. “It is for this reason,” Jesus says, “that I have come to this hour.” He turns to His Heavenly Father and gives him praise. “Father,” he says, “glorify your name.”

    ***

    Friends, the answer to every question we have, the answer to everything that troubles us about the past, present or future, is found in God’s Word and revealed in Jesus Christ! The Son of God was God who became fully human--like us! He experienced everything we experience now. He models for us kindness, openness, and honesty, not fearing that others might think he is weak for admitting that he doesn’t want to suffer and die! He has the courage to admit that He is troubled, knowing the cross looms ahead! You might ask, “Why is this passage in the Bible?” It is for our sakes! God wants us to rely on Him for comfort and strength! He loves us that much!

     Seek the Lord, brothers and sisters! Seek His face, just like the Greeks, the Gentile Godfearers who came to the Holy City for the Passover and sought out Philip, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

    If we can envision and anxiously anticipate the harvest when we plant seeds in the springtime, why can’t we learn to trust in Him now and anxiously anticipate the Harvest of souls with the same faith? God’s Word and our hearts tell us that Jesus is the only Way to eternal life. That He is the Bread of Life, the Good Shepherd, the Light of the World.

     If only you and I would learn to trust in Him each day, for all things--he who was also willing to be the grain of wheat that would fall to the earth and die to bear much fruit!

Let us seek Him now together.

Holy One, our Good Shepherd and Bread of Life, we come to you for comfort, wisdom and strength. Feed and tend to us now as we seek your face, fully believing that in you we will find all our answers, everything we need to continue walking this journey of faith together. Father, help us to bear every troubling thing that might loom ahead, without complaint, just as you helped your Son be perfectly obedient all the way to the cross. Help us to believe in the light and walk in the light, confident that we are also children of the Light. Especially now in this season of Lent, lift our eyes to the cross where our Savior died to set us free from sin and death. Thank you for your grace, mercy and salvation. Lead us to carry your gospel of hope to our communities and the world and be the comforting, peaceful presence of Christ to all who are troubled. Give us joy to plant the seeds of faith in the old and young, the stranger and the friend. Give us courage to always obey, despite our fears or anxieties. Help us to always trust in you. Through Christ we pray. Amen.