To See Jesus

I remember visiting a mental hospital years ago with my friend and fellow pastor, Mike MacIntosh. We were visiting the patients and sharing the gospel. Back then, I wore very long hair and had a full beard. Mike began talking with one patient and said, “Have you ever personally met Jesus Christ?”

“No,” the man replied, “But I’ve always wanted to.” Then he turned to me, shook my hand, and said, “Jesus, it’s good to meet you! I’ve heard so much about you.”

“I’m not Jesus!” I told him. “My name is Greg.”

Imagine what it would be like to actually reach out and shake hands with the real Jesus, to actually touch Him. The Bible tells us about a group of people who wanted an opportunity to do just that:

Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 12:20–21)

Instead of simply granting them an audience, Jesus used their request to illustrate a point: “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain . . . ” (verse 23–24).

Jesus was essentially saying, “Do you really want to see Me? Do you want to see God? You will see Me through My death. Soon, I will die on a cross for you and pay the price for your sins. Through My death, you can have life. You can see God, and you can know God.”