Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 12:21)  It was a simple request, by some Greek men who had converted to become Jewish believers in the promise of the Jewish Messiah.  Sometimes the most life-changing moments begin with a simple request.  A little pray spoken before getting enough courage to call someone.  A simple cry for help in an difficult situation. 

            God is never far away from the brokenhearted.  He is always there to listen to all of our prayers, spoken and unspoken out loud. In John 12, the Triumphal entry just happened. Jesus rode in humbly on the foal of a donkey, so young that no one else had ever ridden it yet.  These men seeking Jesus might have been in the crowds, shouting “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”^[1]  These men were seeking God by becoming Jewish believers, following God’s Law and the promises that God would send the Messiah who would change everything, for everyone.

            ²³ And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”  (John 12:23) How would God’s only begotten Son be glorified?  Not in the way that people expected.  The crowds cutting palm branches and laying down their cloaks was a glorious moment for certain.  After a team wins a championship they have a parade and that major city almost completely shuts down for half a day, to celebrate the winners of championship.  How much more joyous were the crowds welcoming their long awaited Messiah into God’s Holy City, Jerusalem. 

            But in just a few short days, God would turn the idea of what glorifies Him on its head.  Jesus knew all of the suffering that awaited in Jerusalem. And yet He went anyways.  He went because it was part of God’s plan to save every man, woman and child who would believe that He truly is the Son of God Almighty. 

²⁷ “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. (John 12:27) Jesus came from heaven to earth to seek and to save the lost.  The human heart is a fickle thing, just look at the crowds in Jerusalem. Some of the same people on Palm Sunday Procession would be crying out in the crowds to Pontious Pilate shouting, “Crucify him, crucify him!”

And Jesus knew that this suffering was going to happen, and his teachings in the Gospels the week of his crucifixion outline specifically what kind of death He was going to die. Jesus said, ³¹ Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³ He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:31-33)

When was Satan defeated? On the cross on Mount Calvary. How was the Son of God glorified? By being lifted up and drawing all people to Himself.  Christ’s atoning sacrifice is the moment in time that we sing about every Sunday in worship.  The cross of Jesus is much more than a tragic story, it is the message of God’s love for all mankind.  The cross of Jesus means eternal life for everyone who believes in Christ alone. We bless our children with the sign of the cross, we wear them around our necks, and decorate the wall of our homes with the cross of Jesus. 

In the song, “At the Cross (Love Ran Red)” by Chris Tomlin crescendos how the Christ has been glorified by the cross He bore for each one of us.

There's a place
Where sin and shame
Are powerless
Where my heart
Has peace with God
And forgiveness
Where all the love
I've ever found
Comes like a flood
Comes flowing down

At the cross, at the cross
I surrender my life
I'm in awe of You
I'm in awe of You
Where Your love ran red
And my sin washed white
I owe all to You
I owe all to You

God’s love ran red on the cross of Jesus. It is when Jesus was lifted up, that He continues to draw all people to Himself.  At the foot of the cross, there is room for every sinner who recognizes their need for God’s mercy and forgiveness.  A mercy that extends to us from the cross of Jesus Christ.

When our hearts echo the words of the Greek men of John chapter 12, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 12:21)  The place that we look for Him and always find him is on the cross that He bore for our sins.  Through the eyes of faith we can see that God’s love was poured out for us on the cross, and then confirmed on Easter morning by the stone being rolled away from His tomb.  Jesus continues to draw all people to Himself through the story of His cross and what means sinners who are reconciled to God, our Heavenly Father.

In Christ’s Peace,

Pastor Ryan Honeycutt