"Sir, we would like to see Jesus" ... Jesus replied ... (1)

John 12

23 ... “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

In our last blog we considered the great request of the Greeks. Below we consider the even greater Reply of Jesus! Let's consider the second point from our New Years message ... 

Gospel Rediscoverd (Part 1)

It is not enough to just see Jesus in His earthly ministry. Jesus could never be fully known in the casting out of demons, healing the sick, stilling the storms, flattening the seas, feeding the thousands, even raising the dead, defeating his foes as they tried to outwit Him. None of that could reveal the infinite glory of the eternal God in Jesus. His glory was and is far greater, far brighter, far more wonderful than is earthly ministry, as awesome as it was, could ever disply.

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

The time for His eternal glory to be revealed for all to see had come. And when gazing at the glory, what would we see? Something like a kernel of wheat, falling to the ground and dying, and in its death producing many seeds. Jesus spoke of His death.

If we really want to see Jesus, we must see Him in His death.

This is why Jesus commanded us to break bread, in memory of Him in His death on the cross! Communion is Jesus provision to bring us back, again and again and again, to behold, Christ crucified. We can never see Christ crucified too much - only not enough!

Two simple applications for us to draw from this ... 

1) Pray ... 

Let us ask God to reveal Christ crucified to us in deeper life transforming ways.

As the hymn goes ... 

For us He was made sin

O help me take it in

This is a good prayer, if I could humbly adjust just one word, the 'me' to 'us'. Again. let's be praying this for us as a Church. Let's be praying for one another.

2) Make the most of every opportunity
When we come to communion, let's make the most of the opportunity. Let's be thankful that the Lord has called us in this way to keep coming back to Christ Crucified. And let's take joy in the knowledge that as we do share together - He is present and takes joy in our faith filled obedience.