We Want to See Jesus

Devotional

Day 1: The Greeks at the Festival: Longing to See Jesus

A group of outsiders approached Philip with a simple request: "We would like to see Jesus." Their hunger to encounter Him mirrors the spiritual longing of a world that no longer assumes it knows Him. These seekers recognized Jesus’ reputation and sought those connected to Him. Their example challenges believers to live in such a way that others instinctively associate them with Christ. The gospel’s power shines brightest when people who don’t know religious language still recognize its life in us. [37:15]

Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 12:20-21, ESV)

Reflection: What specific habits, conversations, or priorities in your daily life would make someone outside the church say, “I think they know Jesus”?

Day 2: The Seed That Dies to Bear Fruit

Jesus compared His mission to a wheat kernel falling into soil – a death that unleashes exponential life. This agricultural metaphor reframes sacrifice not as loss but as generative surrender. Just as one seed becomes many through decomposition, Christ’s crucifixion rippled outward to nourish generations. The call extends to believers: clutching personal comfort yields solitary existence, while releasing control to God multiplies impact. True life emerges when we stop fearing the burial of our plans. [44:44]

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24, ESV)

Reflection: What “single kernel” are you clinging to – a dream, fear, or habit – that God might be asking you to release for greater fruit?

Day 3: Inviting the Outsiders to the Table

Half of adults rarely enter churches, creating both crisis and opportunity. Like Philip guiding the Greeks, believers now navigate a world unfamiliar with Christian rhythms. Simple invitations – mentioning church in casual conversation, explaining terms like “fellowship” through actions – plant seeds. The story of a teenager inviting friends to play football after Bible study models how to bridge cultural gaps without compromising truth. Effectiveness lies not in eloquence but in making faith relatable. [43:28]

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your life needs to hear about Jesus through your ordinary stories rather than a formal gospel presentation?

Day 4: Speaking So the World Can Understand

Religious jargon like “ABW” or “fellowship” often confuses outsiders. Jesus modeled accessibility, using agricultural metaphors Greeks understood rather than rabbinic terminology. This demands creativity – explaining “prayer” as talking to God like a friend, or “grace” as undeserved help. The message remains unchanging, but methods must shift like a missionary learning local customs. Clarity honors the gospel more than clinging to familiar Christian subculture phrases. [46:39]

So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning. (1 Corinthians 14:9-10, ESV)

Reflection: What faith terms do you use automatically that might need “translation” for someone unfamiliar with church culture?

Day 5: The Cross as the Focal Point of Hope

When asked to explain Himself, Jesus pointed to His impending crucifixion – the ultimate seed-falling moment. The cross anchors Christian hope, transforming suffering’s meaning and reframing surrender as victory. Yet believers often divert focus to secondary issues: political debates, personal grievances, or self-help spirituality. Just as farmers trust buried seeds will sprout, clinging to the cross’s paradox – death birthing life – realigns priorities amid a skeptical world’s noise. [57:59]

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:32-33, ESV)

Reflection: What current struggle or distraction might shift perspective if viewed through the lens of Christ’s death and resurrection?

Sermon Summary

John 12 moves into the final week of Jesus’ life, right at his final Passover, and the text lets some outsiders step forward. The Greeks are not Jewish insiders, but Gentiles who have come near the festival and heard enough to know that Jesus matters. Their request to Philip is simple: they want to see Jesus. That request becomes a challenge, because knowing about Jesus once is not the same thing as wanting to see him again and again.

The world around the church now looks a lot like those Greeks. Many adults rarely or never step into a church service, and that can sound scary, but the gospel sees an opportunity there. A world that does not know church language or Bible assumptions is still a world where people are looking for answers. The question becomes whether people know that a Christian knows Jesus. Nobody has to beat someone over the head with a Bible, but simple words like “I went to church” or “there are people there I care about” can plant seeds.

Jesus answers the Greeks by talking about a kernel of wheat. The seed has to fall into the ground and die, or it stays alone. If it dies, it bears much fruit. Jesus speaks in a picture that both Jews and Greeks could understand, and that matters. The gospel never changes, but the words used to explain it need to make sense to people who do not know words like “fellowship” or church acronyms. Plain speech can describe the life of the church better than insider language ever could.

The seed points straight to the cross. Jesus’ death brings life, and his being lifted up draws all people to himself. The cross is not plan B, not a mistake, not God scrambling to fix things. The cross is where Jesus is most clearly seen. His love, wisdom, salvation, and glory are put on display there.

The call to follow Jesus means letting go of control. Whoever clings to life loses it, but whoever gives it up finds real life. The cross asks believers to lay down pain, stress, history, favorite sins, and the need to run the timetable. The hard part is leaving those things there instead of picking them back up twenty four hours later.

John also makes it clear that not everyone will believe. Jesus does not fail because some say no. Faithfulness is not measured by controlling results, but by trusting and obeying. The Lord’s table then stands as a reminder that any and all who call on the name of the Lord can be saved, whether insider or outsider, whether lifelong Baptist or one of the Greeks of today.

Key Takeaways

1. Let people know Jesus is known The Greeks came to Philip because they knew Philip and Jesus were connected. Christian witness often begins before an invitation, in the quiet awareness that a person belongs to Jesus. Simple honesty about church, hope, worship, and Scripture can open a door without forcing it open. [41:22]
2. Use words outsiders can understand Jesus used a seed because his hearers could picture it. The gospel does not need to be watered down, but church language often needs to be translated into plain speech. A person may reject Christ, but confusion over insider words should not be the reason the gospel was never heard clearly. [46:39]
3. The cross was never plan B Jesus’ troubled soul did not mean the cross caught him off guard. The hour had come because the whole story of Scripture was moving there. To see Jesus clearly is to see him lifted up, where love looks like sacrifice and glory looks like death that gives life. [56:48]
4. Leave the burden at the cross The cross is not only where guilt is forgiven, but where pain, control, anxiety, and old wounds are brought under the care of Christ. The struggle is often not laying something down once, but refusing to pick it back up when Jesus does not work on a preferred timetable. Trust learns to leave the thing with him longer than comfort wants to. [59:26]
5. Faithfulness invites, God gives fruit Not everyone who hears will believe, and that reality does not make faithfulness a failure. The servant’s task is to follow, speak, invite, and trust the Lord with what happens next. One yes can change a life, a family, and generations that follow. [66:52]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[36:24] - John 12 and the Final Passover
[37:15] - Greeks Ask to See Jesus
[38:46] - A World That Does Not Know
[41:22] - Let People Know Jesus
[44:18] - The Seed That Must Die
[46:39] - Speaking So Outsiders Understand
[53:07] - Jesus Draws All People
[56:48] - The Cross Was Not Plan B
[58:19] - Keeping the Cross Central
[63:06] - Not Everyone Will Believe
[65:17] - Faithful Service and Invitation
[69:03] - The Lord’s Table and the Greeks Today

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

John 12:20-36
“Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. 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. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.” [36:24]

John 3:14-15
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

John 10:10
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Romans 10:13
“For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

Observation questions

In John 12:20-22, who asks to see Jesus, and which disciples are involved in bringing that request to him? [37:15]
In John 12:24, what picture does Jesus use to explain what must happen before fruit can come? [44:39]
In John 12:32, what does Jesus say will happen when he is “lifted up from the earth”? [53:32]
What are some examples of church words or habits that can be hard for outsiders to understand, and what are some clearer ways to say the same thing? [46:39]

Interpretation questions

The Greeks were close enough to the feast to be curious, but still outsiders. What might their request, “We wish to see Jesus,” show about the kinds of people Jesus is drawing near in this moment? [53:32]
Jesus answers the request to see him by talking about a seed dying and bearing fruit. Why does Jesus connect seeing him with his death instead of only with his miracles or public teaching? [57:15]
Jesus says, “Whoever loves his life loses it,” and “If anyone serves me, he must follow me.” What does that suggest about the connection between trusting Jesus and letting go of control? [56:43]
John makes room for the reality that not everyone will believe. How does that help a Christian think rightly about witness, invitation, and disappointment when someone says no? [01:03:06]

Application questions

The people around us may not know church life or gospel words, but they are still looking for hope. In ordinary conversation, what is one simple and honest way to let people know Jesus matters in daily life? [41:22]
Church language can be familiar inside the church and confusing outside it. What words do you tend to use that an outsider might not understand, and how could you say the same truth in plain speech this week? [49:02]
Jesus is seen most clearly at the cross. When life gets stressful, what usually becomes the real focal point of your attention instead of Christ crucified—pain, anxiety, control, resentment, distraction, or something else? [58:19]
Many burdens can be brought to the cross, but people often pick them back up again. What is something you have laid before Jesus before, only to take back when he did not move on your timetable? [59:26]
Jesus offers abundant life, but following him means surrender. Where is it hardest right now to say, “Not my will but yours”? [56:38]
Faithfulness is not the same as controlling results. Is there a person you have hesitated to invite, encourage, or speak to because you are afraid they will say no? What would simple faithfulness look like with that person? [01:06:52]
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Who are the “Greeks of today” in your own life—the people on the edges of church or faith—and how might the Lord be opening a door for you to help them see Jesus? [01:09:25]

Sermon Clips

52s

#HopeThroughTheCross

“And friends, when we are willing to trust the life of Jesus and trust the death of Jesus to give us life, now we have a hope to give the world. Now we have a hope to give the world. As we may look at next week, in this world, you have trouble. Ding ding ding. Believe in God. Believe in me. But take heart. I have overcome the world. What does it mean for us to live in that reality today? That's where the cross has to be central because it is at the cross where we realize he overcame the world.”

40s

#CenterOnTheCross

“And where does that play for you and me that may already know Jesus? Many a times, we've come to salvation in Jesus, but we have something else that starts to take our attention or that we we hold onto. Our pain, our history, our trauma, our stress, or what's not right, or what is right, and we don't we no longer let the cross be the focal point. We start focusing on something else, And to see Jesus, we must be willing to see the cross to say, even something that seems bad can be worked out for good.”

48s

#TableOfGrace

“And the reality is is that is the world we live in. Not all will call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. But when we come to this time of communion, to this table, it is a reminder that any and all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Whether you are a a Baptist of generations gone by, or you just happen to fall into this church because, well, you came. The table isn't our table, it's the Lord's. And this table is a reminder that when we focus on Jesus and the cross of Jesus, any who call upon the name of the Lord can be saved.”

50s

#SeeTheCross

“``If we want to see Jesus, we must see the cross. The cross wasn't plan b for Jesus. It wasn't a, oops, let's try this again. It was what he he what all of scripture was pointing towards. And we must understand that we can't just focus on the words of Jesus, the miracles of Jesus, or even the bible itself. We have to point people to who Jesus is. And he says, if you want to see me, the clearest example is to see the cross. Now, will that make sense to all? No. But it doesn't mean it's not true.”

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