By: Juliet Constantine

“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.’ Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.” (John 12:20-22 NKJV)
 

His work preceded Him. Jesus’ fame had spread abroad and people from other countries came to see Him. The Greeks were one such people group. They had come to worship at the Passover Feast and wished to see Jesus because they heard of His many miracles. They wanted to see this Jesus of whom so many people spoke of with such admiration and praise. Imagine that – many of His very own Jewish people rejected Him but other nations sought after Him. Jesus was right when He said “a prophet does not have honor in his own country”. The request from the Greeks was quite simple: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

I am reminded of other instances when persons from foreign lands came to God’s people desiring to learn more about Him but were deprived. King Hezekiah had visitors from Babylon. Instead of showing them the God of Heaven, who delivered him from his enemies, he showed them the riches of Israel. Perhaps in a bragging attitude, he showed them everything in his house. He got the opportunity to introduce God to these people; but instead, he showed them material wealth. But Hezekiah wasn’t the first to have done so. His ancestor, King Solomon’s actions were similar. The Queen of Sheba wanted to know the Source of Solomon’s wisdom and fame. Instead, he showed her his riches and himself. Instead of teaching his strange wives about the God of Heaven, for a time, he worshiped their hand-made gods. It was all about wealth, not about the Giver of all good things.

But there were a few who showed them Jesus. The shepherds saw Jesus. The wise foreigners, they too saw Jesus. They all searched until they found Jesus.

Today, people still desire to see Jesus. In-spite-of the contrary lives portrayed by many of His followers, and the insurgence of worldly practices among His body of believers, they still want to see Jesus. They heard of what He had done, and still continues to do, and their desire has not changed. They want to see Jesus reflected in your life and mine. They need a reason to come and look for Him in our congregations. They know He’s there, but their vision is obscured by our worldly show and inconsistent lives. If they could just get past us, they know they would see Jesus.

To those who are searching, I encourage you to look beyond the crowd. Look past the many stumbling blocks along the path and push to see Jesus. There are many pretenders who will say they know Him. In the same way the Greeks asked Phillip to see Jesus, the Holy Spirit will direct you to someone who truly knows Jesus. Do not let anyone stand in your way of seeing Jesus. Do not turn back from seeking after Jesus nor let anyone cause you to lose your focus and goal of seeing Jesus. Jesus promised that you will find Him when you search with all your heart. Keep on searching. You will find Him.

Do you really want to see Jesus? You will find Him in the scriptures which testify of Him. Begin at the Gospels and work your way through the entire Bible. You will find Him there. No more will you say “I wish to see Jesus”. You will know Him for yourself and know exactly where to find Him.

Holy Father in Heaven, thank You for Jesus who showed us the way back to You. Please help us to so live our lives that others will see Jesus in us and find their way back to Him and You. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Copyrighted by Juliet Constantine 2014 (for “Alone With God – Finding Jesus In The Scriptures” Daily Devotional)