It was preparation time in Jerusalem, for the great feast of the Passover was at hand, and Jews from all over the Palestinian area were assembling for the feast. Little did they know that for faith this would be the last Passover. That which had been inaugurated at Israel's deliverance from Egypt had really looked forward through the centuries to the death of the "Lamb of God." God would "provide Himself a lamb." Now the time had come, and the Lord said to His disciples, "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer"-that Passover to which all others looked forward. The type was now to meet its antitype, and He to whom the passover lamb had pointed was there to die on that Passover day. He had earnestly desired to eat that Passover with them before the type would be fulfilled in His death.
Strange things had been taking place in Jerusalem at that time. The Lord had been acclaimed as the "Son of David" when He had ridden into Jerusalem on the ass's colt (John 12:13-1513Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. 14And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, 15Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. (John 12:13‑15)). Many had strewn palm branches before Him, and He had been hailed as the "King of Israel" according to the prophecy in Zech. 9:99Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9), but at the same time He was rejected. The Jewish leaders had decided on a course of getting rid of Him by any means, and were ready also to put Lazarus to death, because many of the Jews believed on Jesus when they saw Lazarus alive who had been dead.
In the midst of this undisguised hatred of the Lord Jesus, there was, however, one bright note. Some Greeks had come up to worship at the feast. "The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired of him saying, Sir, we would see Jesus." This pleased Philip, and he sought Andrew to tell him the good news-if the Jewish authorities rejected their Lord, there were Greeks who desired to see Him. To their uninstructed thoughts, this seemed like a notable honor for Him, so they went and told Jesus.
"And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a [rather, the] corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." John 12:23, 2423And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. 24Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John 12:23‑24). He was not then to be honored by admiring Greeks, but to be glorified by going into death and coming forth as the head of a new creation. An entirely new harvest was to be the result of His death and resurrection.
We are never told that the Greeks got to see Jesus, but a very important truth was disclosed to the two Apostles. The Lord Jesus had been rejected as Israel's Messiah, and He now took that title of rejection, the "Son of man." It was a much broader title, for under that title He suffered and under it He will reign over all. He will not merely reign as Messiah over Israel, but, as Son of man, He will have all things put under Him (see Psalm 8).
Furthermore, there was no blessing for the Greeks in a Messiah on earth; as such He would have blessed Israel, but they had refused Him. He was now about to die on the cross and rise again. He was to lay the foundation for blessing to mankind of every race-"whosoever will." But the true grain of wheat had to fall into the ground and die, or else remain alone. Jews and Greeks were alike ruined by sin, and His sacrificial death was a necessity if He were to have companions in that scene of glory into which He was to enter. He could have gone straight back into the glory from which He came, but it would have been alone had He not first gone down into death. All the redeemed in heaven and on earth at a later date, will be the trophies of His death and resurrection. He will have much fruit as the result of His dying on the cross. "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied." Isa. 53:1111He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:11). What an abundance of fruit there will be from the death He suffered, and from which He arose the mighty victor!
Let us now turn to Hebrews 2. In this chapter His supremacy over all is decreed, and the 8th Psalm is quoted, to which allusion has already been made. He is to have that dominion given to Him by God as the Son of man. He is called Son of man for the first time in that Psalm. But in Hebrews 2 it is further stated that He has not yet received His dominion. Not everything has been put under Him at this time, but, as surely as God has spoken, so it will be done. But for us, at present, "We see Jesus." How? As the Greeks wanted to see Him as a living man on earth? NO. "We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor. "
By faith we look up into heaven and see the Lord Jesus at God's right hand, where He ever lives for us. He is there now in the presence of God for us, and we are accepted before God in all the favor of His beloved Son. What a privilege we have by faith! It is no longer Christ as a man on earth, it is not even Him on the cross, nor is it Christ risen and on earth, but we look up to the ascended glorious One. Truly, by faith, "We see Jesus... crowned."
Many Christians seem never to get beyond the cross. They always speak of sitting at the foot of the cross. But our blessed Savior is not on the cross, nor in the tomb, but in the glory of God's presence. When the prophet Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, the "sons of the prophets"-the students of the prophets-sent fifty strong men to find him on earth, but failed in their attempt. Many would still find a living Jesus on earth, and those who only speak of His example and teachings do not know His death, resurrection, or present glory. The Apostle could say, "Henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more." 2 Cor. 5:1616Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. (2 Corinthians 5:16). We have a glorious Savior, of whom it is testified "that He liveth."
None of the religions of earth, except true Christianity, has a living head in the glory of God. Mohammed is dead, and so are countless others who propounded a theory of religion. Those Greeks were ignorant when they desired to see a living Christ, evidently expecting to see some miracle or to receive a blessing; their blessing could only come through His death and resurrection. But for people today to stop short of His death, resurrection, and glorification at God's right hand, is to deny the very basis of Christianity and the reality of the saved sinner's blessing in Him now. That is why there is so much enfeebled Christianity today, and so little of the believer's walking in the enjoyment of Him and all the fruits of His victory. True enjoyment of Christ, as and where He is, makes for more heavenly-mindedness and less worldliness.
Many people do not understand that Christianity proper did not begin until Christ was received in the glory of God, and the Holy Spirit came down to indwell believers. It has been well said that Christianity began on the other side of the cloud that received Him out of their sight, while His death and resurrection as the true grain of wheat laid the foundation for the abundant crop of the new creation.
May God grant us to have a deeper sense of the necessity of His death and resurrection, of His present place in the glory of God, and to dwell in the enjoyment of our place in Christ in that glory. May the Man who is now in the glory of God's presence fill our hearts with wonder and praise. And the more we contemplate Him there, the more we shall live in moral conformity to Him now. The moment is coming when we shall actually "see Him as He is" (1 John 3:22Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2))-not as He was on earth before, but as He is now. Then we shall be fully conformed to His image, and shall have bodies of glory like His.