"Sir, we wish to see Jesus." That was the very simple request that some Greeks who had come to worship in Jerusalem at Passover time made of Philip. Who were these Greeks and what prompted them to want to see Jesus? No doubt they were converts to Judaism or at least so-called "God-fearers," those Gentiles who were attracted to Israel's understanding of God and His Law. We are not told anything else about them.

Why did they want to see Jesus? Was their requested motivated by curiosity like Herod who had heard of Jesus and wanted to see Him do a miracle? Had they heard of Jesus' teaching and were eager to learn more about this Man who taught with authority unlike the scribes and the Pharisees? No doubt they had witnessed the excitement of Palm Sunday and wanted to get a peek at this man who seemed to be the center of Jerusalem's attention. Whatever the reason, they wanted to see Jesus. They wanted to check Him out for themselves.

We are not told whether or not these Greeks ever did get to see Jesus. In fact it appears that their request was not granted. Philip takes their request to Andrew and then the two of them go to Jesus. The Evangelist reports that Jesus responds to the request by speaking about His impending death on the cross. In other words, Jesus directs them away from what they might see with their eyes to the cross. After all if they simply look at Jesus with their eyes what will they see? They will see the One whom Isaiah proclaimed as the Man of sorrows, the One well-acquainted with grief, the One who had no beauty that we should desire Him, the One from whom men hid their faces.

In John's Gospel, our Lord makes the point over and over again that it is not about seeing but about faith. Yes, people did follow for a time because of what they had seen. John introduces the feeding of the multitude in the wilderness by stating "Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased." But after they had eaten their fill of the barely loaves and fish, they would turn away because they could not accept those hard sayings of the Savior about the necessity of eating His flesh and drinking His blood.

Think of Thomas who was not with the other disciples when Jesus appeared to them in the upper room on Easter evening. Remember how he stubbornly said "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." A week afterwards Thomas gets the opportunity to do just that as Jesus appears to him and says "Reach your finger here and look at My hands and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving but believing." Thomas sees and he believes and so confesses Christ as his Lord and God. Then, remember the words of the Lord Jesus: "Thomas, because you have seen Me you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed."

Faith comes not from seeing but from hearing. So instead of rushing off to give these Greeks a private audience, Jesus speaks. He speaks about His death. He says "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." Jesus' glory is not apparent to the naked eye. It is not the glory of prestige or fame. It is not the glory of wealth or power. It is the glory that causes the world to sit up and take notice. It is the glory of God who humbles Himself even to the point of death on a cross to rescue us and reconcile us to Himself.

Then Jesus goes on to interpret His death, to show us what His death on the cross will produce. He says "Most assuredly, I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." In other words, Jesus is saying that He is like a kernel of wheat what will planted in death and yet just as that solitary seed brings forth a fruitful harvest, so His death will yield a resurrection that will open heaven to all who trust in Him. St.Augustine put it like this: "The death of Christ was the death of a most fertile grain of wheat." Planted in death, Jesus is raised to life on the third day becoming as Paul says in that great resurrection chapter of I Corinthians 15, "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." We are the harvest that is produced from Jesus' death. His death has destroyed our death. And by His rising from the grave, He gives us the pledge of our own resurrection to life eternal.

When a grain of wheat is implanted in the earth, you don't see the golden stalk that will burst out of the soil. When you see Jesus, stretched out between earth and heaven on a Roman cross, you don't see the forgiveness of sins and the victory over death. You don't see the glory of God in the cross. But it is there because the One who hangs there is God Himself. He hangs there as the One who did not love His own life, but gave it up as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. In our Baptism we were joined to His death so that now we live as those who are dead to sin and alive to God through faith in Christ Jesus. In Baptism our lives with all of their sinful ugliness, with all of their plainness were hidden away with Christ in God. We were marked with His cross and so sealed for the resurrection of the body to life everlasting. When Christ appears, we will appear with Him in His Easter glory. You don't see that glory now but it is yours through faith in Christ Jesus.

As we live this baptismal life there will be those who come to us and say in their own way "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." And what will we tell them? Will we have something more substantial to share with them other than our own stories? Do we have something more sure and certain than our own fickle opinions? You know that we do. We have something far more potent! We have the Gospel of Jesus Christ who was lifted up to draw all people unto Himself. We have His solid promise of Jesus "where I am my servant will be also." Where is Jesus? He is where He puts Himself for us. He comes to us in the waters of Holy Baptism to wash away the stain of sin and give us the new birth of His Spirit. He comes to us in His Word to open our eyes to see Him as the Savior that He is. He comes to us with His body and blood that we might have a taste of heaven here on earth. Here you see Jesus as He is, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.