John 12:20-33

Often we think we know a person when we really don't; we have a casual relationship or know them from a distance. I remember a professor from graduate school whom I had misjudged. He was an Alabamian and spoke with a slow southern drawl. I had him pegged as a country pumpkin with a Ph.D. who had landed a teaching post. Boy was I wrong! I took one of his classes and discovered he was one of the finest New Testament scholars I have ever known.

In John 12:20 a group of Greeks make a request of Philip to see Jesus. In response Jesus goes into a lengthy discourse about the hour having come for him to be glorified. In verse 32 he says: "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."

The word glory (glorified) means splendor or radiance. When Jesus says it is time for him to be glorified, he is saying it is time for him to be seen in his splendor. In other words, Jesus is saying the time has come for him to be seen "at his best." We see Jesus at his best when he is lifted up--THE CROSS.

The Greeks want to see Jesus. Jesus says that in order to see him/understand him, we must see him in light of the cross. We will never understand Jesus apart from the cross. We may know him from a distance. We may see him as a masterful teacher and great prophet. But we will never know him, we will never experience his grace and love until we meet him at the cross.

Blessings,
Jimmy