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The Desire of Ages
know the truth in regard to His mission. “We would see Jesus,” they
said. Their desire was granted. When the request was brought to Jesus,
He was in that part of the temple from which all except Jews were
excluded, but He went out to the Greeks in the outer court, and had a
personal interview with them.
The hour of Christ’s glorification had come. He was standing in
the shadow of the cross, and the inquiry of the Greeks showed Him
that the sacrifice He was about to make would bring many sons and
daughters to God. He knew that the Greeks would soon see Him in
a position they did not then dream of. They would see Him placed
beside Barabbas, a robber and murderer, who would be chosen for
release before the Son of God. They would hear the people, inspired
by the priests and rulers, making their choice. And to the question,
“What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” the answer
would be given, “Let Him be crucified.”
Matthew 27:22
. By making
this propitiation for the sins of men, Christ knew that His kingdom
would be perfected, and would extend throughout the world. He would
work as the Restorer, and His Spirit would prevail. For a moment He
looked into futurity, and heard the voices proclaiming in all parts of
the earth, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world.”
John 1:29
. In these strangers He saw the pledge of a great
harvest, when the partition wall between Jew and Gentile should be
broken down, and all nations, tongues, and peoples should hear the
message of salvation. The anticipation of this, the consummation of
His hopes, is expressed in the words, “The hour is come, that the Son
of man should be glorified.” But the way in which this glorification
must take place was never absent from Christ’s mind. The gathering
in of the Gentiles was to follow His approaching death. Only by His
death could the world be saved. Like a grain of wheat, the Son of man
[623]
must be cast into the ground and die, and be buried out of sight; but
He was to live again.
Christ presented His future, illustrating it by the things of nature,
that the disciples might understand. The true result of His mission was
to be reached by His death. “Verily, verily, I say unto you,” He said,
“Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone:
but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” When the grain of wheat falls
into the ground and dies, it springs up, and bears fruit. So the death
of Christ would result in fruit for the kingdom of God. In accordance