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When the Greeks Wished to “See Jesus”
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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 heard 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. The anticipation of this, the consummation of His hopes,
was expressed in His 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. Only by His death
could the world be saved. Like a grain of wheat, the Son of man
must be cast into the ground and die, and be buried out of sight; but
He was to live again.
“Verily, 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.” 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 with the law of the
vegetable kingdom, life was to be the result of His death.
Year by year man preserves his supply of grain by apparently
throwing away the choicest part. For a time it must be hidden under
the furrow, to be watched over by the Lord. Then appears the blade,
then the ear, and then the corn in the ear.
The seed buried in the ground produces fruit, and in turn this is
planted. Thus the harvest is multiplied. So the death of Christ on the
cross will bear fruit unto eternal life. Contemplation of this sacrifice
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will be the glory of those who, as the fruit of it, live through eternal
ages.
Christ could, if He chose, save Himself from death. But should
He do this, He must “abide alone.” Only by falling into the ground
to die could He become the seed of that vast harvest—the great
multitude redeemed to God.
This lesson of self-sacrifice all should learn: “He that loveth
his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall
keep it unto life eternal:” The life must be cast into the furrow of the
world’s need. Self-love, self-interest, must perish. And the law of
self-sacrifice is the law of self-preservation. To give is to live. The
life that will be preserved is the life freely given in service to God
and man.