“Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we would like to see Jesus’” (John 12:20-21).
We may not know what later transpired between the Greeks and Jesus but one thing is sure, their request brought out something deep from Jesus.
Inspired by the request of the Greeks, Jesus declared that the time had come for his mission to make the prophesied global impact as “a light to the Gentiles”. (Isaiah 42:6-7 ESV).
His declaration also signified the gathering of chosen people from all nations to God (1 Pet. 2:9) regardless of their background.
Now, obviously, these Greeks feared God and were not in Jerusalem as mere tourists but came there with a heart of worship to seek Jesus, the same Messiah religious Jews waited for generations to see but who they sadly missed because of entrenched traditions.
Jesus stands today as ever as a bridge between your past and your future asking you to make that decision to commit your heart to him. He is not asking if you are baptized or a regular church attendant or a church worker or even an unbeliever, he is asking you to come to him in simple faith like the gentile Greeks and commit your heart to him as your Lord and Savior.
Why did the gentile Greeks ask to see Jesus but the devout Jews sought to kill him? The difference is that one sought Jesus by faith while the others sought him from the eyes of traditions and religion hence missing the Messiah.
The Bible says without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrew 11:6). Why is this so? Because Jesus is the Spirit of faith who alone opens our eyes to see God the Father and who inspires our hearts to come to God. Without Jesus, no one can have an acceptable relationship with God. It is as simple as this.
Those with eyes for science and traditional religion don’t understand what it means to know God by faith neither are those who are incredibly gifted even in religious things. It takes the simplicity of faith to see Jesus.
It takes only Jesus to introduce us to God the Father because Jesus Himself is the spirit of faith whose shed-blood blood cleanses our hearts from the dark forces of sin to know God’s holy nature. (1 John 1:7-9).
To another woman who clung to tradition and religion, Jesus said: “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks”. (John 4:23).
God doesn’t respect those who insist on knowing him from a religious and traditional standpoint, He respects only those who will come to him in childlike faith; those still arm-strung with logic and religious beliefs will sadly miss God.
Those blinded by tradition and logic would often accuse Christians of asserting that there is only one way to God which is through Jesus.
Indeed, Jesus is the only way because no other person in history exhibited the audacity to claim equality with God (John 17:5). Only Jesus could say so because of His pre-existing relationship with God:
“ I am the truth, the way, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6) and Apostle Peter echoed these words when he said, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, KJV).
Beloved, would you like to see Jesus Christ today? If your answer is yes, then please read the following texts and recommit yourself to God in simple faith- asking him to come into your heart and reign supreme. Religion won’t cut it, only childlike faith will.
Text for Today
John Chapter 8: 12- 27.
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