Seeing Jesus

Exodus 33; Proverbs 9; John 12; Ephesians 2

John’s gospel is precious to me because it reveals Jesus as the Word made flesh, God coming to us as a man. John 1:14 says that He “dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 

Exodus seems to be a contradiction to John’s statement; it says that seeing God is deadly . . .

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:18–23)

However, earlier Moses and others DID see God.

Moses, Aaron, his sons and seventy of the elders went up a mountain “and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God and ate and drank.” (Exodus 24:10–11)

The OT describes others who saw God including Jacob, Gideon, Manoah and his wife who were parents of Sampson. How can this be? Could this be referring to ‘a way of seeing’ rather than the idea of mere eyes being able to see? John 12 tells of some who wanted to ‘see’ Jesus. For them, seeing meant ‘having a visit’ with Him, but did they know what they were asking?

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 12:20–21)

What does it mean to ‘see’ Jesus? Lots of people did view Him with their eyes, but He talked about a greater ‘seeing’ that changed the lives of those who saw Him that way . . .

And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. (John 12:44–46)

Jesus uses a different word for ‘see’ that is more about a closer look than the Greeks asked for. My Bible dictionaries indicate that this is more challenging to describe. It is like gazing at something that is so startling that the viewer sees nothing else. From my study and reading, looking at Jesus this way is about seeing who He really is and being transformed by that incredible vision.

What then is this “those who see Me will die” that God said to Moses? Sinners are said to be dead in sin but isn’t it true that we are not ‘dead enough’ to stop sinning? Isn’t seeing Jesus part of what is needed to die thoroughly to sin and be given new life? If that is so, then seeing Him does produce a death, a good kind of death that sets people free to live!

I know that my old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that I would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if I have died with Christ, I believe that I will also live with him. I know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So I also must consider myself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:6–11, personified)

Thank God this is the reality: seeing Jesus and fully believing in Him means death but also new life . . .

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

APPLY: I’m in awe at this. Singing songs about seeing Jesus take on new implications. What am I really asking if not to see Jesus — and die — to self, to wanting my way, to thinking I am the center of my world! Seeing Jesus face to face takes more than a ‘visit’ — it is about intentionally and deeply looking at Him and His saving work of putting to death all that is selfish that He might more fully live in me.

NOTE: Our church is doing podcast services. Today, the pastor suggested that Covid-19 is not the end of the world — but a dry-run for the church to bring out in us what God wants us to be for one another and for His glory. Amen!

Seeing Jesus is not about my eyesight

In Bible times, some Greeks came to Philip and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 12:20–21) The Scripture does not say whether they ever did, but in those days, seeing Jesus was a bit more complicated than we might think. He could be standing in front of a person and that person might not know who they were looking at.

While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him . . . . When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. (Luke 24:15-16; 30-31)

This has significance for those who are not part of the family of God. I want others to know Jesus, but realize that all my talking, and even any demonstrations of His great love and grace depend on the power of the One who can close or open eyes, not on what I do. This is humbling.

Besides that, He knows the hearts of those who cannot see. These Greeks may have been honest seekers of the God who forgives sins and changes lives. They also may have been thrill seekers or name-droppers who wanted to go home and tell their families who they ran into in the marketplace while they were in Jerusalem. Jesus reveals Himself to those ready to see, not to the mildly curious or those with frivolous motivations.

There is significance in this for me too. As today’s devotional reading says, Jesus is often present in my life in ways of which I am not aware. I might be praying for Him to do some great thing and cannot see any results. It seems as if He has not heard me. For weeks and months and years I might not see Him doing anything.

Then He suddenly is there, showing Himself and His hand in that prayer request through unexpected ways. Actually, He often keeps me from seeing what He is doing until He is at the finish line with it. Then I realize, like the two disciples above, that He was walking by my side in that thing all along, or at least long before I suspected He was involved.

Of course, I wonder why He does this appearing and disappearing. The only reason that makes sense is that He wants me to walk by faith, not by sight. Trusting Him is about believing what I cannot see. As soon as I can see, then I focus on the results or the method or the thrill of answered prayer, instead of continuing to put my faith in Him. He is the One who promised to never leave me or forsake me, whether I can see Him and what He is doing — or not. 

---

Lord, walking with You is not about my ability to see, but about Your ability to reveal. Will I trust You no matter what my eyes are doing? Will I keep moving along the path, assured of Your presence even when the path is dark and unmarked? Will I keep my focus on You even in the tension between knowing for sure and not seeing or knowing for sure? I’m glad that You open eyes, and that You always know what I need to see — and when I need to see You. Keep my focus on You, whether I can see You or not.

Spiritual war

I’m not aware of what was happening in the spiritual realm yesterday, only that invisible forces were pulling me down a road that I didn’t want to travel. It seemed like both torture and war. I wanted something that I didn’t want. I was being drawn away from God but the temptation had no appeal. I went from praying to not able to pray, seeking God to feeling like I had been in a terrible car accident.

This has happened before. My prayers were specific, but the troublesome thoughts and temptations were a mis-mash without focus. It was like driving in the dark, blindfolded. I could sense the road, but something kept yanking on the wheel and it seemed that if I let go, I would wind up in the ditch. Crying out to the Lord didn’t seem to help. No destination, no directions, no map, nothing seemed clear. By suppertime, I was exhausted.

Then suddenly it was gone. I still cannot figure out what was happening, but that awful road trip ended. I slept quickly and soundly. This morning I woke with a bit of lingering confusion that soon vanished and left me wanting to see Jesus. He is the way. He makes clear the road of life. He is also the destination and my roadmap. I need Him to make sense of things, and even if He doesn’t, I need His comforting presence and assurance.

Spurgeon’s devotional for today led me to these verses and filled me with awe. God always knows what I am thinking and what I need to hear. 

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 12:20–21)

Perhaps these Greeks were curious. They may have heard about His miracles and wanted to see what He looked like, a mere mortal man compared to their myriad of gods. Some of them may have been ill and heard about His healing powers. They could have wanted some of that for themselves.

Whatever they wanted, they wanted to see Jesus. The next verses give the response Jesus gave toward their request. The Bible says nothing else about them or whether they ever did get to see Him, yet the answer Jesus gave is powerful and gives light to my confusion.

Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:22–26)

Reading this speaks to me first about my own desires to be with Jesus. Is this for myself, just to make me feel better?  If so, I need to pay attention. Jesus talks of His death and the results from dying that the disciples could not yet see. They had no idea that unless Jesus died, there would be no everlasting fruit. He needed to yield up His life.

In that context, Jesus points to my death, not a physical death but an abandonment of all things pertaining to this life. If I want eternal results, then I need to yield up the temporary goodies that this life promises. This is about sin, but also about all the good things that life offers. I know that whatever I gain in a material sense will be lost anyway. The only things that last are those eternal gains, but Jesus reminds me that this fruit will not be produced unless I give up and die toward the temporary stuff.

Do I list it? Some things are obvious, like possessions. None of them last. Some are gone in weeks or months. All things material deteriorate and wind up in the junk pile.

It’s the same with intangibles including fame and success. I watched part of a hockey game last night and remembered our city’s hero, Wayne Gretsky. His trophies are memories. The glory fades. So it is with my glory. It does not last, is soon replaced. Even memories become fuzzy and are lost.

The list of the temporary is longer than this, but His point is made. Serving Jesus means following Him and turning my back on those things that do not last. While I cannot abandon responsibilities like washing sinks and sweeping floors, nothing can be considered precious and none of my selfish “I wants” will last. Even in doing what I need to do each day, Jesus must be the center. He directs, empowers, is glorified and is the focus of it all.

**************

Lord, I still don’t know exactly what yesterday’s war was about. It might have been related to my prayers for others (and the devil wanted me to stop). It might have been about those confusing and shifting temptations to my own spiritual welfare. Either way, I do know that You win. You conquered death, but You also rule over life. All that happens is under Your watchful eye. All that comes at me is by Your permission so that You can use it for my good. I do not understand everything or even much of anything, yet I do know that seeing You and being with You dissolves my pressing need to know. You will direct me through to my destination. Because You are in the driver’s seat, I don’t need to touch the wheel.