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Welcome once again to our gathering. Before we open in prayer I’d like to share a little verse, Psalm 80:1, “Thou who art enthroned above the cherubim shine forth.” I’m not a scientist, but I’ve heard that the closest star is about two and half light years away. So, it takes two years for light from the star to get to earth, and that’s the closest one. This verse, “Thou who dwells among the cherubim who is enthroned among the cherubim,” He is beyond the most distant star. Light years measure distance because it’s far away. There is no distance between the Lord and you, between the Lord and me. That’s why we can pray, “Shine forth,” and we don’t have to wait two and half light years for that to take place. Let’s commit our time to the Lord.
Our Heavenly Father, thank You again for gathering us. We thank You for the indwelling Holy Spirit who delights to turn the eyes of our heart to the Lord Jesus. We do pray, Lord, shine forth this morning, and we pray that You would meet us where we are. You know our hungers and capacities; lead us and take us where You would have us. We ask in the precious name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Welcome to our meditations again on the Lord Jesus in the gospel of John. The Holy Spirit moved the Apostle John to unveil Christ in terms of our infinite union with Him. I remind you of John’s stated purpose for writing this gospel. John 20:31, “These have been written, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in His name. We broke that wonderful verse into three principles. John wrote that we might know the Lord. John wrote that we might trust the Lord, and John wrote that we might enjoy and enter into abundant life in the Lord. As we’ve gone through the record in the gospel of John, I’ve tried to stick to how does this passage help me know Him, trust Him and enjoy Him?
In our meditation we’ve come to chapter 12 in the gospel of John, and I tried to show you that chapter 12 is a turning point in the record of John, in the ministry of Christ. We’re three and a half years that the Lord Jesus has been ministering in a public way on the earth, and by many infallible proofs, He presented Himself as Messiah—through signs and wonders and teachings and public discourses and private discourses, but in the main, that whole section, and in one week, one week from the cross, and we’re going to have final rejection. That whole ministry can be summarized, and there are exceptions, but he can be summarized by John 1:11, “He came to His own, and His own received Him not.” It was a ministry, basically, of rejection.
John 12 is a turning point because it’s the end of His public ministry, and it’s beginning a very private ministry with those He called His own, His own in the sense to those who responded positively–His disciples, those who said yes to Him. From John’s viewpoint, one door closes, His public ministry, and now another door is going to open, and you’ll see it when we come to chapters 13-17. John 12 is that transition, and he’s going to summarize the first part of His ministry, and he’s going to prepare us for the second part; it’s a transition chapter.
I showed you that there are three chief stories in chapter 12; the feast that celebrated Jesus raising Lazarus, and we have a record of that meal and Lazarus was present and Jesus was present and that’s where Mary anointed the feet of the Lord Jesus. That’s one story. Last week we looked at the second story, Palm Sunday, which puts us one week, it’s the beginning of Passion Week, as the theologians call it, and church history, and we looked at Palm Sunday. And then the third story which, Lord willing, we’ll look at this morning, are the Greeks who came seeking the Lord Jesus.
Each story closes the door to the past and opens the door to His new ministry, and in each case there’s a contrast. We looked at the first two stories. The contrast at the meal was the treatment Jesus received was rejection, and the treatment Jesus deserved is illustrated by Mary anointing Christ. There is that great contrast. Then, on Palm Sunday, the contrast, they were expecting a physical Messiah. They wanted redemption from Rome and political peace. The contrast is that He came not to give redemption from Rome but redemption from sin, not to give political peace, but to give personal peace. We see that wonderful contrast. Palm Sunday also contrasted the present with the future. In one sense the triumphal entry was a non-triumphal entry, and the triumphal entry will be one day when our Lord Jesus returns in power and great glory.
That brings us this morning to this third story in chapter 12, the request of the Greek to see Jesus. This is in John 12:20-33, but it’s even more than that because it’s followed by a conversation that was stimulated by that visit. We’re not going to read the full text, but I’ll dip down into certain parts to give you the heart and message of the Lord. John 12:20, “Now, there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast.” I want to say just about the word “Greeks” because the Bible uses that in a special way. I’m not talking about these particular Greeks because we don’t know a lot about these particular Greeks. We know they came to worship, and we don’t know if they were Greeks that had been converted, proselytized; we don’t know. There was a court in the temple for the gentiles. They might have come for that reason. Verse 20, “There were some Greeks among those going up to the feast. These came to Philip who was from Bethsaida of Galilee and began to ask him, saying, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’”
Philip had a Greek name and maybe that’s why they went to Philip; we don’t know. Maybe they were Syrophoenician. Commentaries only guess; we don’t know much about this particular group of Greeks. If we’re to see and appreciate the contrast, each story has a contrast, as I showed you in the first two, we need to know something about the Greeks. How are they presented in the Bible, and especially in the New Testament. I think once we see this, when we get to the contrast, it will be very, very clear.
Let me set it before you. Consistently, the Holy Spirit uses that word “the Greeks” in contrast to Jews. Greeks are non-Jews; they’re gentiles. They are usually unbelievers. Let me give a couple of references to illustrate this. Acts 14:1, “In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and Greeks.” They’re different; the Jews and the Greeks. That’s all I want you to see from that. Then in Acts 16:1, “Paul came to Derby and Lystra and a disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was Greek.” So, you get this contrast, again, that one was Jewish and a believer, and his father was Greek, and he probably was not a believer. Romans 1:16 describes the power of the gospel, “I’m not ashamed of the gospel; it’s the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greeks.” So, the Greeks are the non-Jews; the Greek is just a picture of the gentiles.
I told you that this is the transition chapter, and that it’s closing the door to the public ministry of Christ and opening the door to private ministry of Christ. This story also does that. I need to give you a little more background, and then I think as we close in on the story things will become clear. The general direction of the three and half year ministry of Christ can be summarized in one phrase from Romans 1:16, “To the Jew first.” They were introduced to this concept in the first chapter. He came to His own, and that’s the Jews, first, and His own receive Him not. Remember when He sent out the twelve? Matthew 10:5&6, “These twelve Jesus sent after instructing them,” now listen to the instructions, “do not go in the way of the gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans. Rather, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” When He sent out the twelve, He sent them to the Jew first. Jesus told the Samaritan woman in John 4:22, “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know. Salvation is from the Jews, the Jew first.” When I say the Jew first, you know I’m not saying the Jews only. We know better than that. Jesus didn’t come just for the Jew. In fact, when Isaiah prophesied that Messiah would come to the Jew, and from the Jewish nation, Matthew quoted that prophesy and added these words, Matthew 12:21, “And in His name will the gentiles trust.” So, it’s not just the Jew; it’s the Jew and the gentile.
Jesus came as a Jewish Messiah, but His heart was always for the world. God so loved the world…that whosoever… It’s not just for the Jew. It’s the Jew first, but not just for the Jews. The Samaritan woman and the Samaritan weren’t Jews, and yet they met our Lord Jesus. The Centurian servant wasn’t a Jew, and yet he met the Lord Jesus. The Canaanite woman that the Lord met, she wasn’t Jewish. When our Lord Jesus in His hometown, he got the people pretty upset when He reminded them that Elisha passed by many Jewish widows and appeared to a gentile widow. They didn’t want to hear that. Then He reminded them that Elisha passed by many Jewish lepers and came to a gentile leper. They didn’t want to hear that. But God’s heart is a worldwide heart. But what is all this about the Jew first? That was the main direction of that ministry that is now closing, and there were many exceptions.
I’m going to give a little more detail. I don’t want to get too far off track, but why did God choose the Jew first? The first reason is to fulfill prophesy, because God prophesied that He would be a Jewish Messiah. Romans 9:4&5, “Who are the Israelites to whom belong the adoption as sons, the glory, the covenant, the giving of the Law, the temple service, the promises, whose are the fathers from whom is the Christ according to the flesh who is overall God, blessed forever.” It was prophesied that He would be a Jewish Messiah. The second reason, and this is the one I want to focus, the reason God chose Israel to be first and then to the gentiles, goes way back in the history of Israel, and it’s the truth of the firstborn. We need to understand the firstborn, the truth of the first born.
When it’s first mentioned in the Bible, who was the firstborn? The answer is the whole nation of Israel. Exodus 4:22, “You shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is My son, my firstborn, so I said to you, “Let My son go, that he may serve Me.” You’ve refused to let him go, therefore, I’ll kill your son, your first born.’” First born was the entire nation of Israel, but Israel sinned away that privilege because of the golden calf. Listen to Numbers 8:17, “Every firstborn among the sons of Israel is mine, among the men, among the animals. On that day that I struck down the first born in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for Myself, but I’ve taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel.” “Israel, you’re no longer first born. Now, the Levites are going to be the first born, my priests.” And then, let me just throw in here the law of the firstborn. My son, David, my firstborn, constantly reminds me of this. Deuteronomy 21:17, “He shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved wife, by giving him a double portion of all he has, for he was the beginning of his strength; to him belong the right of the first born.” My son, David, reminds me, “When you make your will, don’t forget I get double.” I’m not a mathematician but what’s two times zero?
The first born was to receive double. Why? Did God love the firstborn more than the second or the third or the fourth? If fact, the firstborn not only got the double inheritance, but he also got privileges that didn’t belong to the other children. The firstborn received not only the double inheritance, but he got the best of the inheritance and the most of the inheritance, and then he had the privilege that through him he could become a king, and he could become a priest, and so on. God gave the firstborn the most, the best, the highest. The principle is so wonderful, and God loved that principle so much that He spread it out in the whole nation of Israel, the first fruits of the garden belong to the Lord, the first lings of the animals belong to the Lord, the first day of the week in a special way belongs to the Lord, the first tithe of your income belongs to the Lord. Is the first carrot better than all the other carrots? That’s not why He said that. Is the first cow or sheep better than the other animals of the flock or the herd? That’s not why He gave that law. Is Monday not as good as Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday? Why did He do that? Is 10% more or better than the 90%? According to Numbers 18:26, you know the Levites lived by the tithe, and God said in that verse, “You’ve got to tithe the tithe. You are responsible because the tithe represents everything. It’s surrender of everything.”
When you give ten percent, the tithe has no power. Some people think, “Oh, I’m going to be spiritual and I’m going to tithe.” The tithe has no power, zero power. The tithe represents the whole. If you are not totally surrendered, you can tithe your head off, and it will mean nothing. It has to do with the heart.
So, the first represented the group. The firstborn represented the whole family. The first fruits represented the whole farm. The first lings represented the whole flock or the whole group of sheep. One day represented the whole week. A portion of your income represented everything that you have. God chose that to picture this, and He chose Israel, the picture, to put on display His heart for the whole world. He wanted everybody to see, by dumping the most, the best, the highest on that nation, He wanted them to put on display, show and tell, and let the world know what I think of them, what I want for them; I want them to have the most, the best and the highest. So, He chose the Jews first to demonstrate His full heart for the whole world. But you know that He came to His own and His own received Him not. Israel didn’t understand that. They didn’t say, “Well, God has given us the most, the best, the highest just to put on display to the whole world how God feels about them.” No, they said, “God chose us first because He loves us most, and we are His favorite.” They looked at the gentiles as dogs; they looked down at everybody else.
They took great pride in the fact that they were chosen to be the firstborn and that they were chosen to be God’s manifestation of His heart. Because Israel failed, and then the Levites failed, God sent His firstborn. God sent His Son to put on display God’s heart for the entire world, and He’s the firstborn of Mary and the firstborn of God and firstborn of all creation and the firstborn of the dead, man as God created man to be, and Jesus represented to humanity God’s heart for everybody. John 17:26, “I’ve made known Your name, to them I’ll make it known, so that the love with which you loved Me may be in them and I in them.” So, Jesus living on the earth ministering, put on display God’s heart for everyone, His love, His compassion, His forgiveness, His mercy, His grace, His patience; everything on display. God always so loved the world that He gave whosoever… He never had a heart where He exalted one above another. He’s not a respecter of persons. He chose Israel, and they failed in their mission.
Listen to Hebrews 12:13, “You’ve come to Mt. Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels, to the general assembly,” now note this, “the church of the firstborn enrolled in heaven.” Who is the firstborn today? It’s you; it’s the church. Why does God bless you? Why does He bless the Christian? Why does He give us the most, the best and the highest? Is it because He loves us more than He loves some other sinner? It’s that we might put on display before the world the heart of God, that we might demonstrate, be show and tell. That’s why God blesses us. Ephesians 1:13, “In Him you, also, have been listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of the inheritance,” the down payment of the whole inheritance is the Person, the life of God, the Person of the Holy Spirit.
Why does God bless you? You are blessed; your family is blessed. Your ministry is blessed. Why does God bless you? Listen to Psalm 67:1&2, “God be gracious to us and bless us and cause His face to shine upon us. Selah. That Your way may be known on the earth, and Your salvation among all nations.” Why does God bless you. It’s so His way would be known on the earth. Listen to the last verse in that Psalm, verse 7, “God blesses us that all the ends of the earth may fear Him.” That’s why we’re bless. That’s why God has given this great benediction on the church. We are now God’s object lesson; we are the firstborn. He blesses, not because He loves us any more, but so that we can show everybody in the world. Do you want to know how much God loves you? Look at my life; look at my family; look at me in the day of trouble; look at me in the valley of the shadow of death; look what God does through me. He’ll do that for you. That’s why God blesses the Christian.
Let’s not make the same error that those religious Jews made and thought they were something really special. When I say, “God delights in you,” He does, but no more than He delights in the worse sinner on the earth. He delights in His creation created in the image of God. They thought they were blessed in order that they might be blessed, but they were blessed in order that others might be blessed. That’s why I’m blessed, and you are blessed, for others. Every blessing you have, I hope you consider a missionary blessing.
What does that have to do with the Greeks? Let’s come back. In John 12:20-21, “There were some Greeks among those who were going to worship at the feast, and then these came to Philip who was from Bethsaida of Galilee and began to ask him saying, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’” As the Holy Spirit through the Apostle John records this record, this great transition, Jesus’ ministry to the world, and then His ministry to His own, he’s going to show again a great contrast, as he did with the feast, as he did with Palm Sunday, he’s going to do it in this story.
John 1:11, “He came to His own and His own received Him not.” I spent the early part of this lesson trying to show you how the expression “the Greeks” was used. It was just symbolic of the gentiles, the non-Jew, the sinner. We’re not told why these Greeks had the desire, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” Maybe, we don’t know if they’re just curious, wanting to meet this miracle worker. That’s a possibility, I guess. Were they genuine seekers? We know from verse 20 they’re going up to worship, so there had to be something going on in their hearts. Clearly, Philip took them seriously. In verse 22, “Philip came and told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.” They’re taking the request seriously. What were the Greeks looking for? Did they want a private interview with the Lord? Were they coming like Nicodemus came and seeking more spiritual? The Bible doesn’t tell us, but what it does give us is Jesus’ response to that request. By looking at the response, we can see the answer that the Lord Jesus gave. That’s what I’d like to do now, the response our Lord gave to Philip and Andrew and all those standing around. We may not know why they came seeking Jesus but He knows, and His response is going to illustrate that.
I want to look at His response in two ways. The first is the outward response. You just read the text, and you look with these eyes, the physical eyes. In the outward response, to me, it appears that Jesus was rather rude. I know better, but it appears that way. I don’t have the complete record, but according to what you read, Jesus never answered them, He never responded. As far as the record goes, they’re still out there looking for an answer. They came and said, “We want to see Jesus.” Philip and Andrew said, “Alright, we’ll go tell Him,” and that’s the last the Greeks ever hear of them.
Some look at the comment in verse 23, “Jesus answered them,” like “the them” included the Greeks, like they were within earshot. I don’t know why they’d have to go see Jesus if they were that close. It seems to me in the context that “the them” refers to His disciples. They came and asked Jesus, and then Jesus responded to them. You see it in verse 22, “Philip came and told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus, and Jesus answered them.” I think “the them” is Philip. Anyway, I know Jesus well enough, I know He wouldn’t be rude. I don’t think He’s unkind and I don’t think He would ignore anybody that He heard was seeking Him. Even if He saw that their hearts were negative, He wouldn’t just ignore them. For example, Matthew 21:23, the Jews come and ask, “By what authority are You doing these things?” And Jesus asks them, “What about John’s ministry? Did that come from heaven or earth?” They said, “Well, we can’t answer.” Then He said, “I’m not going to answer you, either.” At least He told them that He’s not going to answer; He didn’t ignore them. If He doesn’t answer you, He’s going to say, “I’m not giving you an answer.”
To these eyes it looked like Jesus was ignoring, but what about the reality? I want to look at the response. I think I can show you that their desire was genuine when they wanted to come and see Jesus. In 1970 I had just become pastor of a navy church in Newport, Rhode Island. At the time I was studying the gospel of John, and I was in chapter 12. I came to that expression in verse 21 “Sir, we would see Jesus,” and I went through the town looking for a used book store. I was big on collecting books. I came across a trophy store. I went in and told them that I would like stamped on a piece of metal those words, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” So, they did that, and I took that plaque, I was hardly in the ministry as a pastor for about a week, and I went up to the pulpit and I drilled holes in the end and I nailed that thing to the pulpit. So, every time I got behind the pulpit I saw those words, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” About twenty years ago I got a chance to go back to Newport, and I went into the church and there it was, still on the pulpit. I was very happy about that.
This response of Jesus, as you read through it, one thing you are going to pick up is His excitement. Jesus actually becomes excited when that information is brought to Him. I picture Andrew and Philip coming to Jesus, and don’t forget this is one week before the cross and final rejection, and Andrew says, “There’s a group of Greeks out there, and they sent us to tell you that they want to see You.” I’m reading this in, but here’s what I see. Jesus said, “Really? Greeks? Non-Jews? Gentiles? There are gentiles out there that want to see Me? Wow, this is great! If that’s the case, I must then fulfill My ministry.” The first thing He says, John 12:23, “Jesus answered them saying, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.’” That was His first response. “Are you kidding Me? The hour has come. Finally; I’ve been waiting for this. It’s not only for the Jews, it’s for the Greeks, not only for the circumcised; it’s for the uncircumcised. If they really desire to see Me,” look at the next thing that He says, verse 24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.” Jesus said, “I’m that grain of wheat. If they really want to see Me, I must hurry to the cross; I must then go. The only way that prayer can be answered is if I die, and I must die for the world. Notice verse 32, “And if I am lifted up,” this is the same conversation, and He’s pouring out in excitement, “from the earth, I’ll draw all men to Me,” not just Greeks, but all men, not just circumcised flesh but uncircumcised flesh. I will draw all men to Me.
This, I believe, was the response that Jesus gave to the Greeks. On the level of earth, they might have thought, “He’s ignoring me; He’s not answering,” but I think the Lord did answer them by action, by what He was going to do. It’s true they never got a conference time. As far as the record goes, Andrew and Philip didn’t go out and say, “He said He would meet you,” or He said, “He wouldn’t meet you.” They just got no response.
Let me just depart into a principle. Sometimes, to these eyes, it may appear that the Lord is ignoring us, like the Lord is not responding to us. We make a request, and there is nothing, but He might be answering in action. In that connection, how I love Psalm 20:6, “I know the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.” The answer is by the saving strength of his right hand, by what He does. He’s not ever going to ignore you, twenty-four-seven, you have undivided attention, and so do I, but He answers by actions, not by words, and many times before we call. What the prophet Habakkuk said was not only historically true applied to the Assyrians, but it’s always true. Habakkuk 1:5, “Look among the nations, and observe and be astonished, and wonder because I am doing something in your days you would not believe it if you were told.” He’s always working; there is never a time He’s not working. “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” There’s always the activity of God.
Well, this is the great contrast in this third story. The Greeks desire to see Jesus. As Jesus comes to the end of His ministry, the Jews, as a whole, and there are exceptions, reject Him, and now He gets excited because the gentiles are wanting to seek Him. There’s that great contrast. How that must have thrilled the heart of Jesus one week before the cross; rejection, rejection, rejection, rejection, and then, “There are some Greeks out here, non-Jews, and they want to see You.” His heart must have flipped. He was so excited about that, “Then I must go to the cross.” Once again, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes should not perish but have everlasting life. Your God, my God, the only God, the true and living God, has a worldwide heart. That’s why when you go through the Bible, and I don’t have time to develop it now, every doctrine that you come to will end in missions; every doctrine ends in missions. That’s another study. In John 12 we’re looking at the close of His ministry which was in large part rejection, but then those next eleven verses just show the excitement of the Lord Jesus.
Jesus, in many ways, shows His excitement to go to the cross—with joy He went to the cross. Luke 22:15, “He said, ‘I’ve earnestly desired to eat the Passover with you before I suffer.’” He was longing, and He’s getting closer and closer. That’s why He was sent, to be the Savior of the world, and He was excited about this.
I’d like to give you an illustration as we get ready to close, another time in my view, and you may disagree with this. You have the right to disagree. I remember what Vernon McGee said, “If you disagree with me, you are in good company. Now you’ve got to decide, do you want good company or the truth?” Anyway, you can disagree with me, but I want to go back to another time when I think I see Jesus as excited as He appears to be when the Greeks wanted to see Him. I’m not going to go back three and half years in His ministry. I’m going to go way back, way, way back. I’m going all the way back to Bethlehem when He was born, when He was a little boy.
If you were to come to our house at Christmas time, you would see that my Lillian always puts up a double display. She does it intentionally. She has a manger scene which is typical of most manger scenes; it has the shepherds and animals and Mary and Joseph and the babe, but then next to it she has another scene. Over that scene, it’s not a manger, but it’s a house. She has a star over the house, and the wisemen at that second scene. She wanted the kids and the grandkids and now the great grandkids to know that the wisemen didn’t show up when Jesus was born. They didn’t show up until about two years later. So, Jesus is about two years old. Again, if you don’t agree with this, let’s still be friends.
There’s a prophesy that I think prophesizes when the wise men would come. It’s in Isaiah 60. First, let me establish the fact that Isaiah 60 is Messianic, and I can do that easily by showing you 59 is Messianic, 61 is Messianic, and the context doesn’t change, so 60 is Messianic. Isaiah 59:16, “He saw there was no man. He was astonished; there was no one to intercede. His own arm brought salvation to Him. His righteousness upheld Him; He put on righteousness like a breastplate, a helmet of salvation on His head, and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped Himself with zeal, as a mantel.” That’s Messianic. Isaiah 59:19, “They will fear the name of the Lord from the west, the glory from the rising of the sun. He’ll come like a rushing stream which the wind of the Lord drives. A redeemer will come to Zion, to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,’ declares the Lord.” That’s Messianic. Isaiah 60:1, “Arise, shine, your light has come. The glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Behold, darkness will cover the earth, deep darkness, the people, but the Lord will rise upon you. His glory will appear upon you, and nations will come to your light, kings to the brightness of your rising.” Many think, and rightly so, that this refers to the nation of Israel, that nations are going to flow into Israel. It’s double fulfillment. It’s like out of Egypt that I’ve called My Son. Does that apply to Israel? Yes. Does that apply to Messiah? Yes. It’s a double fulfillment but it’s also Messianic.
This is the reason I think it’s a prophesy of the Wise Men coming. Listen to verse 5, “Because the abundance of the sea will return to you, the wealth of nations will come to you, a multitude of camels will cover you, young camels of Median and Ephah, those from Shiva will come; they will bring gold and frankincense, and will bear good news of the praises of the Lord.” When you see that gold and frankincense, I don’t know what that registers to you, but to me that registers when the wise men came. Now, many think there were three wise men, because of gold, frankincense and myrrh, three gifts; three men showing up I don’t think would disturb Herod and all of Jerusalem with it. There were probably three hundred or more wise men that came. Anyway, if I’m correct, if this is a prophesy of the wise men, then I can see in that story how Messiah responded when the wise men came. I know from the New Testament that He’s only two years old. Isaiah 60:5, “Because of the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, the wealth of nations will come to you,” that’s missions, the nations are coming, Midian and Ephah and Shiva and Kadar, all of these people are coming. Now, watch the response in verse 7, “They will go up with acceptance on my altar, and I will be glorified in my house.” The next chapter is clearly Messianic because Jesus quoted it and applied it to Himself, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, and the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the afflicted, and sent Me to bind up the broken hearted.” Jesus applied that.
What is the response when camel come, and people come and nations come with gold and frankincense and all of these gifts? Verse 5, “Then you will see and be radiant, and your heart will thrill and rejoice because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, and the wealth of the nations will come to you.” When the Greeks came and expressed a desire to come, Jesus was elated, and now in this prophesy, the wise men are going to come, and according to this, Messiah will see it and be radiant and His heart will thrill. I picture two year old Jesus outside the house and here come these wise men representing the nations of the world, and I picture little two year old Jesus with his arms outstretched with a big smile on His face, saying, “Welcome, you who represent all the gentiles; My Father loved the world.” I think He was as excited at two years old when the gentiles poured in, being pictured by the wise men, as He was excited in John 12 when those Greek expressed a desire to see Him. One ministry closes to the Jew first, and a new ministry opens, and now it’s the gentiles, “I must hasten to the cross. I’m a grain of wheat, and if I die, I’ll draw all men to Me.” That was the heart of our Lord Jesus.
Father, thank You for being so excited to have a heart for all of us, for gentiles and Jews. Thank You for the privilege that we have that You’ve dumped on us the most, the best and the highest, so that we could put You on display for the world to see. Lord, work these things in our heart, and thank You for unveiling a little of Your heart, that You are so excited when we respond. Make these things real. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.