October 12

Behold the Lamb of God

They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested of him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” — John 12:21 BSB

These men had heard about Jesus, but they wanted to see Him for themselves. It’s not enough to see Jesus only through someone else’s eyes. No matter how vividly others describe Him, that alone won’t bring us the blessing of knowing Him personally and having His image imprinted on our souls. We must see Him for ourselves. In ancient times, when the people in the camp were bitten by snakes, a mother couldn’t look at the bronze serpent for her child, and a friend couldn’t look for a friend. The same is true of seeing Christ—no one can do it for another.

It is by looking to Christ that all spiritual blessings come. When we are burdened with sin, we are told to look to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. When we seek to grow spiritually, we are told to behold the glory of the Lord and be transformed into His image. When we need a model for our lives, we are urged to look to Jesus. Just as slaves in the past were guided to freedom by keeping their eyes fixed on a star, keeping our eyes fixed on Christ will lead us from the bondage of sin to the glory of salvation.

These Greeks approached a disciple and asked to be introduced to Jesus. What better service can we render in this world than introducing people to Jesus? To do this well, we must know Him ourselves. But no one really needs someone else to introduce them to Jesus. A little girl was dying, and though she wasn’t afraid to die, she wished her mother could come with her to introduce her to Jesus. "You know, Mama," she said, "I’m always afraid of strangers." But no one will find Jesus to be a stranger—He loves to be sought after, and He is always glad to reveal Himself to those who seek Him. He is not hard to find; He is always near, and we truly need no one to take us to Him.