Groupies for Jesus
April 27, 2013
Read
“They came to Philip… and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus’” (John 12:21)
“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:12)
Reflect
I often wonder whether the Greeks who chased after Philip ever could have imagined what they were getting themselves into when they decided they wanted to see Jesus. While the scripture tells us next to nothing about them – it’s perfectly reasonable to think that they were groupies. Think the functional equivalent of a bunch of teenagers chasing after Justin Bieber: part curiosity, part adoration, a little bit obsessive, but by no means expecting a life change.
But a life change is what they ended up getting – whether they were looking for it or not. “Whoever sees me sees God, who sent me,” Jesus says later in this discourse from John’s gospel. Yes, those groupies ended up seeing God. And then, in the gospel appointed for today, Jesus says, “the one who believes in me will do greater works than mine.” Now, they’re not just fans. Not just casual observers. They’re people with real work to do. All of that, just from longing to catch sight of the man that they’d heard so much about. While the scripture never explicitly tells us what happened to those folks who just wanted a glimpse of Jesus, I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to imagine their transformation.
So if a bunch of folks who started out as groupies ended up becoming missionaries who changed the world, then why don’t we? Because, let’s face it – we’ve now been steadfastly observing Easter for twenty-seven days since Easter Sunday – we’re more than curious observers or casual onlookers. We’re true believers. Greater works are on the horizon – as Mother Teresa famously once said, “together, we will do something beautiful for God.”
Respond
Every Christian is called to be a missionary – not just a casual onlooker. As you go through the day, ask yourself: “how am I being called to step up?” How are you being transformed from a casual onlooker into a missionary?
-David Sibley
Leanne
Kinda pretty sure this might’ve had something to do with making it a life change (not that Jesus wasn’t entirely capable of doing this himself): “Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.” (John 12:28-29, NIV.)
George E. Hilty
Groupies maybe, but ethnic and language ties seem more likely. The Greeks sought out the disciples with Greek names. It’s doubtful that they got to meet Jesus, for “Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ….36 While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.’ After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.”
As for us, you are on target, but we may wish to heed the Lord’s advice to wait for the empowerment of Pentecost. His Ascension and Pentecost function as detonators so that we can do the “greater works.”He specifically predicated our doing “greater works” on His “going to the Father.”