September 14, 2023

Today's Reading: John 12:20-33

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 9:1-9, 10:1-13, 2 Corinthians 5:1-21

"Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:31-33)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” (John 12:21). Seeing is believing, we say. I’ll believe it when I see it. But in this age of Artificial Intelligence and Photoshop and increasingly realistic deep fakes, do we still trust what we see? Is what we see always what we get? When it comes to the world and to God, the answer is no.

St. Paul encourages the Corinthians this way: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). What we see is not what we get. 

When the Greeks tell Philip that they want to see Jesus, Jesus says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (12:23). Great! They will get to see Jesus in His glory! Yes, but like this: “‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all to Myself.’ This He said signifying what kind of death He was about to die” (12:32-33). This is how the Son glorifies the Father, and the Father glorifies His Name (12:28). But it doesn’t look like what we might want or expect the glory of God to look like. A bloody man stretched out on a Roman cross, helpless and weak and defeated? 

Remember: what you see is not what you get. Because sinners turned everything in God’s creation upside-down, calling good evil and evil good, now Jesus turns it back around. In shame, death, and defeat, Jesus brings to an end sin and death in His own body. The cross is His coronation and His victory, and the resurrection proves it. The crucifix is not a sad reminder of what went wrong, until God got it right in the resurrection. It is the eternal sign of victory, because the crucified one is God, who is the Life. Because of Him, all the death and destruction we see in the world will not be the final word. The things that are seen are transient. “We adore You, O Lord, and we praise and glorify Your holy resurrection. For behold, by the wood of the cross joy has come into all the world” (Good Friday Chief Service, Adoration of Christ). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Merciful God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, was lifted high upon the cross that He might bear the sins of the world and draw all people to Himself. Grant that we who glory in His death for our redemption may faithfully heed His call to bear the cross and follow Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

- Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.