There seems to be little connection between the Greek's request and Jesus' response until you begin to speculate about why this leap in logic. Something appears to be missing. Why does Jesus seemingly ignore the Greeks request for an audience with him?

Jesus knows that the Greeks "Seek Wisdom" and are only interested in debate and dialogue on theological philosophical issues of the day. Even if they are God Fearers they are perhaps noncommittal. Jesus draws a line in the sand now that this is Passion Week and, in effect says, the time for debating is over! Those who would be my disciples must lose their life and hate their life in this world in order to save it. Unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Whoever serves me must follow me wherever I may go (verses 25-26). Dialogue and casual consideration is not enough at this juncture in the drama. Jesus knows their intent and so ignores their request.

Either way the attempt here, on the part of the Greeks, is to discern who this man is. What are his aspirations and desires? Who does he see himself as and what are we going to do with him? These questions are still being asked today and the major religions of the world all have their various answers.

1. Islam - Muslims

Muslims revere Jesus as the son of Mary. In fact Mary is the only woman mentioned in the Qur'an, the Muslim bible. The Qur'an itself affirms that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. What is odd is that the Muslims find themselves in the position of actually defending the virgin birth against liberal minded Christians who call it an impossibility. They also often times go on the defensive against liberal westerners who say that Jesus did not ascend into heaven. They believe that God took Jesus directly up into heaven.

Not only do they uphold the virgin birth but they maintain that Jesus and his mother were untouched by Satan. In a word, Jesus and Mary are sinless. Even their greatest prophet Muhammad had to be purified by angels before he received prophethood. Muhammad is not even presented as a miracle worker but Jesus performs miracles. He heals the blind, cures the lepers and, to quote the Qur'an "brings forth the dead by [Allah's] leave." It is in this way that Jesus is understood to be the Messiah, or "the anointed one." And, he never dies. Muhammad himself dies but not Jesus.

That is the picture that the Qur'an gives of Jesus. Muslims do not read the New Testament, and yet, their view of who Jesus is is very close to the way we Christians see him. Indeed, many Muslims believe that they are the true followers of Jesus and not we Christians. In the popular culture when the Muslims have their devotionals they ask Jesus or Mary or John the Baptist for favors. And lately. there have been many reported visions of Jesus and Mary, around 70, in the Muslim countries since 1985. In their culture they understand that when the end of the world approaches, Jesus will descend to defeat the antichrist and set things aright.

But there ends the similarities. While it is true that Jesus is taken up into heaven this was done to save Jesus from the crucifixion. He asks God to save him from the cross and the ascent to heaven is God's answering of that prayer. Jesus is so great a prophet that God kept him from being killed. Martin Palmer, a religions expert in England, says, "If Jesus had been crucified, it would have meant that God had failed his prophet." And, when Jesus returns, the Muslim argues, he will return as a Muslim, and his presence will prove that the Crucifixion was a myth and eventually, will remain upon this earth and will die a natural death.

In the end it is not Jesus who they ultimately revere. It is Muhammad. he is the latest and greatest of the prophets sent by Allah.

2. Hinduism

Hinduism is the religion of India and Hinduism is not a religion with a single god. They find the concept of one God too restrictive so their land is peppered with more than 300,000 local deities. But, Hinduism has some universal qualities which all Hindus share in common. Their deities offer to everyone, through rigorous spiritual practice, the chance to realize god-consciousness. It is to the land of India that the teenage Jesus is said to have come in order to get in touch with his god-consciousness. The folk story goes, and it is a strong tradition in the culture, that Jesus slipped away from his parents, journeyed across Southeast Asia learning yoga meditation, and then returned home to Israel to become a guru to the Jews.

The most famous of modern Hindus, Gandhi, was drawn to Jesus' virtues of compassion and nonviolence. But this is about as far as Hindus go in revering Jesus. Jesus is nothing more than, as we have said, a guru--a guide to self realization. All of us, like Jesus, have the potential to discover our own inherent divinity. In fact, you can call it whatever you wish: Your Christ-consciousness, god-consciousness, Krishna-consciousness, or Buddha-consciousness--it's all the same thing. The Hindus follow this to a natural conclusion: The Hindu would not say that the supreme commandment is "love they neighbor;" the Hindu would insist that in reality you and I are the same beings. After all, if we all are inherently divine, and just haven't discovered it yet, then we are all in essence one and the same being. That is why Hindus make much of the statement uttered by Jesus, "The Father and I are one."

3. Buddhism

The life stories of Jesus and the Buddha are strikingly similar. It is reported in some traditions that Buddha was conceived by a virgin just as Jesus. Both leave home for the wilderness where each is tempted by a Satan figure. Both return enlightened, work miracles and challenge the religious establishment by their teachings. Both attract disciples and both are betrayed by one of them. Both preach compassion, unselfishness and altruism and each creates a movement that bears the founder's name.

A contemporary Buddhist monk that has a large following here in the United States and in Europe sees Jesus and Buddha as "brothers" who taught that the highest form of universal understanding is universal love. The similarities are between the two are striking and would be all the more so had they been contemporaries. But the man who started the Buddhist movement, Gautama Buddha, lived in the 6th century BC, was born into a noble family on the borders of India and Nepal, grew up as a Hindu, and rejected certain tenants of his native faith.

The teachings of this man are summed up in what is reported to be his very first sermon to his followers. He made four points [and I would suggest that this is where he went wrong he should have kept it to three points] and these points are called the Four Noble Truths: 1. that sorrow is the universal experience of mankind 2. that the cause of sorrow is desire. 3. That sorrow can be eliminated by the removal of desire 4. That desire can be systematically abandoned by following the Noble Eightfold path. And, with the cessation of desire humans pass from this world of individual existence into the world of pure Being (Nirvana).

The striking difference in the two religions is this: It is the goal of every Buddhist to achieve Buddhahood, to become Buddha himself, to achieve Nirvana. In Christianity a Christian can never become Christ nor should we ever try. It would be heresy to even begin down such a road. Not to mention the fallacy in trying to escapee this individualistic life. What the Buddhist does to the Christ figure is strip him of his divinity, make him into a mere man, and transform him into a figure like Buddha. It is common, in Buddhist circles to regard Jesus as an emanation, a partial and inferior copy, a "truth body" [dharmakaya] they would say, of the Buddha.

The Dalai Lama, who resides in India, and is a kind of "Pope" figure for Buddhist is viewed as the vice-regent of the Buddha and the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama. He says that Christ was either a fully enlightened being or achieved a very high spiritual realization.

4. Judaism

Today, in Jewish circles, Jesus is almost completely ignored among laymen but there is a growing concern among Jewish students and scholars to understand Jesus. There is no longer a question that Jesus was a Jew. That much is agreed upon. But that is about all.

Rabbi Neusner, who recently wrote a book entitled "A Rabbi Talks With Jesus," imagines himself, as a Rabbi, meeting up with Jesus. He says, "Imagine walking on a dusty road on Galilee nearly 2,000 years ago and meeting up with a small band of youngsters, led by a young man. The leader's presence catches your attention: he talks, the others listen, respond, argue, obey--care what he says, follow him. You don't know who the man is, but you know he makes a difference to the people with him and to nearly everyone he meets. People respond, some with anger, some with admiration, a few with genuine faith. But no one walks away uninterested in the man and the things he says and does."

Rabbi Neusner then says, "I can see my self meeting this man, and, with courtesy, arguing with him. It is my form of respect, the only compliment I crave from others, the only serious tribute I pay to the people I take seriously. I can see my self not only meeting and arguing with Jesus, but challenging him on the bases of our shared Torah (The first five books of the Old Testament). I can also imagine myself saying, "Friend, you go your way, I'll go mine, I wish you well--without me. Yours is not the Torah of Moses, and all I have from God, and all I ever need from God, is that one Torah from Moses."

Neusner concludes, "We would meet, we would argue, we would part friends--but we would part. He would have gone his way, to Jerusalem and the place he believed God had prepared for him; I would have gone my way, home to my wife and my children, my dog and my garden. He would have gone his way to glory, I my way to my duties and my responsibilities"

Well, if the Rabbi can talk with Jesus, this preacher would like to have a few words with the Rabbi. I would say to Rabbi Neusner, You are correct. The Torah teaches that we must sanctify life in the here and now of home and family, community and society. But that same Torah, Rabbi, that you hold dear, told Abraham to sacrifice his own son and don't think that that request was not real. It was a test of Abraham's faith. The threat to that young boy's life was real! It was God who provided the sacrifice, at the last moment, by an act of grace and compassion, which spared his life. And that is the story foretold in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The God of Jesus and the God of that young boy Isaac are one in the same God but the difference is God did not stop that second sacrifice! Why? Because it wasn't some young innocent boy being led to the slaughter; It was His young boy, Rabbi, who he himself sacrificed, so no young boys or girls would ever again have to be sacrificed by this world of disobedience and sin.

And here in lies the difference. Here is what the Greeks did not see. Here is the what the disciples could not perceive. Here is what Pontius Pilate would not defend. Here is what Rabbi Neusner cannot accept: The Cross. "The cross is what separates the Christ of Christianity from every other Jesus. In Judaism there is no precedent for a Messiah who dies, much less as a criminal as Jesus did. In Islam, the story of Jesus' death is rejected as an affront to Allah himself. Hindus can accept only a Jesus who passes into peaceful Nirvana, a yogi who escapes death" The figure of a crucified Christ, says a leading Buddhist (Thich Nhat Hanh) "is a very painful image to me. It does not contain joy or peace, and this does not do justice to Jesus."

The Cross. There is not room in other religions for a Christ who experiences the full burden of mortal existence. A Christ who dies is seen by the world as a God who has failed. What do I see when I see Jesus?

Yes, I see a collapsed figure but I see a covenant God.

Yes, I see a mortal who died but I see a God who Triumphed.

Yes, I see Friday’s failure but Sundays coming.

Yes, I see the tragedy but there is Triumph! 

"Sir, we would see Jesus." Which Jesus do you see? Is there room in your view for a crucified Christ? Amen.