ore a Greek name; and after deliberation the two
make bold, if not to urge the request, at least to inform Jesus that it
had been made. At once in this modestly urged petition He hears the
whole Gentile world uttering its weary, long-disappointed sigh, "We
would see." This is no mere Greek inquisitiveness; it is the craving of
thoughtful men recognising their need of a Redeemer. To the eye of
Jesus, therefore, this meeting opens a prospect which for the moment
overcomes Him with the brightness of its glory. In this little knot of
strangers He sees the firstfruits of the immeasurable harvest which was
henceforth to be continuously reaped among the Gentiles. No more do we
hear the heart-broken cry, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!" no longer the
reproachful "Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life," but the
glad consummation of His utmost hope utters itself in the words, "The
hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified."

But while promise was thus given of the glorification of the Messiah by
His reception among all men, the path which led to this was never absent
from the mind of our Lord. Second to the inspiriting thought of His
recognition by the Gentile world came the thought of the painful means
by which alone He could be truly glorified. He checks, therefore, the
shout of exultation which He sees rising to the lips of His disciples
with the sobering reflection: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a
corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it
die, it bringeth forth much fruit." As if He said, Do not fancy that I
have nothing to do but to accept the sceptre which these men offer, to
seat Myself on the world's throne. The world's throne is the Cross.
These men will not know My power until I die. The manifestation of
Divine presence in My life, has been distinct enough to win them to
inquiry; they will be for ever won to Me by the Divine presence revealed
in My death. Like the corn of wheat, I must die if I would be abundantly
fruitful. It is through death My whole living power can be disengaged
and can accomplish all possibilities.

Two points are here suggested: (I.) That the life, the living force that
was in Christ, reached its proper value and influence through His death;
and (II.) that the proper value of Christ's life is that it propagates
similar lives.

I. The life of Christ acquired its proper value and received its fit
development through His death. This truth He set