Scriptures: John 12:20-36
Grain of Wheat
John 12:20-26
Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast. 21 These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn, Andrew came with Philip, and they told Jesus.
23 Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 “He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there will my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honour him.”
The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up
John 12:27-36a
“Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this time?’ But for this cause I came to this time. 28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came out of the sky, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
29 The multitude therefore, who stood by and heard it, said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus answered, “This voice hasn’t come for my sake, but for your sakes. 31 Now is the judgement of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
33 But he said this, signifying by what kind of death he should die. 34 The multitude answered him, “We have heard out of the law that the Christ remains forever. How do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up?’ Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Jesus therefore said to them, “Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness doesn’t overtake you. He who walks in the darkness doesn’t know where he is going.
36 “While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light.”
Today, Jesus takes a simple principle of farming and mathematics as an example.
“Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24)
Any wheat farmer will know that it is futile to just store his seeds. If he wants a harvest, he needs to plant them. And look what he gets from just one seed – an ear of wheat with many seeds, which he can plant again next season (unless of course it is a hybrid or genetically modified). But God made seeds to reproduce their own kind.
Genesis 1:11-12 WEB God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth;” and it was so. (12) The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
We have here a cycle of life and a cycle of abundance, and the Lord has designed it.
And in this passage, Jesus was saying, firstly, that he was that seed that must die in order to be glorified and produce much fruit. He was referring to his death that was just about to happen, of which the disciples were not aware.
Then he says to his disciples and us: “He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there will my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honour him.”
Oh that is so different to what the world will tell us. But if we are in God’s Kingdom, we are not of this world, and our interest is not on earthly things.
“If then you have a new life with Christ, give your attention to the things of heaven, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Keep your mind on the higher things, not on the things of earth. For your life on earth is done, and you have a secret life with Christ in God. At the coming of Christ who is our life, you will be seen with him in glory. Then put to death your bodies which are of the earth; wrong use of the flesh, unclean things, passion, evil desires and envy, which is the worship of strange gods; because of which the wrath of God comes on those who go against his orders; among whom you were living in the past, when you did such things. (Colossians 3:1-7, BBE)