Now that it’s springtime and we’re heading towards summer, flowers are blooming and the earth is colorful and beautiful with bright greens, pinks, purples, yellows, and oranges. The thought of planting seeds comes to mind. And you know there are so many verse passages in the Bible that talk about seeds and planting and Springtime. One verse in particular I came across several years ago about seeds really piqued my interest and intrigued me.

John 12:24, “Truly, truly, I say to 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.”

I tried to apply a simple mindset and make it make sense to the natural world around me, but I just couldn’t “see” it. It didn’t make sense. It seemed opposite of logic and reasoning. Scientifically, I tried to wrap my mind around the concept explained in John 12:24, how a seed “dies” when you put it in the ground. I couldn’t see how it “dies”. But when I started digging deeper and looking at the verse in context and then cross referencing with other scripture, the muddy water became clear.

A seed only ever stays in its current state, as long as it is above ground. If you leave it on the counter, or sweep it on the concrete floor, it stays a seed. And more than likely, if you come back a month, a year, or 10 years…it will still be a seed. But something happens when you take that seed and place it in the earth’s soil. Change takes place to that seed when it goes down into the ground and is covered over by dirt.

It “dies.” Not in the sense that it ceases to live/exist/or that it rots and becomes unusable. It just ceases to stay the same – in it’s present state of existence. It ceases remaining a seed. Instead, it germinates, it sprouts, and gives way to a plant – complete with fruit and seed heads. If you were to go and pull that plant up, roots and all, you won’t find the original seed. That seed will be gone. Because the energy required to complete the production of the plant and the transformation which took place completely changes the existence and state of that seed from its original form. In essence, the seed has died to itself so that the plant could sprout and bloom and be filled with “fruit.”

I don’t know about you, but for me personally, once I understand by example in the natural world, it makes it easier to understand and apply spiritually. It sort of drives home the point and just makes it very clear to me.

It’s very important to look at a verse or passage of Scripture in context. You can do this by looking at the verses that come before and after the verse you are examining. When we look at the verses before and after John 12:24, we can see that Jesus was talking about Himself – specifically, His own death. But before He goes on to explain, He gives great detail to believers about our full surrender and commitment to Him as Lord of our life.

John 12:20-26 reads: “Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”

So v. 20 tells us there were some Greeks who desired to see Jesus. Why is that important? Because they weren’t Jews. They were in essence, Gentiles. Who cares what they are? It should make no difference, right? The important thing is that there were some people who wanted to see Jesus. So shouldn’t the disciples have said, “Yes, sure, absolutely, you can see Him! He’s great! He has healed and helped people and everybody should meet Him!” But that’s not how the disciples responded. Those verses say the fact that the people were Greek, it made Phillip go instead to Andrew and tell him they were Greek and together the two disciples notified Jesus. They were acting like Jesus’ bodyguards and wanted to make sure He approved of their visit. Were they cautious? Were they fearful? I don’t know. Maybe both.

Don’t we act like that sometimes? When lost people come to us for help and they want to have Jesus, they want to know about Him, learn about Him, see Him – we don’t respond with joy and hospitality, but rather skepticism, caution, or maybe fear. As if we have appointed ourselves as the vetting crew. We vet those who approach Jesus and then act as a go-between to see if they are genuine, worthy, or safe to proceed in the journey. We may do that with drug addicts, homeless people, alcoholics, and others our society has cast aside.

Well, Phillip and Andrew go to Jesus to inform Him of these Greeks who wanted to see Him and they probably expected Jesus to answer yes, bring them to me or no, I can’t see them right now. But Jesus never missed an opportunity to teach His disciples. And many things were not black and white, clear answers. Answers warranted a lesson, a parable, or an act to help them understand the meaning.  

So what does Jesus do? He responds in verse 23, that the hour had come “for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

How interesting that the request by the Greeks brought an unclear answer from the disciples, but the request by the disciples brought a clear answer from Jesus. The disciples didn’t know what to say, but Jesus knew exactly what their visit meant. It was time. Time for the Son of Man to be glorified.

And then Jesus says in v. 24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

The death and burial of Jesus was necessary to His glorification.

Death multiplies life. Go back to the wheat seed example. How much does one kernel of wheat falling to the ground and dying produce? One grain of wheat can produce eight or more heads with over 40 seeds per head!! So one seed – one grain, actually has the potential to bring forth multiple grains/seeds. But unless that one grain is planted/buried in the ground, the potential is hindered/inhibited/prevented.

Fruit-bearing is the direct result of Christ’s death. Before a grain of wheat can bear fruit, it must “die”. Before Christ can be resurrected, He must die. He lay in the grave, buried so to speak in the ground, just like a seed in the dirt. And just like the grain of wheat that begins to sprout and bloom and grows to have many seeds that fruit, Christ rose from the grave and became our root, our vine and we are His branches, bearing fruit.

God could have chosen not to send His Son to earth. God could have chosen not to have His Son’s life given as a ransom for sin. But He did send His Son and His Son did die for you and me.  John 3:16 tells us this. And Romans 8:29 tells us Jesus was the firstborn among many brothers and sisters, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters;”

Verses 25-26, “He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”

Jesus doesn’t mean for us to literally die in the sense that we cease to exist in life on earth. He means die as in – to self. He wants us to forsake the self-centered, self-pleasing, self-gratifying, and chasing after vain fantasies of this world – because the world and all that’s in it will burn up one day. It’s temporary. It doesn’t last. Our souls are eternal. Our eternal future is what matters. And the souls of those on the earth. Where they go matters to God. He wants us to bear fruit for Him. We can’t bear fruit unless we cease to exist alone, as a seed. He wants us to die to self and the old ways of our old nature. When we submit to the Father, we will move and exist in our new nature, and we will bear fruit for Him.

Jesus was telling them what His plan was for the people of this world, but He was also telling them what they are to do in return.

He was going to die for the sins of the world and we would have the opportunity to place faith in Christ, receive salvation and the forgiveness of sins and be able to join the family of God.

This is why Jesus had to die––to bring us life. True life, abundant life, eternal life comes through death.

He would lay down His life, and we would do the same.

John 10:17-18, “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it back. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back. This commandment I received from My Father.”

If we apply this back to His example of the grain of wheat from John 12:24, He is trying to show His disciples and you and me that His death is for our benefit.

And if we are willing to lay down our life and die to self, God can bear fruit in our lives and do something far greater than we could ever do on our own, alone.

Seems like a lot of Christians throw that around. But what does it mean to die to self?

Many times we think of dying to self as bad. The reason we think it’s bad is because it involves giving up our selfish desires. So it’s the flesh that feels like this is a bad thing. But your spirit is not in agreement. Your spirit willingly wants to lay down the flesh and submit to the Lord over your life. It’s not deprivation to “die to self” – it’s provision …. because you place your dependence on God; therefore, you are accessing His reservoir – His supply, His Source.  

Don’t listen to your flesh. Listen to the truth of God’s Word. We are not the loser when we die to self!

What about you? Have you died to sin, self and the world?

As Christ headed to the cross, He told His disciples in John 12:27, “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say, ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”

Jesus gave His life for you so that you could have forgiveness of sins, be restored to God, and have eternal life with Him.

1 Peter 3:18 tells us, “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;”

We are not called to be the center of our own world. Christ is to be center. We need to allow Jesus to take His rightful place in our hearts, minds, and lives by deliberately choosing to get out of His way. Let’s choose to die to ourselves and allow Him to raise us to new life. Come to Jesus and surrender your life to Him, follow Him in obedience, and submit to His Word and authority.