Life from Death

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. (John 12:20-26 ESV).

I can easily remember the times when my father-in-law taught me how to seed a lawn by hand. Bruce Perry, known by many as “Doc” because of his Ph.D., in plant genetics was one of the most brilliant men in the world of agriculture I’ve ever known. His work in developing various strains of onions, potatoes, and tomatoes is still a standard today. He knew how to grow any kind of plant. Of course, when we purchased our first home, he was the first one I turned to in order to get the yard started. It was hard work, but it produced the best yard in the neighborhood. Perhaps the greatest sacrifice came from the seed though. Each one of the Bermuda grass seeds had to die for the runner’s to start covering the ground. The world of agriculture knows that life can only come from death; harvest can only come from the sacrifice of the seed. As I have attempted to show each day of our Lenten series, the cross is central in the transformation of our lives. So far we have focused on the power of the cross, on what God actually did at the cross. But I also want to look at the wisdom of the cross, on what God teaches us through the cross. That wisdom changes us too. In today’s reading Jesus illustrates the first lesson of God’s wisdom by pointing to his upcoming death. For Jesus, his last week on earth had begun. His crucifixion was just five days away; and, this was the time to clarify what would happen so that his disciples would understand when it did. So Jesus used a picture from agriculture that his listeners would understand: “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” Everyone knew that the death of seeds in that sense was necessary for a harvest. But Jesus was referring to his own death. He was saying, in effect, “Unless I die, there cannot be an abundant harvest of changed lives.” His death was necessary for the salvation of many lives. That sounded foolish to the Jews who heard this farmer’s wisdom, because they thought their Messiah would never die (v. 34). But Jesus spoke the truth, and then he carried it out. We are the result of the death of that “seed.” How much ground are you going to cover?