John 12:23-26, The Grain of Wheat

23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 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.” 

Throughout John, Jesus repeatedly says “the time is not yet.” Now, he announces “the hour has come.” Finally, we have come to the central message of the gospel and the goal of Jesus’ ministry: the cross and resurrection. And we have come to the precipitating crisis: the death of the Messiah. Yet it will be this death that brings honor to the Father and glory to the Son. Jesus is the grain of wheat that must die to produce fruit for his Father. Jesus understands the purpose and subsequent outcome of the cross. 

Amazingly, there are those in the church who miss this point. A pastor told me years ago he did not believe God the Father wanted Jesus, his Son, to die upon the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. In his thinking, that would be child abuse. Rather, he understood the cross to be a giant billboard of love displayed for the whole world to see. Jesus would rather die than fight his detractors. Ironically, he missed and covered over the sacrificial depths of God’s love (and the unity of God as Father, Son, and Spirit). The traditional understanding of the crucifixion, as supported by these words of Jesus, is that it is a supreme act of self-renunciation. 

The glory of God is attained not only through the death of Jesus, but also through his disciples as well. They and we are called to sacrificial living through the denial of self and the service of others. As my pastor friend understood correctly, we are to imitate the selflessness of the example of Jesus; however, Jesus’ death, while it can be imitated, is fundamentally different. Jesus is the one grain that dies so that others can be fruitful.  

Take some time to thank Jesus for his sacrificial death and then ask him to help you be fruitful for him in your life by losing your life for his sake.