Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
John 12:24
Now, is this a title, or is it a parable? It’s both. In context, this verse comes right after the triumphal entry. The Lord has just told His disciples that the hour had come for Him to be glorified. He had already told them that He was coming to Jerusalem to die, and they didn’t get it. He now tries to get through to them by saying that He is going to be like a grain of wheat.
Once a farmer sows his seed, there is no way to get it back. Wheat is just a fancy grass, and there’s a lot that can go wrong. If there’s too much or too little rain, it’s too hot or too cold, or there are too many bugs, it just won’t produce. That’s not even figuring in dust storms, hail, wheat rust, mildew, and rot. Hungry farmers throughout the centuries have learned not to plow the last of their grain into the ground. If they do, there’s no guarantee that they’ll have anything to eat later.
Most farmers I know are religious (I’m talking family farmers, not big corporations). They have to believe that there is a power greater than themselves that makes things to grow, and they trust Him to do His job if they do theirs. It takes a lot of faith to take tomorrow’s meal, bury it in the dirt, and pour water on it.
Christ somehow had to convince His disciples that the capital punishment He was about to receive was not just a senseless act of injustice. He was going to be glorified by it, and they were the ones that were going to benefit.
The disciples knew it was dangerous to go to Jerusalem, but He went anyway. He had to go; He had to die. If He didn’t go, there never would have been eternal life. He could never have provided for their spiritual sustenance. He first had to become a Grain of Wheat.
January 3
