A Grain of Wheat
John chapter 12 details events that occur less than a week before the crucifixion of Christ, including Mary anointing the feet of Jesus and Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which many Christians term Palm Sunday. I would like to focus on something less well-known that transpired in this passage. It is found in verses 20 through 24, which state, “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.’”
Firstly, this incident, where Greeks seek Christ, is a beautiful portrait of the promise that the gospel will extend to all nations. The apostle Paul once wrote, “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him” (Romans 10:12, KJV). Secondly, Philip and Andrew, in a way, reveal the call of all believers to be witnesses, faithfully leading others to Christ. Finally, what Jesus taught in verses 23 and 24 is so imperative for every believer to grasp.
Jesus said that He would soon be “glorified.” Many, upon hearing this, would have assumed that Christ meant He was going to be honored as King over Israel. Yet, Jesus then gave an illustration of a grain of wheat being planted in the ground and germinating to produce fruit. Before there could be a crown, there had to be a cross. Before there could be growth and glory, there had to be suffering and sacrifice. The fruit borne is the souls of all those who turn to Christ in full faith and humble repentance. For every believer, there is a spiritual principle here: denying their own ambitions, plans, and desires (Mark 8:34), while embracing the cross of Christ and the will of God, so that they may produce spiritual fruit in their own walk. Let us not settle for anything less than to bear fruit for the glory of God!
