Context No. 4273 of 4322 · John
Context · Reflection
John 12:20-26: in context
20Now there were certain Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast. 21Therefore, these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” 22Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn, Andrew came with Philip, and they told Jesus. 23Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Most certainly I tell 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. 25He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. 26If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
When some Greeks come seeking to see Jesus, he responds with words about his coming death, and he draws from it a principle that reaches to the heart of the Christian life: unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. The way to fruitfulness, for Jesus and for his followers, runs through a kind of dying.
What stands out is this paradox of fruitfulness through death. A seed kept safe and whole, never buried, remains a single seed, barren; only by being buried and dying does it multiply into a harvest. So it was with Christ, whose death brought forth a great harvest of life. And so, he says, it is with those who follow him: whoever loves his life loses it, but whoever is willing to lose his life for Christ's sake keeps it to life eternal. Fruitfulness comes through dying to self.
We instinctively want to preserve ourselves, to hold onto our life, our comfort, our own way. But like the seed kept from the ground, self kept whole and safe stays barren. It is in dying to self, in giving ourselves away for Christ and others, that our lives bear fruit. The grain must fall and die to multiply. To follow the Christ who died to bring forth life is to embrace the same pattern.
Am I willing to follow the pattern of the grain of wheat, dying to self and giving my life away for Christ and others rather than clinging to it, trusting that fruitfulness comes not through self-preservation but through this kind of dying?
Sources
- John 12:24: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit."
- John 12:25: "He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life."
- John 12:26: "If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there my servant will also be."