Except a Seed Die

Jesus explained to the apostles why he had to die. It is in the nature of things spiritual and physical. "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified." That is an unusual definition of the cross, when he "should be glorified." Emphasizing his next statement, Jesus began with: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fell into the earth and die, it abides by itself alone; but if it die, it bears much fruit" (John 12:23-24). So, why must he die? He is a "seed," and it is in the nature of seed to die, as it is natural for the sun to give light, and the clouds to give rain. Jesus will not deny his nature! Fruitlessness is intolerable to Jesus, even for himself. He is well aware of what happens when a seed is sown. It is destroyed, but in the process of its death, it releases the germ of life that is within its hull. The outer crust must undergo decay, while the inner life realized its nature in reproduction.

One grain of wheat is hardly a fitting meal for a bird. But if it is sown, it has the potential of feeding a nation. Until he dies, Jesus is one, isolated "seed," with unlimited potential in the beginning a grass-roots movement that can grow into a universal kingdom! Since he does not want the cause to "abide by himself alone," then he will "die, and bear much fruit." The saying is true, "It is easy to tell how many seeds there are in an apple, but there is no way to tell how many apples there are in a seed." During his ministry he frequently spoke of his eminent death, but always with divine obligation behind it. He "must go to Jerusalem...and be killed" (Matt. 16:21). "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead" (Luke 24:46). He "came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matt.20:28). He had to die!

We, too, are seed!

The Lord immediately made application of the "seed dying" and "fruit hearing" principle to his followers. "He that loves his life loses it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal" (vs.25). The man that will not surrender his life is destined to lose it. Physical life "in this world" is lived in futility, if in its tenure here it does not gain spiritual life in Christ's "work." Until a man "dies" for Christ, he is dead! He is dead, because he has not died to self. Jesus further explained: "If any man serve me, let him follow ... and where I am, there shall also my servant be; if any man serve me, him will the Father honor" (vs.25-26). There are three extremely significant promises Jesus made to those who "follow him" in the process of "falling to the earth and dying!" First, he will "bear much fruit." Secondly, "where Jesus is, there shall his servant be." And thirdly, those who "follow Jesus" in this example, "him will the Father honor."

No one wants to die

Even Jesus dreaded his impending death. He free admitted: "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto this hour" (vs.27). Messiah had long since known that the cross was on his horizon; and as verse 23 indicates, then it was quite eminent. He seems to be asking himself, "When I get to the crucial moment, will I ask to be "saved from this hour?" That is exactly what he did, asking three times that "this cup may pass" (Mark 14:35-41). Even in the Garden of Gethsemane then he knew that the "seed had to die." So he surrendered his will, and his life, saying: "Father, glorify thy name" (vs.27). In other words, "not my will, but thy will be done." The Father's response confirmed the Son's mission: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." He glorified the Son in his resurrection, ascension, and enthronement. Then Jesus reaffirmed his commitment to the "seed" principle: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself. But this he said, signifying by what manner of death he should die" (John 12:32-33).

We too are seed for his sowing!

In the kingdom parables Jesus used the analogy of "seed" being planted and of "fruit bearing" results. In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus classically defines the "seed" as "the word of God" (Luke 8:11). In that parable, both the Lord and his disciples are seen as sowers. But in the Parable of the Tares, the "seed" takes on a very different analogy. The story begins with a "householder" planting his field with "good seed." During the might, an "enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat." The servants asked the "householder, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? whence then has it tares?" (Matt.13:24-27). It is in the explanation that Jesus gave to the disciples, we find the definitions that are required for understanding the parable. There are two "sowers," Jesus and "an enemy." The "field is the work!" "He that sows the good seed is the Son of man." Just here, Jesus reveals that "the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom," in other words,
Christians! Clearly, "the tares are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy that owned them is the devil." Of course, the "harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels" (vs.37-43).

The disciples are "seed" for Jesus to sow wherever he wants! He is seen as walking across his "field, the world," with a satchel of "seed" across his shoulder. He wants to "broadcast us into the field" as "seed" ripe for reproduction. He wants to plant us in the fertile "fields" of human need, and there to fulfill our "seed nature" by falling into the ground and "dying to self", so we can become a life source to the nations. Even prophetically, Christ was foreseen as "the lamb led to the slaughter." It would be the pleasure of Jehovah "to bruise him; he has put him to grief: when you (the Father) shall make his (Jesus) soul an offering for sin, he (Jesus) shall see his seed, he shall prolong his day (in the resurrection) and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper his hand" (Isa.53:5-10). The "seed he sees" are followers of Christ that have been given life, because he "fell to the ground and died!"

Paul seemed to have grasped the implications of his dual assignment: one belongs to his nature, another related to his function. By function, he was "a fellow-worker with God," and at the same time he was "a foundation layer" (I Cor.3:9-11). He was "a sower," for he had just said "I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase" (I Cor 3:6). He was not "sent to baptize, but to evangelize," i.e., to "sow the seed" of the "word of God" (I Cor.1:17). Paul humbly acknowledged that the power of conversion was in the message preached, and not in himself as the messenger. "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves" (II Cor. 4:7).

By nature, Paul saw himself as a "seed" at the disposition of Jesus, to be "sown" wherever Jesus wanted. He was a volunteer participant in the process of reproduction. He held himself expendable: "I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls" he told the Corinthians (II Cor.12:15). To the church in Philippi, he wrote: "Yea, and if I am offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all" (Phil.1:17). In the fulfillment of his mission, he was "always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death works in us, but life in you" (II Cor.4:10-12). It is easy to see this special "seed" of Jesus' choosing, "fall to the ground and die" so that he might "bear much fruit" for Christ in souls redeemed by the sacrifice of his Lord!