A Grain of Wheat
Farmland
I grew up in the middle of farmland. Freeways and highways wound through corn, sorghum, and soybean fields adjacent to pastures where cattle roamed. We looked for the corn to be “knee high by the fourth of July.” Rich soil with enough rain made for plenteous crops. I took for granted the delight of seeing perfect rows of green crops because of their familiarity.
Wheat Fields
Not so when we motored south to Kansas to visit relatives. In Kansas, there were wheat fields. As harvest neared, driving through Kansas mesmerized me. Everywhere you turned you saw wheat. As a child, I thought it looked like miles and miles of tall soft brown grass with seeds at the top. The seeds were the grains of wheat. The wind blew and the fields undulated like the ocean. It was sheer beauty.
At harvest time, farmers went through the fields with combines, which were machines that cut, threshed, and cleaned the wheat all in one operation. Farmers could then sell the wheat grains to mills which would grind them into flour. It’s why Kansas has been called the Breadbasket of America.
Death Produces Fruit
If the farmer were to do nothing with the harvested wheat, it would have no use. Wheat needs to be milled into flour or it needs to be planted in the ground. If the grain of wheat is buried in the ground and watered, a change occurs. The grain of wheat, in effect, dies. It is no longer useful as a grain of wheat. As it lays in the ground, it germinates. It grows roots and a stalk with leaves. Eventually the new plant grows fruit, which are the kernels of wheat. One grain of wheat buried in the ground produces a new plant with 50 kernels of wheat.
John 12:23-24 (ESV) says, “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.’”
Joy Set Before Him
Jesus knew His purpose on earth. He came to earth to die for us. For you and me. Luke tells us that as “the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem” (9:51 ESV). His focus was Jerusalem, the place of His death. In the Garden of Gethsemane we learn that facing His death brought groaning and struggle. He cried to the Father, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39 ESV). Yet in Hebrews 12:2 (ESV), we’re told that “Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.” He chose to die for us because He loved us. We were the joy set before him. And His death produced life for millions.
I worship you, Jesus, for your sacrificial death on my behalf. Because of your death and resurrection, I live.
John 12:23-24 says, “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.’”
Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash