A GRAIN OF WHEAT: JOHN 12:20-33

Many of you will know of the British actor and

comedian Stephen Fry. I remember first encountering

Fry in the long running English comedy A Bit of Fry

and Laurie, but hes had an extensive and brilliant

acting career. Stephen Fry was recently interviewed

on Irish television and asked to talk about his view of

God. Fry is very upfront about being an atheist, so the

interviewer asked him if he was to die and discover

that God existed what would he want to ask. Stephen

Fry spent the next few minutes describing the unjust

suffering that he was aware of in the world,

essentially saying that if God existed that he must be

monstrous and he would hold him accountable for the

suffering.
As a Christian I dont pretend that suffering doesnt

exist. But I dont see Gods relationship to suffering in

the same way as Stephen Fry. At the heart of

Christian faith, theres a deep sense of trust, a

conviction that God is rescuing our world through the

life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. On the

cross we see the love of God compelling Jesus to

personal sacrifice for our sake. Or to put it another

way, in Jesus we see the God who is Love. On the

cross we see what it is like for God to enter the

suffering heart of our world. We see God's heart of

compassion revealed.

But what made Jesus' suffering and his death on the

cross life-saving rather than just horrible, or unjust or

tragic?
A GRAIN OF WHEAT

Jesus used the image of seed sowing and harvest, an

image from the natural cycle of the seasons to

describe what made his death something life-saving

and life-giving.

Jesus had just arrived in Jerusalem to celebrate the

Passover Festival with his followers. There were some

Greeks in town for the festival and they let one of his

disciples, Philip, know how eager they were to meet

Jesus. But when Philip and Andrew went and passed

this news on to Jesus, he didnt seem interested at all.

Instead he started to describe the significance of his

death that wasnt very far away. He said:

Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls

into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain.

(John 12:24)
Does that sound strange to you? Faced with an

opportunity to extend his influence to the Greeks,

Jesus began talking about his suffering and death and

he did so by using the image of wheat being buried!

What's going on?

To understand we have to listen as Jesus as expands

upon this image of the wheat:

...but if it dies, it bears much fruit or as Eugene

Peterson paraphrased it, But its death will produce

many new kernelsa plentiful harvest of new lives.

In a strange kind of way Jesus is acknowledging these

Greeks. Because theyre kind of like an advance party

who represent all those people who will become part

of the Jesus community after his death and

resurrection.
But at this point in time, in Jerusalem, Jesus is

saying, Just as a grain of wheat needs to be sown in

order to grow a crop, so I need to die for this to

happen. Though it's going to be painful and costly, it's

going to take my death and resurrection for this new

kind of community to come into existence.

GENETIC SIMILARTIY

Let's just pause and connect all this together for a

moment. If the grain is Jesus then the crop that it

produces is the resurrection community, the church.

And theres a connection between the suffering of

Jesus and the character of the community that comes

into existence in relationship to him.

Heres what Jesus says about this community in John

12:25-26.

Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate
their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am,

there will my servant be also.

Jesus is saying that in the same way a full head of

grain bears genetic similarity to the single grain it

grew from, this resurrection community, the Jesus

community will bear a spiritual and ethical

resemblance to Jesus.

And that brings us back to my opening question,

What is life-saving and life-giving about Jesus

death?

According to this account from John's Gospel, Jesus

death and resurrection are life-saving and life-giving

because through his dying and living Jesus gathers a

community of people who are shaped by the same

dying-to-bring-life attitude.
So if I could converse with Stephen Fry over a cup of

tea, Id want to say that God doesnt stand far off from

the worlds suffering. God enters into the deepest

suffering of our world. Thats what God has done in

the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Secondly Id suggest that the main focus of the

Christian faith isnt to explain or justify suffering. In

the message of the cross the Scripture confronts us

with innocent suffering but then asks us, How will

you respond to the suffering in the world? Will you

risk yourself for Christs sake with compassion and

service? Or will you stand far off; isolate yourself from

the suffering of others; play it safe?

The World System

Eugenes Peterson paraphrases the words of Jesus in

John 12:25 like this: Anyone who holds on to life just

as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless

in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal

So what does it mean to play it safe, to not follow

Jesus, to hold on to life as it is in our world?

Heres some recent research Roy Morgan about life in

New Zealand today.

More than half of New Zealanders look at our

societies' serious issues in terms of money rather than

in terms of health or the environment or any other

indicators of well-being.

More and more people are now choosing to do

individual activities rather than group activities.

People are more likely to socialise on the internet

instead of having guests over to their homes or going

to other people's homes.

Less and less people are going out on family outings,

instead they are choosing to entertain their children

with technology at home.

What would be like to play it safe in this kind of

world? A world where people entertain themselves

and shop without leaving the safety of their homes. A

world where people communicate with each other

through computers instead of face to face. A world

where money and technology supports our ability as

individuals to go it alone, so that we don't have to

depend on each other, so we dont have to

inconvenience ourselves with the difficulties that

others face?

When I look at that picture, I think...what a lonely

world it's going to be. Jesus is right. The more we try

to preserve life as it is, the more diminished life will

get, our lives will get smaller and smaller and give

less and less. People will die from loneliness.

Judging the World

In the light of the crucifixion we suddenly come to see

the world, the System for what it is. We see a world

where people are more and more isolated from each

other and from God who is the source of life, and even

from themselves.

The good news is thats not the end of the story. Jesus

said in John 12:32, When I am lifted up from the

earth, will draw all people to myself.

Jesus draws all people to a different way of life; a life

that is so real its called eternal life.

But hes not asking us to play it safe.

Jesus suffering and death was life giving because he

sowed his life into the vast faithful love of God and he

did that motivated by love.

He died to bring into existence a people with a special

calling to live in the face of suffering in the same way

as him. To entrust our lives to the vast faithful love of

God and to serve God and others motivated by love.

As we attempt to live our lives in response to lifes

uncertainties, Jesus confronts us with a choice. Either

to play it safe, to avoid suffering and hold on to life as

it is Or follow him into the midst of lifes

profoundest difficulties, trusting, hoping, loving,

serving, and discovering resurrection, the mystery of

God who enters our world to bring new life.