The house I grew up in had been built in an old pecan grove, and we had seven mature trees in the yard. Every fall, we would gather up paper grocery sacks full of nuts, which mama would put into her pies, candies and cookies. It’s hard to beat the taste of freshly cracked new fallen pecans – after all, even those that remain cool and dry in the shell become stale or even rancid and bitter by the time the next crop comes in.
Of course, every year some of the nuts would escape our notice, or perhaps be buried by forgetful squirrels. So in the spring you’d see tiny pecan seedlings coming up, especially in the flowerbeds and along the fence row.
But we never thought about digging up those seedlings to eat the nuts underneath. That’s because in order to sprout, the shell had to rot away. In order to produce a new tree, the seed had to die, at least in its initial form.
And Jesus says the same thing is true for all of us. If we love our own lives the way they are, if we try to keep ourselves cool and dry in our shells, safely removed from all the dirt of this world, we’ll eventually become stale and then rancid. We’ll die anyway, and we won’t be of any use to anyone else.
But if we follow Jesus, if we die to our own desires, if we surrender ourselves to the glory of God and the good of others, if we aren’t afraid to get dirty, to get involved in the problems lost people have in this sinful world, if we are willing to let Jesus transform us, we can sprout and grow and bear fruit.
And this fruit won’t just be the selfless service we perform and the gospel we proclaim. No, just as Jesus’ death to Himself has inspired all of us, our selfless example, our dying to self will inspire others to follow Him in the same way that we have.
The watching world is asking the same question the Greeks asked in verse 21: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Will we die to ourselves, showing His self-sacrificial, unconditional love to them today?
John 12:9-36 (ESV)
When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well,
11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.
17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.
18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
24 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.
25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.
28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine.
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
