Saturday 3rd
Jn 12:23–24
NIV (vv23-24) – ‘Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”’
ESV (v23-24) – ‘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.”’
I am not a winter person, I don’t like the cold and dreary days, and as winter progresses I spend my time waiting in anticipation for spring time, and I am constantly looking for the signs of new life shooting up through the soil, the fresh buds appearing on the tree, the signs of new life. But it will only happen if something has been planted earlier, using our garden as an example, I spent a lot of time planting various bulbs etc in the autumn and early winter with great anticipation for them bursting into life, filling the garden with glorious colours and beauty and I have kept going out and checking looking for the signs, today we are now enjoying the flowers blooming.
We could consider Good Friday as late autumn and what had been an amazing life, an example of what all men and women should be like had expired, died in an horrific way on the Cross, and later that day his body just like a seed was taken and planted in the ground, a tomb. The Saturday we could consider as the wintertime, but the wonderful news about this planting that took place is that springtime would arrive and arrive it did on the resurrection morning and what an amazing death and planting it had been for the result was fruit of abundant life that would last for eternity. And we will consider this amazing resurrection tomorrow, this amazing moment when the seed that had been planted burst forth with resurrection life.
See although I don’t like winter, I appreciate that while the soil might look bare and barren something incredible is happening underground, the seed that has been planted which looked as good as dead, perhaps shrivelled and wrinkly was actually full of life and full of potential, and the authorities had taken Jesus and they had killed him, they thought that as far as they were concerned he was dead and buried, they had got rid of him, but they had overlooked or failed to listen to what he had said in our verses for today, it may have looked as if he was finished, and yes he was dead, but within his dead body lay a kernel, a seed that would burst into life again, and what a bursting it would be, a body that would be glorified, a body that would never know decay, a body that was representative of what will be for all those who put their faith and trust in him. Yes, his being buried or planted and the being raised again is the first fruits of an incredible harvest that will one day take place when the trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ shall be raised and we who are alive and remain shall be caught up so that together we will meet the Lord in the air. So, we thank God for this spiritual autumn and spiritual winter that led to a spiritual springtime, his glorious resurrection and which we know will lead to a spiritual springtime for us as well and into a spiritual summer which is coming when we shall together be with our wonderful Saviour, gathered around his throne.