John 12:23-24

John 12:23-24 - Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, 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.”

When Jesus said this He was speaking of His death. It was coming and He was trying to explain to His disciple why it had to happen. Basically He was telling them that if He remained alive it would just be Him. He would be the only one connected directly to God, walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. If He died, however, He would be able to multiply Himself in those who believe in Him.

When Jesus brought us into the kingdom of God it was as children of God. We became heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ(Romans 8:17). Therefore, since He was the light to this world we now are also lights. We are the reflection of God, just as Jesus was and still is. By dying Jesus duplicated all that He was in each of us.

So now when we look at this verse we must apply it to ourselves. Jesus spoke of the seed dying and was referencing His own death, but now we are the seed. We too must die to ourselves and let the seed be multiplied in those around us. This is not necessarily a physical death, but a death to our flesh. Paul said, “ I have been crucified with Christ, therefore it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me(Galatians 20:20).”

We must put to death our sinful nature and let Christ reign in our bodies. That way when we live we are living for Christ and further spreading the seed. God’s desire is that all men be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), and we have been given the charge to spread His Word and share the message of Jesus. So put to death your old ways of thinking and enter into true life with Jesus.