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.
John 12:24 (ESV)
Why did Jesus die on the cross? We will often answer by saying that he died to atone for sin, or something similar. And that is true. But there is a more significant answer to that question. And Jesus shares it in the mini-parable found in John 12:24.
Like many of Jesus’ parables, this one is based on seeds and the fruit they produce. But, unlike the others where the seed is the gospel message, in this one the seed is Jesus.
If the seed falls into the earth and dies, it will produce much fruit. So Jesus, when he died, produced much fruit. His death resulted in many coming to have a new life, life eternal.
Why did Jesus die? Yes, it was for the forgiveness of sins and deliverance from God’s judgment of sinful humanity. But don’t stop there. We might also say that it was to reconcile us to God. And while that is true, it is still an incomplete answer.
Jesus died in order to create a new humanity. When we come to faith, we are born again of the Spirit (Jn. 3:5-8). We have abundant life now with Christ (Jn. 10:10). And we can look forward to sharing in Jesus’ glorified humanity in the future (1 Jn. 3:2, 1 Cor. 15:42-49).
So why did Jesus die? To produce an abundant harvest of a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
