Easter 4/12/09 8:00 & 10:00  Unless a Seed Is Buried, It Can’t Bear Fruit  Jn.  12:23-28; 20:1-18   

We have been talking about bearing fruit for Christ.  Here is a passage in which Jesus spoke of his forthcoming death and resurrection as bearing fruit for God.

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  24 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.  25 Those who love their life will lose it, while those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.  My Father will honor the one who serves me.  27 Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  ‘Father save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason that I came to this hour.  28 Father, glorify your name! John 12:23-28   
 

I like to grow a garden- long before Obama said to do so.  It seems like many years I’ll have a leftover pack of seeds.  I found out this week how to tell if they’re good.  If you fill a shallow pan full of water- put the seeds in them.  If the seeds sink- they’ll grow, if they float, they’re no good.  But one thing is for sure, if you don’t bury the seed in soil, it will not grow. 
            Of course, this was a prophecy of what actually happened with Jesus.  He lost his life on the cross, but gained it with the resurrection.  There would have been no resurrection without the death.  He lost his life, and he found it.
            Jesus spoke in this passage of his death- he said “unless a seed falls to the ground and dies it will not bear fruit.”  From a visible point of view a seed is dead.  There is no greenness there.  There is no visible life in it.  But if you take that seed and bury it in good moist soil, out of that comes life.  Jesus knew that he must die, and that his death would bear fruit.  There are many nuances and ways that Jesus death bears fruit.   Let us examine some of the way Christ’s death bore fruit.

1. WITHOUT HIS DEATH THERE WOULD BE NO RESURRECTION- Certainly the fruit of the cross is the resurrection. Christ died, but without his death there would be no risen, powerful, living Christ.    His resurrection shows us that He has power over death.  He had to die to show that he knows what it means to experience death. 
            It is said that Lord Lindsay and some of the members of his company went into the pyramids in Egypt.  They were permitted to open one of the mummies, and they saw in the hand one of the bulbous and tuberous roses.  They determined that the person had been dead for three thousand years.   As soon as the air touched the mummy the rose crumpled to the finest dust, except that a rose seed was left.   They took this seed and planted it in England in Lord Lindsay’s garden.  It grew beautifully and had a beautiful flower unlike any other.  They were asked what to call it, and they decided to name it after the Swedish Botanist Dahl- so it was a Dahlia.  This species still lives though the seed came across three thousand years.  But if this seed had not been buried, it would not have borne its beautiful flower. 
            There is a universal law at work here.  That is the lower life must die for the higher life to come.  Jesus illustrates this first with a seed- unless a seed falls to the ground, it remains only one, but if it is buried it bears much fruit. Jesus then says it another way- he who loses his life will save it. 
            His resurrection means that death is not the last word. But He had to die to show us that death is not the end.  If you want to save your life you’ll lose it.  Sometimes you have to die to something in order to live to something else.  To marry one girl, you have to die to those old girl friends;  To go to one school you have to let your dreams die about going to another school.  In order for one dream to be fulfilled, you have to let one dream die.   Jesus could not have his dream of living to a ripe old age live, and at the same time dream of fulfilling the prophesies about dying for sins and rising again.  

II. WITHOUT HIS DEATH HIS TEACHINGS WOULD NOT HAVE SPREAD-
He would reproduce his teachings in others by his death.  The death of Christ could be the most senseless, meaningless thing in life.  To think of this great teacher of love, of peace, of grace and forgiveness was killed and tortured on this torture machine called a cross.  But his death was given meaning in that it spread life.  It was after his death that people began to really believe.  When Christ was alive he only had a few hundred followers- maybe 10,000 tops.  But today there are over 3 billion who believe.  Sometimes people have to die in
order for their teachings to be heard, and their life’s work to be appreciated.  Before he went to prison not many knew who Nelson Mandela was.  Martin Luther King was much more well known around the world after his death than when he was alive.  When Heath Ledger did, everyone had to watch “The Dark Knight” and his movies kept popping up on TV.  Bruce Lee was unknown until after he died.  When Jesus died, people began to pay him more attention (even the Romans).
But even more important, he did not just die, he rose!  His resurrection confirms the teachings he gave.  Other people can talk about heaven, but their graves are marked.  Jesus can talk about heaven as someone who has experienced the other side.  He taught about being reconciled to God, of forgiveness, of sacrifice- and all of those things- reconciliation, forgiveness, and his sacrifice on our behalf are evident in the cross and confirmed by the resurrection.

III. WITHOUT HIS DEATH- THE DISCIPLES WOULD BE IN FEAR-
            Years ago, before I put my phone on the do-not-call list, I received a call from a telemarketer.  He was trying to get me to buy satellite TV service.  Apparently he was very, very nervous, and he may have had someone just let him have it right before me.  He said, “Hello… are you there?  You didn’t hang up did you?  Hi I’m Joe and I’m trying to sell this satellite TV service, please don’t hang up- I’m having a tough day.  Could you just listen please, please? You don’t really want to buy my service do you?”  You know, I didn’t buy it.  I don’t think that telemarketer believed in what he was selling.  He needed to take Sales 101- don’t be scared of the person to whom you’re talking.  The disciples were petrified.  Now, they were supposed to tell the world about Jesus, but here they were trembling with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, the Romans, the devil, and everyone else.  They were seeds all locked up tight, doing their best to make their shell wall thicker.  Too many Christians are like this today.  The world is becoming evil as they are forsaking their faith, and we act surprised!  The world is losing its moral and financial bearings- becoming less secure as we forsake our God, and we act surprised.  We have the story that the world needs to hear inside of us, and we just want to keep it inside, and keep it to ourselves- with the doors locked.  Locked against people who think differently, look differently,  act differently.  But deep down we know everyone- rich, poor, smart, not smart, all need the hope of the gospel. We are like the scared telemarketer!  But it is time for us to quit doubting and believe!  (as Jesus told Thomas at the resurrection).  It is time for us to go into all the world with the good news.
IV. WITHOUT HIS DEATH WE WOULD NOT BE HERE.
            You know, if Jesus had lived a really long life, died at an old age, and there was no resurrection, we probably wouldn’t be in Lake Murray Presbyterian Church today.  The fact that he died a tragic, young death-in his prime is significant.  But the fact that he didn’t stay dead is even more significant!!!  He would be just another religious teacher in a fairly obscure religion.
The old children’s story about Jack and the beanstalk wouldn’t have happened if Jack had kept the beans in his bag.  He had to have them thrown out on the soil in order to grow up to heaven.  Two seeds lie before us.  One is warm and in the sun.  It is nice to look at.  The other falls and disappears into the earth.  The seed in the sun may be seen for a short time, but it is liable to be devoured by a bird, and certainly nothing can come of  it. But the other seed, hidden beneath the clods in a damp, dark tomb, soon swells, germinates, bursts its sheath, throws off the mold, springs up a green blade, buds, blossoms, becomes a flower, exhales perfume, and loads the wings of every wind.   Better far to pass into the earth and die than lie in the sunshine and produce no fruit.  Your future sorrow  and pain brings forth fruit in your life.  Tears shall moisten you, grace shall make you swell up and burst out with new life coming from the fertilizer of the old. (CH Spurgeon).  One of the problems for Chrsitians today is we have become experts at avoiding our crosses and we love our comfort.   But eventually everyone must face their cross and hopefully bear fruit.
            Relief pitcher, Donny Moore could not resolve his anguish over losing an AL Championship series- and he shot his wife and shot himself.  Compare that to the great Christian pitcher, Dave Dravecky,  who lost not only a game, but his career and shoulder to cancer.  There is a sense in which we must lose ourselves in order to find ourselves.  We must empty our selfishness to be filled with God.  We must die as a seed to be brought to life.  Fredrick Handel was at his lowest ebb- he was out of money, in debt so much that he was threatened with imprisonment.  His right side was paralyzed.  That is when he said he was inspired by God to write the Meessiah.
            Jesus was willing to die and face betrayal, abandonment, torture, pain, and death.  He was willing to do that because he believed in his message, but he also believed that his Father could raise Him up.  He knew his body and his life here was nothing compared to eternal life.  He knew his body here was like a seed compared to a plant.  You might find some life in a seed.  But compared to a plant, a seed is really nothing.  Only when a seed dies can it give fruit.  Yet, we so much want to hold onto our seeds out of fear.  When what we should be doing is planting hem.  A seed is just a promise of a plant.  A seed  is a foretaste of a plant.  Yet we want to stop with a sampling, a foretaste, a promise and not enjoy the whole benefit. 
            You and I need to deny ourselves, and take up our crosses and follow him- we need to let our selfishness, our greed, our fear of losing this world die- plant our seeds in effect.  Because then and only then is the resurrection.