1. I was upstate at a preachers’ conference and heard an 84 year old preacher, Art Wilson, preach a wonderful message from this text – he called it "Corn on the Cob," and said he would give us something to chew on. He sure did!
2. There was another great preacher named Wilson – Walter Wilson, he went up to heaven a number of years ago. One day he was on a train and as it passed a cornfield he said to the woman sitting next to him, "See, what a large cemetery that field is, for at the foot of every stalk of corn is a tiny grave. Jesus said, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone" (John 12:24).
3. Before moving on, let me give you the background to this story. This incident took place after our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem (12:12,13); therefore we are getting close to the cross.
4. These Greeks (12:20) were natives of Greece who turned away from idolatry and had adopted the Hebrew religion. They had come to Jerusalem "to worship at the feast" (12:20).
5. These Greeks form quite a contrast to the Jewish leaders. The Jewish religious leaders had rejected Jesus and were plotting to kill Him (cf. 11:53,54). Meanwhile these Gentiles were seeking after Him (12:21; cf. Acts 13:46; 28:28).
6. It is not stated why they came to Philip (12:21), perhaps because he was a Jew with a Greek name (meaning "Lover of Horses"). Incidentally, Alexander the Great’s father’s name was Philip – Philip of Macedon.
7. For some reason Philip went and told Andrew (12:22). Every time we see Andrew in the Bible he is bringing someone to Jesus (cf. 1:41,42; 6:8,9).
8. Notice that our Lord’s answer has to do with His death on the cross (12:23-33).
9. "The hour" (12:23) refers to the hour of His death (cf. 2:24; 7:6,8; 8:20; 13:1; 16:32; 17:1).
10. I was preaching in a church one day and looked up and saw a big banner with these words on them, "Sir, we would see Jesus." I felt a whole lot better then, and I tried my best to preach Jesus to them.
11. And today I hope that you too will see Jesus – Jesus in His death, Jesus in His resurrection, and Jesus in His service.

I. WE SEE JESUS IN HIS DEATH (12:24)

1. Our Lord uses the analogy of a corn (grain) of wheat. Although a corn of wheat in the ground dies, it produces the blade, the ear, and the harvest.
2. It must die in order to bring forth fruit. Our Lord demonstrated that what is true in the natural world is also true in the spiritual realm.
3. There is a divine principle that life comes through death and this principle is operative in both spheres, the natural and the spiritual.
4. We haven’t really seen Jesus until we understand that He died on the cross for our sins.
5. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die that it may produce fruit. And eternal life for the many comes through the sacrificial death of the one corn of wheat – i.e. the Lord Jesus Christ. He had to be "lifted up from the earth" (12:32,33).
6. The corn of wheat may be stored in the granary but it is useless there. In order to be a blessing, to reproduce itself, to bestow life, the corn of wheat must be put into the ground and die. And then, out of death life springs and much fruit results.
7. Think about this – like the corn of wheat in the granary, if our Lord had done nothing but live and teach and perform miracles, He would have "abideth alone." Jesus did not come to save us through His teachings or by His instruction.
8. We are saved today because He went to the cross and died for our sins – "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die…"
9. "But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit…" – think of all the millions of people down through the centuries who have been saved by the blood of Christ – this indeed is "much fruit."
10. Application: This same principle applies to every one. A person must disown the imperious authority of his own selfishness. He must abandon his self-centeredness and worldly conformity. He must die to self or else he "abideth alone." But if he dies to self and lives for God, he too will bring forth "much fruit" (12:24b).
11. There is a Biblical principle here: if you live for worldly pleasures, you will lose your life some day anyway, and will go straight to hell. Most people, even many Christians, think that the most important things in life are food, clothing, and worldly pleasures – this is basically what they are living for. They fail to recognize that the soul is more important than the body.
12. My friends, if you live for God ("hateth his life in this world" – 12:25), you will keep your life "unto life eternal" (12:25). And this eternal life comes through the death of that corn of wheat that fell into the ground and rose again (12:24).
13. Before continuing on, let me point out that to the Jews "hate" (12:25) was sometimes used in the sense of "love less" (cf. Luke 14:26,27). In other words, alongside our love for God, all other loves must look like hate.
14. Not only do we see Jesus in His death, but we also see Jesus in His resurrection.

II. WE SEE JESUS IN HIS RESURRECTION.

1. When the corn of wheat dies it reproduces itself in other corns of wheat. When I heard Bro. Art Wilson preach this text, he told of an incident in his life when he was a dinner guest at a farmer’s house out in Iowa. The farmer showed him a huge ear of corn that won first prize at the Iowa State Fair. It was the size of a baseball bat and had thousands of kernels.
2. So when the corn of wheat dies it reproduces itself in other corns of wheat. The life of the corn of wheat which passed through death is communicated. Even so, we, who have believed in Jesus, and have been saved by His blood, now possess His resurrection life, the life which passed through death (cf. 11:25,26; 14:6; Rev.1:18).
3. The devil hates the doctrine of the resurrection. That is why he is so busy deceiving people with false teachings such as reincarnation.
4. One wealthy countess in Germany, who lived about 100 years ago, was a well-known skeptic and before her death she gave orders that her grave should be covered with a heavy slab of granite. On top of that she wanted huge square blocks of stone, with the corners fastened to each other and to the granite slab by heavy iron clamps.
5. Upon the covering she had this inscription placed: THIS BURIAL PLACE, PURCHASED FOR ALL ETERNITY, MUST NEVER BE OPENED.
6. By and by a little seed from a nearby birch tree fell into the ground and sprouted. Soon the root found its way between the side stone and the upper slab and grew there. Slowly but surely it forced its way until the heavy iron clamps were torn asunder, and the granite lid was raised up and it is now resting upon the trunk of this huge birch tree, which is flourishing.
7. Beloved – "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal.6:7). And – "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:24).

III. WE SEE JESUS IN HIS SERVICE (12:26).

1. Are you in His service? Service = ministry. We are all called to serve in some capacity – therefore we are all in the ministry.
2. Let me stop at this point and make some thing clear – we are saved by grace, not by works. But after you are saved, God wants you to serve (12:26).
3. This is taught over and over in the Bible (cf. Matt.10:39; 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; 17:33). How little of this do we hear today!
4. In Mark 8:34-38, our Lord teaches self-denial, self-sacrifice, and surrender. And yet today, most churches are teaching self-esteem, and encouraging members to be satisfied with themselves.
5. The selfish man needs to die to self. Our churches are filled with pampered, selfish, self-centered church members. I know that it is "every man for himself" out in the world, but it should never be that way in church.
6. The selfish man needs to die to self or else he will "abide alone." Someone has said, "A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small parcel!"
7. Someone once asked George Muller how he was able to accomplish so much for God and he replied, "There came a day when George Muller died to self." Have you experienced that?

CONCLUSION:

1. The centrality of the cross is brought out here in this text (12:24).
2. Christ is glorified through the cross (12:23,28).
3. Christ judges the world through the cross (12:31a).
4. Christ defeats the devil through the cross (12:31b).
5. Christ is exalted through the cross (12:32).
6. Christ draws all men unto Himself through the cross (12:32).
7. Christ gives light through the cross (12:35,36,46; cf. Matt.27:45,46).
8. Christ saves lost sinners through the cross (12:47b). Are you saved?
9. D.L. Moody said: "Suppose there was a law that man should not steal, but no penalty was attached to stealing; some man would have my wallet before dinner. It is not the law that people are afraid of; it is the penalty attached. Do you suppose God has made a law without a penalty? What an absurd thing it would be! Now, `The soul that sinneth, it shall die’ I must die, or get somebody to die for me. If the Bible doesn’t teach that, it doesn’t teach anything. And that is where the atonement of Jesus Christ comes in."