If it dies it bears much fruit.

John 12:20-50 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible (link on links page)

Greeks Seek Jesus

²⁰ Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; ²¹ these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²² Philip *came and *told Andrew; Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus. ²³ And Jesus *answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ 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. ²⁵ He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. ²⁶ If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

Jesus Foretells His Death

²⁷ “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.” ³⁰ Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. ³¹ Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. ³² And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” ³³ But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. ³⁴ The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” ³⁵ So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. ³⁶ While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.”

These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them. ³⁷ But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. ³⁸ This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” ³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, ⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.” ⁴¹ These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him. ⁴² Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; ⁴³ for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.

⁴⁴ And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. ⁴⁵ He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. ⁴⁶ I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸ He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. ⁴⁹ For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”

Jesus makes a profound statement regarding His own death, which has been a great source of comfort and assurance to me in the deaths of loved ones. He says: 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.    Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 says: There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—² A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.     We come to know that death is a part of life which we all face. Both the loss of loved ones and our own death is something we all must face. The encouragement I see in Jesus words is this. When a loved one dies it is normal and natural that we will mourn our loss. Jesus says: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.(Matthew 5:4)
This is not merely a comforting line in a sympathy card. It is a promise from the God of all creation, who created us in His image. He knows we will mourn and He promises comfort. What I have found is that one of the best ways to find comfort in mourning is to apply the truth Jesus speaks in John 12:24. We have a choice to make when a loved one has passed. Their life will bear fruit. Our choice is to determine whether we will allow fruit of bitterness, anger, disappointment, heartache and doubt grow up in our lives through their death. Or, to choose to  celebrate their life, remembering all the good they did, the great example they were, the love and joy they brought. When we celebrate their life, we choose to harvest good fruit allowing the good things we love to grow on.

Jesus encourages us also to live our own lives with that truth in mind. He says: He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. ²⁶ If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.  We should live our lives focussing on the eternal fruit we can grow through the seed of our life.    Jesus says:  “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. ²⁵ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26) Taking up our cross, dying to self daily is how we sow seeds of good fruit from our own lives. Fruit that others can harvest long after we have gone from this earthly realm. The daily living with our hearts set on the etrenal things of the kingdom of God as opposed to the carnal things of this world is what will yield a harvest 30,60 and 100 fold, both now and for eternity.  

In verses 27-36 Jesus continues to speak of His coming death and what it will mean to the world. He says:  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” The text says that Jesus said this to indicate the way He would die, lifted up on the cross. It is not however the cross and His death that Jesus wants the world, all men to remain focused on. The cross and Jesus death was not the end of His purpose for coming. He lived and died to sow seeds in eternity. Jesus wants to draw all men to life in Him.

He says: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. (Matthew 11:25-26) 

Jesus is the living water. "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)

He says:  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.(John 14:6)

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.(John 10:10)

Jesus draws all men not to the cross but through the cross. He draws all men to life. Through the power of the resurrection, Jesus draws all men to life, both eternal life in heaven and also abundant life here and now.

We are called to live an abundant life. Jesus came so that we could have all the benefits of the kingdom of heaven here on earth. The abundant life we are to live is a life full of the power and promises of God. It is also a life lived to the sowing of seed for an abundant yield of fruit, from our own lives, to be harvested both here and in eternity.

 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.     Amen.