Albert Barnes Commentary John 12:24

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit." — John 12:24 (ASV)

Verily, verily. This is an expression denoting the great importance of what He was about to say. We must admire the wisdom by which He introduces the subject of His death. They had seen His triumph. They supposed that He was about to establish His kingdom. He told them that the time had come in which He was to be glorified, but not in the manner they expected.

It was to be by His death. But as they would not at once see how this could be, as it would appear to dash their hopes, He takes the opportunity to illustrate it with a beautiful comparison. All the beauty and richness of the harvest results from the fact that the grain had died. If it had not died, it would never have germinated or produced the glory of the yellow harvest. So it was with Him. By this, He still keeps before them the truth that He was to be glorified, but He delicately and beautifully introduces the idea that He must die.

A corn. A grain.

Of wheat. Any kind of grain—wheat, barley, and so on. The word includes all grain of this kind.

Into the ground. To be buried in the earth, so as to be accessible to the proper moisture.

And die. The whole body or substance of the grain, except the germ, dies in the earth or is decomposed. This decomposed substance constitutes the first nourishment of the tender germ—a nutriment wonderfully adapted to it, and fitted to nourish it until it becomes vigorous enough to derive its support entirely from the ground.

In this, God has shown His wisdom and goodness. Nothing could be more evidently fitted for another than this provision made in the grain itself for the future needs of the tender germ.

Abideth alone. This means it produces no fruit. It remains without producing the rich and beautiful harvest. So Jesus suggests that it was only by His death that He would be glorified in the salvation of men, and in the honours and rewards of heaven.

This is shown in Hebrews 2:9: We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour. Also in Philippians 2:8-9: He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; wherefore God also hath highly exalted him. And in Hebrews 12:2: Who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. .