If a Man Die Shall He Live Again? 
 

John 12:24 – Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.   
 

The Apostle Paul said that he made himself all things to all men that he might save some.  He tried to find common ground between himself and those he spoke to.  This is also true of Jesus.  When Jesus spoke to fishermen he would use fishing parables, when he spoke to the farmers he would use a story or illustration on farming to convey his message to them in a more effective way.   
 

Here in John chapter 12 the Bible tells us that there were some men who came looking for Jesus.  Maybe some of these men or others in the area were farmers and agriculturists because Jesus began to use this illustration of the corn or grain of wheat.  He was basically saying that if a corn of wheat does not fall into the ground and die it will be useless.   The corn of wheat would have to fall into the ground and then die in order to bring forth more of its kind.  It is there in the ground when that grain of wheat dies and breaks open and begins to germinate and eventually bring forth as Jesus said “much fruit.”  
 

Jesus then took this illustration that these men were able to understand and applied it to the lives of men and women.  We too need to die.  We need to die to sin, we need to die to the world and we need to die to ourselves.  As we mortify or put to death the deeds of the old man we then begin to take on a new nature.  “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  We cannot become new on our own and then decide later on to die to sin and to the world.  We have to come to Jesus first, and realize that we are dead in our trespasses and sins and then allow Him to raise us up in newness of life.  
 

One thing that has always stood out to me regarding this portion of scripture is that Jesus didn’t ask us to do something that he was not willing to do himself.  The book of Ephesians says “Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?”  Jesus was that grain of wheat that fell to the ground and died by laying down his life at Calvary, he was put to death and went to hell paying the price that was required to redeem mankind.  But by dying and going to hell it gave him the opportunity to rise again and bring forth much fruit.  Therefore all of mankind, those who would accept Jesus and the work that he did can die to themselves and sin and become a new creature in Christ. 

If a man die shall he live again?  Through the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, yes he can!