Readings for Palm Sunday

Zechariah 9:9-12

Philippians 2:5-11

John 12:20-43

Passage for Meditation:

John 12:24   I tell you the truth, 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.

Devotion:

It’s basic gardening.  A seed needs to planted in the dirt and be buried before it can grow and produce stalk, leaves, flower and fruit.  One seed planted can grow into a bush, tree or vine that produces much fruit containing hundreds, even thousands of seeds.

Jesus use of a basic gardening metaphor for his death demonstrates His acute awareness of what His death (and resurrection) will accomplish.  He will suffer, die and be buried in the ground like a single seed.  But he will rise from the ground, like a mighty vine and  produce much fruit.  His suffering, death and resurrection are for the purpose of grafting us into Himself, providing us with forgiveness, life and salvation.

Christ Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. If we remain in Him and He in us, we will bear much fruit (John 15:5).  We will bear the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22,23) by which the seeds of the Gospel message are borne to those around us because we are connected to Christ the life giving vine.  If we have been grafted into Christ, we have been grafted into His death and His resurrection so that He might produce in us fruit and seed that this world needs!