What has to happen to a seed for it to reproduce?
A seed must be placed into the ground and buried in the soil before it can reproduce. If left in a granary or seed packet, it will never reproduce. Only after burial in soil, with sunshine and rain, does new life emerge and reproduction occur.
Les teaches that a seed must be put into the ground and waits for the sunshine and rain; unless it's put into the ground, it will never reproduce. You could leave it in the granary or in the seed packet, and it will never reproduce. But as soon as it's buried in the soil, new life happens. Jesus was referring to His coming death, burial, and resurrection. To these Greeks, these Gentiles, He could not be an object of faith until that had taken place. Now in our gospel, this becomes our salvation: Christ died in my place, I am identified with Him; as He was buried, you and I were buried. But we didn't stay in the earth or the grave; as He rose from the dead, we rose from the dead and have new life. Les also connects this to Romans chapter 8, where the body is dead because of sin, the old Adam, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
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.