Jeff Miller,
Ph.D.

Alleged Discrepancies

Q:

Did Jesus contradict the Law of Biogenesis in John 12:24?

A:

In John 12:24, Jesus said concerning His approaching death, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain” (emp. added). The Law of Biogenesis says that in nature, life comes only from life of its own kind (Miller, 2012). Life cannot spontaneously generate or create itself. So, how could a grain which “dies,” subsequently produce living things? Does this phenomenon contradict the Law of Biogenesis? Did Jesus make a mistake? Was He ignorant of the scientific principle we call the Law of Biogenesis?

First, scientists understand today that a seed is typically not considered lifeless for some time, but rather, is dormant, and therefore, still able to produce life. Seeds are alive when they produce other life, in keeping with the Law of Biogenesis. Seeds can remain dormant for centuries and still produce life (cf. Quick, 1961, pp. 94-99). For instance, a seed from Masada in Israel that was radiocarbon-dated to the time of Christ was recently germinated and studied for over two years as it grew (Sallon, et al., 2008). A seed’s ability to produce life does not contradict the Law of Biogenesis. But does that mean that Jesus was wrong in saying that a grain “dies”?

The answer is seen in understanding that the words “life” and “death” can mean different things, depending on the context in which they are used. This is especially true in the Bible. “Death” in the Bible simply means a separation of some sort (Butt, 2006). Spiritual death occurs when we commit sin, which separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 6:23). One’s faith is dead when it is not coupled with works of obedience (James 2:26). Physical death occurs when the spirit is separated from the physical body (James 2:26). Plants were not created in the image of God, like humans (Genesis 1:26), and were not endowed with a spirit, although sadly, many confused individuals in the world would likely disagree (cf. Miller, 2008). So, Jesus is not talking about death in the same way humans die.

But what “separation” has occurred in the case of the grain Jesus mentioned? The text helps to illuminate its own meaning. When a grain “falls to the ground,” it dies. Falls from where? Obviously, it falls from its stalk. So, when it falls, being separated from its stalk, it is no longer receiving nourishment from it, and has undergone a form of death. It is no longer growing and being nurtured by its stalk, but rather, begins to slowly decay. This is not in contradiction to the Law of Biogenesis, which indicates that life cannot come from lifeless matter in nature. A seed is typically not considered “lifeless” for centuries or longer. The renowned Greek lexicographers, Arndt, Gingrich, and Danker, help to illuminate the distinction between lifeless death and the death implied by mere separation, explaining that the meaning of apothnasko (i.e., the Greek word translated “dies” in John 12:24), when speaking of plants and animals, is not necessarily “death” as we typically use the word when referring to lifeless death. They note that in John 12:24, the word technically means “decay” (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:36), but contextually, is meant to imply the idea of “death” in Jesus’ illustration, which is why the translators used “died” (Arndt, Gingrich, and Danker, 1979, p. 91).

Armed with this information, Jesus’ meaning in the passage is clear, and alleged error cannot be sustained against Jesus or the Bible. A grain of wheat must die, i.e., be separated from its stalk and nourishment and fall to the ground, decaying, in order to produce more wheat. Similarly, Jesus had to die, i.e., His soul had to be separate from His physical body in order to bear fruit in the form of disciples—followers washed in the blood that He shed for us. Rest assured, the Bible does not contradict the laws of science. After all, God, Himself, authored them (Job 38:33).

If it is true that Jesus paid for all of our sins on the cross, then why do we still have physical death? Doesn't Rom. 6:23 say that "the wages of sin is death"? And, isn't physical death the payment for sin? So, if Jesus paid for our sins, why do we still die physically?

When we look at the entirety of Rom. 6:23 we find that it says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." We have to ask, what is the death that is spoken of here? Is it physical death or spiritual death? We often think of death as only a physical thing, but God refers to death as spiritual separation from him. Let's take a look at the first mention of death in the Bible, which is a statement made by God himself.

> Gen. 2:17, "but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die."

We know that when Adam ate the forbidden fruit that he did not physically die on that day. In fact, he lived for hundreds of years afterward. So, what death was it that God was referring to? It was spiritual death, separation from God. As physical death is the separation between body and soul, spiritual death is the separation between God and man.

Furthermore, Rom. 6:23 contrasts death and eternal life. Again, it says, "the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life." Notice there is juxtaposition, a contrasting of two things: death and life. In this case, it is death contrasted with eternal life. So, what is the opposite of eternal life? It is obviously spiritual death. It makes sense to say that death is spoken of in Rom. 6:23 is not physical, but spiritual.

This contrasting pattern appears in other scriptures written by Paul.

• Rom. 5:21, "that, as sin reigned in death, even so, grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
• Rom. 8:13, "for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live."
• Rom. 6:16, "Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?"
• 2 Tim. 1:10, "but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."

As you can see, death and life are contrasted, and in each case, it is a contrast between spiritual death and spiritual life. This is how Paul often wrote.

Jesus' death was a payment for sin

Our physical death is the consequence of our sin, not the payment for it. It was Jesus' death on the cross that was the payment for our sin. Unfortunately for us, the effects of our sin continue even after we have been forgiven. If the effects of sin were to stop in forgiveness, then we should also not have any sickness, plagues, deformities, death of animals, etc. All of these things, which are the consequences of sin, should likewise disappear. But, they have not yet been fully abolished in this present age, though Jesus' sacrifice bought us spiritual life with God and guarantees our future bodily resurrection. He purchased us from the death that is separation from God due to our sin (Is. 59:2). He bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24) so that we could be justified by faith (Rom. 5:1). The result is having eternal life with Him (Rom. 6:23; John 3:16; 10:27-28).

Conclusion

We still experience physical death temporarily as a consequence of the Fall. Because even though our sins are forgiven, death's effects continue until the final resurrection. Furthermore, while Jesus ultimately saves us from permanent physical death through the future bodily resurrection, His sacrifice immediately saves us from spiritual death—eternal separation from God.