The Ultimate Renaissance Man.
What does the word renaissance really mean? Renaissance is a change for the better that produces progress and development; It’s a broad knowledge of the world at large.
We know Leonardo da Vinci as the Renaissance man. His intellectual skill led to advances across multiple fields of study and the arts.
However, Leonardo journaled, “of these miserable days of ours” and lamented that we die without leaving behind any memory of ourselves in the mind of men.
Several other Renaissance.
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) - Greek philosopher, physician, poet, playwright, politician, and biologist
Archimedes (287-212 B.C.) - Greek mathematician, engineer, inventor, astronomer, and physicist.
A few modern day Renaissance men.
Quincy Jones - American songwriter, record producer, composer, music arranger, and television producer
Steve Jobs - American businessman, technician, investor, and designer
Elon Musk - South African-Canadian businessman, computer programmer, engineer, physicist, and entrepreneur.
The opposite from renaissance, Deterioration, Decline, Decay Evaluation, Failure, Destruction, Worsening, Downgrade, Descent.
Some Renaissance Synonyms, Revival, Restoration, Renewal, Resurgence, Return, Rebirth.
Sounds a lot like Jesus. -Jesus is the ultimate renaissance man!
*In John 12, Six days before Passover; Six days until the crucifixion of Jesus, in John 12, Jesus is anointed at Bethany with costly oil.
Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, anointed Jesus's feet as a symbol of His impending death and burial.
After Mary anointed Jesus’ feet, farther into John 12, there is a plot to kill Lazarus. Once dead, but now Lazarus is resurrected (thanks to Jesus), so now Lazarus is alive, but now someone wants to murder him. Lol!
And then you’ll read of Jesus’ triumphant entry-
into Jerusalem. -The Hosannas, the praise, the
Parade, the Lies, and the mock trail.
And now we read in, John 12:20-21TPT “Now there were a number of foreigners from among the nations who were worshipers at the feast. 21 They went to Philip (who came from the village of Bethsaida in Galilee) and they asked him, “Would you take us to see Jesus? We want to see him.””
*However, Jesus knows their heart, so Jesus states this from today’s text,
John 12:24-25NKJV “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. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
Did you know that a grain of wild wheat has everything required for plant propagation - even tools for drilling into the soil? It uses its two awns for this: In the dry daytime air, these bristles bend outwards. At night, dampened by the dew, they straighten. Over several days, this movement, similar to the swimming strokes of a frog, pushes the grain into the soil. (This discovery was made by scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces).
Many meanings from this parable:
This single grain of wheat reminds us that our small actions can have significant impacts.
The single grain of wheat represents our hopes, dreams, and aspirations.
The grain of wheat begs us to remember that success often requires sacrifice and persistence.
This single grain of wheat speaks that sometimes we must make sacrifices in the short term to achieve success in the long term.
With a single grain of wheat, let us be mindful of the small actions we take each day, knowing that they can bring about great things in our lives and the world around us.
A man plants a single grain of wheat in the ground. His efforts are rewarded when the grain begins to grow and eventually produces a bountiful harvest.
The wheat seed parable is a powerful metaphor that illustrates the life changing power of death and rebirth in our lives.
2 Corinthians 5:17NIV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
This wheat seed teaches us that, like a seed that must be buried in the ground before it can bear fruit, we, too, must let go of our old selves and embrace a new way of being to grow in our faith and become the people we were meant to be.
Again, in John 12, Verse 24 Jesus is speaking about his own death, but then he expands it to include us all.
John 12:25TPT ““The person who loves his life and pampers himself will miss true life! But the one who detaches his life from this world and abandons himself to Me, will find true life and enjoy it forever!”
Again, Leonardo Da Vinci, “While I thought I was learning how to live, I was learning how to die.”
-He was closer to the truth than he may have realized.
