Jesus, the Wheat Kernel

Jesus is known to refer to himself under a number metaphors that usually pertain to something in the history of Israel or to its system of laws. Leviticus 23 lists the festivals and among them are the Feast of Firstfruits and the Feast of Weeks, known as Pentecost. Both of these festivals concern the firstfruits of a harvest. The first one relates to the barley harvest but the second one relates to the wheat harvest. Jesus in John 12 says that he is the kernel of wheat that falls into the ground and sprouts as a new plant bearing much fruit. His death by crucifixion, burial, and resurrection on the third day was prefigured by the wheat harvest of the Feast of Completion. It is for this purpose he came into the world.