{Except} (ean m(885c)). Negative condition of third class
(undetermined, supposable case) with second aorist active
participle pes(936e) (from pipt(935c), to fall) and the second aorist
active subjunctive of apothn(8873)k(935c), to die. {A grain of wheat}
(ho kokkos tou sitou). Rather, "the grain of wheat." {By itself
alone} (autos monos). Both predicate nominatives after menei.
It is not necessary to think (nor likely) that Jesus has in mind
the Eleusinian mysteries which became a symbol of the mystery of
spring. Paul in  1Co 15:36  uses the same illustration of the
resurrection that Jesus does here. Jesus shows here the paradox
that life comes through death. Whether the Greeks heard him or
not we do not know. If so, they heard something not in Greek
philosophy, the Christian ideal of sacrifice, "and this was
foreign to the philosophy of Greece" (Bernard). Jesus had already
spoken of himself as the bread of life ( 6:35-65 ). {But if it
die} (ean de apothan(8869)). Parallel condition of the third class.
Grains of wheat have been found in Egyptian tombs three or four
thousand years old, but they are now dead. They bore no fruit.