Challenge of a Harvest

30 – Challenge of a Harvest, John 4:27-38

John 4:27 At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?” 28 So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and *said to the men, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not [a]the Christ, is it?” 30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” 34 Jesus *said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. 36 Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

Footnotes

1. John 4:29 e. the Messiah

Commentary

During this passage, we are still at the scene of the well in Samaria, where Jesus has been speaking with the Samaritan woman. Since the last post was a little long, I thought I would take a moment here to further expand upon the site of Jacob’s Well. Scholars believe that the NT town Sychar is the OT Shechem, which Jacob had purchased in Canaanite territory. “Today [the well] is [about] seventy-five feet deep, but it has probably been filled with much debris over the years since it was dug. There are hardly any sites that have less doubt as to their authenticity than the site of Jacob’s Well. All traditions agree on this as being the scene described in John 4, and with this the Biblical details fit perfectly. Through the centuries, churches have been built over the well, as various medieval pilgrims have recorded. Today the well is in a cave, or crypt, under the floor of a Greek Orthodox church, that has never been finished above the exterior walls” (The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol 3 pg. 388).

As the disciples return to the well, where they had left Jesus when they went into town, they are surprised to see Him talking to someone. Because of all the cultural divides we discussed in the last study, I almost missed the reason the disciples were shocked in verse 27. They were amazed He had been speaking with a woman. As I was researching this passage, I learned it was considered “disreputable and beneath his dignity for a rabbi to speak to a woman in public” (Word in Life Study Bible pg. 1868). While they may have been surprised to see Him conversing with a Samaritan, that wonder paled in comparison with their astonishment over seeing Him talk to a woman in public. This counter-cultural respect and inclusiveness of women and societal outcasts played a major role in the success of Jesus’ ministry, facilitating His ability to reach people quickly and personally.

In the next verse, we find the woman going specifically to the men of her town, to tell them about Jesus. This may be a peek into a clannish Samaritan culture, where women lacked the authority to make substantive decisions, even for themselves, as evidenced by her question to the men, “this is not the Christ, is it?” Even though Jesus had already told her He was the Messiah, and she appears to have believed it (otherwise, she probably would not have left her precious water pot, unless she trusted Him and had plans to return), she doesn’t run to the men claiming to have met the Messiah. She has to give them evidence and let them make the decision about who He is (The Word in Life Study Bible pg. 1870).

While the Samaritan men are approaching, the disciples urgently implore Jesus to eat while He still has time. Jesus, looking forward to teaching the approaching crowd, declines the food and says to them that His hunger is sated by doing the will of the Father and completing His work. While Jesus is reaping what the Father sowed, He encourages the disciples to look up and see the approaching crowd as a field white for harvest, the seeds of which have been sown by Christ before them (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1305).

The metaphor of a harvest does not merely convey the chore of gathering a crop; in the agrarian society of the day, to harvest was to eat, not only immediately, but throughout the year until the next harvest. “The Joy in harvest was a highlight of the year (Isa 9:3)” (The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol 3 pg. 36). The disciples were to see this as a joyful time in doing work that would sustain them through the challenges of ministry and into their eternal life in the presence of God. As with the Samaritan woman, Jesus creates a metaphor of something truly necessary to human life, such as water or food, and impresses upon His audience that spiritual matters are of even higher importance.

Scripture References

Verse 27

Matthew 8:10 When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

John 4:8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

Verse 29

Matthew 12:23 The crowds were astounded and asked, “Could this be the Son of David?”

John 4:17 “I have no husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said to her, “You are correct to say that you have no husband.

John 4:39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”

John 7:26 Yet here He is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying anything to Him. Have the rulers truly recognized that this is the Christ?

John 7:31 Many in the crowd, however, believed in Him and said, “When the Christ comes, will He perform more signs than this man?”

Verse 30

John 4:39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”

Verse 31

Matthew 23:7 the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.

Matthew 23:8 But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.

Matthew 26:25 Then Judas, who would betray Him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said it yourself.”

Matthew 26:49 Going directly to Jesus, he said, “Greetings, Rabbi,” and kissed Him.

Mark 9:5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Mark 11:21 Peter remembered it and said, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree You cursed has withered.”

Mark 14:45 Going directly to Jesus, he said, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

John 1:38 Jesus turned and saw them following. “What do you want?” He asked. They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?”

John 1:49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

John 3:2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.”

John 3:26 So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about–He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.”

John 6:25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”

John 9:2 and His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

John 11:8 “Rabbi,” they replied, “the Jews just tried to stone You, and You are going back there?”

Verse 33

Luke 6:13 When daylight came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated as apostles:

John 1:40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s testimony and followed Jesus.

John 2:2 and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

Verse 34

Psalm 40:8 I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”

Matthew 3:15 “Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him.

Luke 2:49 “Why were you looking for Me?” He asked. “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

John 5:30 I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

John 5:36 But I have testimony more substantial than that of John. For the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish–the very works I am doing–testify about Me that the Father has sent Me.

John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.

John 8:29 He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him.”

John 17:4 I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.

John 19:28 After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.

Verse 35

Isaiah 49:18 Lift up your eyes and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As surely as I live, declares the LORD, you will wear them all as jewelry and put them on like a bride.

Matthew 9:37 Then He said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Matthew 9:38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.”

Luke 10:2 And He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.

Verse 36

Proverbs 11:18 The wicked man earns an empty wage, but he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward.

Matthew 19:29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

John 4:14 But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”

John 5:24 Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.

Romans 1:13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you (but have been prevented from visiting until now), in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

Romans 2:7 To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 9:17 If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility.

1 Corinthians 9:18 What then is my reward? That in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not use up my rights in preaching it.

Verse 37

Job 31:8 then may another eat what I have sown, and my crops be uprooted.

Micah 6:15 You will sow but not reap; you will press olives but not anoint yourselves with oil; you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.

John 14:12 Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Verse 38

John 4:39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”

John 17:18 As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world.

2 Corinthians 10:15 Neither do we boast beyond our limits in the labors of others. But we hope that, as your faith increases, our area of influence among you will greatly increase as well,

Commentary

Isa 9:3 You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; they will be glad in Your presence as with the gladness of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.