εἰς ζωὴν αἰ. see on John 3:15-16. Eternal life is regarded as the granary into which the fruit is gathered; comp. John 4:14, and for similar imagery Matthew 9:37-38.

ἵνα. This is God’s purpose. Psalms 126:5-6 promises that the toil of sowing shall be rewarded with the joy of reaping; but in the Gospel the gracious work is so rapid that the sower shares in the joys of harvest. The contrast between His failure in Judaea and His success in Samaria fills Jesus with joy. Christ, not the Prophets, is the Sower. The Gospel is not the fruit of which the O.T. is the seed; rather the Gospel is the seed for which the O.T. prepared the ground. And His ministers are the reapers; in this case the Apostles.

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Old Testament