John 4:31-38

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Text 4:31-38

31

In the meanwhile the disciples prayed him, saying, Rabbi, eat.

32

But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not.

33

The disciples therefore said one to another, Hath any man brought him aught to eat?

34

Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to accomplish his work.

35

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white already unto harvest.

36

He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal; that he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

37

For herein is the saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

38

I sent you to reap that whereon ye have not labored: others have labored, and ye are entered into their labor.

Queries

a.

What lesson does Jesus teach the disciples in John 4:31-35?

b.

Who are he that reapeth and he that soweth?

c.

How may the disciples reap where they have not labored?

Paraphrase

In the meantime the disciples continued to beseech him, saying, Master, eat something! But He said to them, I have food to eat which you do not understand. The disciples therefore said among themselves, Has anyone brought Him something to eat? Jesus replied, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to completely fulfill His work. Will you not say that it is yet four months and the harvest comes? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and contemplate the fields, that they are white already for harvest. He that reaps receives and gathers fruit unto life eternal, in order that the one sowing and the one reaping may rejoice together. In this way the saying is true, One sows and another reaps. I have sent you to reap a harvest which your labor did not produce. Others have labored and you have entered in to reap the result of their labor.

Summary

Jesus teaches the disciples two lessons: (a) Doing the will of God is spiritual food more satisfying and sustaining than physical food; (b) It is not important whether a disciple be a reaper or a sower only that he be a laborer in the Lord's field. Both sower and reaper rejoice when the harvest is gathered.

Comment

Jesus sits in silent mediation watching the woman reach the city, and then watching the crowds begin to come. The disciples have set the meal in order. They are hungry and, knowing He must be also, they hesitantly interrupt His meditation, advising Him to eat.

The Master's reply (John 4:32) is beyond their perception. Jesus is so engrossed in the great opportunities and apparent victories in Samaria He has only the appetite for a food which the disciples do not comprehend. He is anxious for the crowds to arrive so that He may begin imparting living water to them also. His whole being is so immersed in His mission of saying souls He can think of nothing else.

The disciples either speak loudly enough (John 4:33) for Jesus to hear, or He reads their thoughts. Theirs is a natural reaction of Jesus-' statement (John 4:32), Perhaps they think the woman had left Him something to eat. But Jesus very deliberately explains to them what His food was.

In John 4:34 Jesus indicated how completely saturated He was in the will of the Father (cf. John 2:17). We have a saying today illustrative of this. We say, That person eats and sleeps his occupation. Doing the will of God was the very essence of Jesus-' being. He was sustained by it. The Word and will of God was the bread upon which He fed (cf. Matthew 4:4). Barclay points out two blessings in doing the will of God (a) peace, and (b) power. These blessings become obvious when one beholds the perfect peace and victorious power which Christ enjoyed. It is also obvious that He enjoyed these blessings because of His complete submission to, and harmony with, the will of the Father, We shall gain or lose these two blessings in proportion to our unreserved trust in His will (cf. Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42; John 5:30; John 6:38; John 8:29; Hebrews 10:7-9). The accomplishment of God's work means the fulfillment or completion of the Son's mission upon earth. Jesus, in His atoning death and justifying resurrection, completes and fulfills God's mission for Him (cf. John 17:4; John 19:28).

John 4:35 has been the subject of much discussion among Biblical scholars. Was this a proverbial saying quoted by Jesus, or was it actually yet four months until the harvest? Nearly all commentators agree that no such proverb has been found to exist. The best interpretation has Jesus implying a question to which He expects the disciples to answer, Yes. Jesus says to the disciples, You will probably say that in four months it will be time to harvest, won-'t you? But I am telling you to open your eyes to the spiritual fields which are ripe already for harvest.

Another question of interpreters concerning this verse is Where does the word already belong, to John 4:35 or 36? As R. C. H. Lenski points out, The contrast is between the attitudes of Christ and the disciples. You will say yet four months. but I say already. Thus, the word already rightfully belongs in John 4:35.

The spiritual impact of this verse (John 4:35) is apparent when we remember Jesus-' constant reminder to the disciples of the overabundance of harvest and pathetic lack of laborers. Near the end of His second year of ministry Jesus was moved with compassion for the multitudes because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd. There, as He traveled among the cities and villages of Galilee, He said to the disciples, The harvest indeed is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest (cf. Matthew 9:35-38). This is certainly one prayer the church needs to pray today, but one which is appallingly absent.

Jesus has been deep in thought concerning the opportunities soon to be available for harvesting souls. His next instruction (John 4:36) to the disciples is to combat jealously among them as co-laborers in the Lord's fields. They are about to reap a harvest here in Samaria where they had not sown. Others had even sown before Jesus, i.e., the prophets and John the Baptist. In this verse, the emphasis is upon the mutual sharing of the reward by both sower and reaper.

The one reaping receives a reward. What is this reward? The rewards of the spiritual laborer are the souls harvested. Paul's crown and glory were to consist of his converts at the Lord's coming (cf. Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20). But even Paul reaped at times where others had sown. And, vice-versa, he sowed where others later reaped. In the spiritual realm, both sower and reaper rejoice together at the harvest, for both shared in it. This was John the Baptist's understanding also when he spoke of rejoicing that the Bridegroom had come (cf. John 3:29-30). This was the principle Paul announced in his letter to Corinth, Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6-9).

The saying of John 4:37 is interpreted in a number of ways. John 4:36-38 must all be taken into account in interpreting this saying. The burden of the Lord's teaching is to instruct the reaper not to exalt himself as the one solely responsible for the harvest of souls. There have been sowers doing their work in advance of the reaper. They are equally responsible for the harvest, and they shall be equally rewarded. So in the spiritual sphere it is true: one sows and another reaps where he has not sown, but both rejoice together at the harvest.

What does Jesus mean by the past tense (John 4:38), I sent you to reap. ? There are two possible answers: (a) Jesus was using prophetic past tenses, i.e., the disciples would soon reap this Samaritan harvest where they had not sown, but Jesus speaks now of their reaping as already past; or (b) He speaks only of their previous reaping when they made and baptized more disciples than John (John 4:1-2). They had not sown this earlier harvest of John 4:1-2 either, but others, such as the Baptist, had sown, and they reaped.

The first interpretation seems to fit this context better. Jesus had just exhorted His disciples (John 4:35) to get a vision of the field which was even at that moment ripe unto harvests. Is not this a form of commissioning, a sending forth? Certainly, the disciples had not labored in these fields, for they had gone away to buy food. But now, as the multitudes approach, and, in the two days to follow, the disciples would act as reapers. Jesus and the woman were the sowers, and the disciples would enter into their labor, There would be others following these first disciples to reap these same fields (Acts 8:5-7; Acts 8:14 ff). The disciples reaped, but they also sowed seed which those who followed them would reap.

It is true in our day also. The Sunday school teacher sows, and the minister reaps, or the minister sows and the revival evangelist reaps but both should continually rejoice together in view of the harvest. In the last day, when the. accounts are rendered, it will not be a question of how many talents one possessedbut what he accomplished with the talents he did possess, There will be no asking by Christ whether we were sowers or reapers only whether we labored or not!

Quiz

1.

What was the food which Jesus had to eat?

2.

Name two blessings derived from doing the will of God.

3.

What contrast does Jesus make by His question concerning the harvest (John 4:35)?

4.

Matthew __________ also speaks of harvest and laborers.

5.

What is the emphasis of John 4:36?

6.

How should the past tense I sent (John 4:38) be interpreted?

7.

How is this passage of Scripture (John 4:31-38) applicable to Christians today?