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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - John 4:31 - 4:38
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The harvest in the kingdom of God:
v. 31. In the mean while His disciples prayed Him, saying, Master, eat.
v. 32. But He said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
v. 33. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought Him aught to eat?
v. 34. Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.
v. 35. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
v. 36. And he that reapeth receiveth wages and gathereth fruit unto life eternal, that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
v. 37. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
v. 38. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor; other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.
In the meantime, between the woman's leaving the well and the men's coming from the city, a little incident took place at the well which gave Jesus an opportunity to impart to His disciples some very necessary instruction. The disciples having brought food, they begged their Master to eat, and thus to renew His strength after the exertions of the morning. As true man, Jesus not only became tired and exhausted at times, but He ordinarily was obliged to partake of food to sustain His life. But here He had apparently forgotten all about His fatigue. He tells the disciples that He has food to eat of which they know nothing. The Lord made use of every possible chance to raise the minds of the apostles to heavenly things through the medium of earthly matters. But the disciples, with the usual carnal understanding which they exhibited, thought only of earthly food and of the possibility of someone's having brought Him something to eat in their absence. In this sense they discussed the matter among themselves. Jesus, therefore, explains to them wherein His food consists. That is food and drink, complete sustenance to Him, if He does the will of His Father that sent Him, and completes His work. Jesus is sustained by the feeling which He has concerning the world's need of salvation. It was the Father's, the entire Godhead's will from eternity that this salvation should be gained for fallen mankind, and Jesus wanted to carry out the work imposed upon Him by that counsel of the God-head. Jesus tries to make His meaning clear to His disciples by an illustration taken from facts before their eyes. Jesus had gone to Judea in April for the festival of the Passover. About nine months He had spent in the southern province. It was now about December, four months before the beginning of harvest. The disciples should pay much closer attention to the spiritual harvest. Lifting up their eyes, they could see the men of the city coming to seek Jesus. Here was a field white for harvest. The Samaritans were ready for the message of the Gospel unto their salvation, the harvest of their souls could soon be gathered in. They were the firstlings out of the great mass of the heathen. That they turned to Jesus was a sign that the great harvest among the heathen of the world was at hand. And this fact was of great importance to the disciples, who were supposed to be reapers in this great harvest of souls for the kingdom of God. He that gathers the harvest, by doing so gets his reward; and in the spiritual kingdom the reaper, the messenger of salvation, gathers fruit unto life eternal. In the great harvest festival, therefore, which will be held in heaven, both the sower and the reaper will rejoice together. See 1Co_3:6-8. In the case of the Samaritans, the disciples, as reapers, almost trod on the heels of the great Sower, Jesus. In general, it is a great truth that finds its application in the kingdom of Christ: One man has the joy of sowing, another that of reaping. Jesus Himself had done the work of a sower in Judea, and the disciples had had the joy of baptizing many that were convinced by the Word of the Master. It is a truth which always holds true in the preaching of the Gospel. One pastor sows the seed of the Word, the older generation of people work to bring the Gospel to others, and, as a rule, they see but little of the results. But in later years, after the preliminary work has achieved its object, the successors reap the results in wonderful measure.