Harvest time John 4: 27-42 (Bible)

10 February 2022

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

²⁷Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” ²⁸Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” ³⁰They came out of the town and made their way toward him. ³¹Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” ³²But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” ³³Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” ³⁴“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. ³⁵Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. ³⁶Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. ³⁷Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. ³⁸I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

Many Samaritans Believe

³⁹Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” ⁴⁰So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. ⁴¹And because of his words many more became believers. ⁴²They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” (John 4: 27-42)

To rescue the Samaritan woman, Jesus broke the national barrier and went to Samaria. Jesus said the climax of the conversation with her . “I, the one speaking to you—I am he (Messiah) ” (John 4:26) . Jesus made the Messianic Declaration. The Samaritan woman was shown her sins, her eyes were opened, and she met Jesus Christ. After this, we can see amazing changes. She left a water jar (verse 28). She would have completely forgotten about her water jar, as she became a fountain inside her and the water for eternal life sprang up.

She used to hide away from the public eye, but now she goes out and tells other people about Jesus Christ she discovered (verse 29). The Samaritan woman says “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 　

Christian life can be said to have two stages: discovery and communication. We will discover it first. Experience, healing, recovery. And then tell others what we have discovered and experienced. People would have been surprised at her change. They were curious about what changed her. And many came to Jesus (verse 30).

“Christ and the Samaritan Woman” / Annibale Carracci / Italian Painter / 1593-94

Now, when the disciples returned from shopping (verse 31), Jesus said. “I have food that you do not know” (verse 32). They wonder if someone brought something to eat when they were out (verse 33).

The disciples were said to be “food you didn’t know,” and could only think of real food. So did the Samaritan woman. When Jesus called her “living water,” She could only think of real water, and she couldn’t understand the spiritual understanding of “water for eternal life.” Even the disciples could not realize that Jesus was “the bread of life.”

Jesus said “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. ” (verse 34) There may still be delicious and wonderful food (verse 32) that we do not know. Let us seek to eat more spiritual bread through the work of the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, through knowing Jesus more deeply.

Jesus sowed the seeds of the gospel (the Word of God) in the heart of the Samaritan woman and was able to harvest it immediately. He collected the fruits that can be put into eternal life (verse 36). In agriculture, seeds cannot be sown and harvested immediately. It takes 4 months. But the seed of God’s Word is not. Sometimes it can be harvested quickly.

Generally, the sower also reaps. Or people who work on the same farm. However, the gospel is often not the case. The saying, ” One sows the seed and the other reaps, ” is true (verse 37), Jesus said. Jesus sowing seeds in Samaria later made it easier for his disciples to preach the evangelization in Samaria, which also allowed them to reap (verse 38).

Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, who had a great harvest of souls on the African continent, said. ” Mr. David Livingston, who worked 100 years before ourselves, had a lot of hard work for the gospel but had little harvest, but we are now reaping the seeds he sowed. ” Each of us has a role to play. It is not just the achievement of the person who led to salvation.

David Livingstone (1813-1873) / Scotland / Missionaries, explorers, doctors

Many were certainly saved at the meeting of Evangelist Billy Graham, but before that, the gospel seeds were sown in the local church and the intercessory prayers were offered, leading to the harvest. Of course, Billy Graham’s message is great, but it’s not the only one. It can be said that evangelism is a joint work. Everyone can work together. The towns people of Samaria believed in Jesus by her evangelism (verse 39).

Jesus forgave the past sins of the Samaritan woman and gave her a new future. Jesus is the Savior who gives us the forgiveness of sins and gives us eternal life. Many people in Samaria were able to believe in Jesus. Really wonderful things have happened. This was the result of Jesus saying, “I must go to Samaria,” and decided to go to Samaria, speak to the Samaritan woman, and preach her gospel. The Samaritan people heard good news from the Samaritan woman, but also directly from Jesus (verse 40-42).

Just as Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman, he speaks to each of us. I’m sure we’ll get caught up in the pain and be pointed out for our sins. But if we open our hearts and talk to Jesus, we can meet Jesus and receive forgiveness and salvation of our sins. The thirst is filled through Jesus Christ. Like the Samaritan woman, let us tell others about Jesus. Let us not only be satisfied with ourselves, but also let this blessing flow to others.

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

Many Samaritans Believe

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