John 4:37

And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. AND HEREIN IS THAT SAYING TRUE, ONE SOWETH, AND ANOTHER REAPETH. As our Lord could not mean that the reaper only, and not the sewer, received "wages," in the sense of personal reward for his work, the "wages" here can be no other than the joy of having such a harvest to gather in-the joy of "gathering fruit unto life eternal." The blessed issue of the whole ingathering is the interest alike of the sower and of the reaper; it is no more the fruit of the last operation than of the first; and just as there can be no reaping without previous sowing, so have those servants of Christ, to whom is assigned the pleasant task of merely reaping the spiritual harvest, no work to do, and no joy to taste, that has not been prepared to their hand by the toilsome and often thankless work of their predecessors in the field. The joy, ther...

37._For in this is the saying true. _This was a common proverb, by which he showed that many men frequently receive the fruit of the labor of others, though there was this difference, that he who has _labored _is displeased at seeing the fruit carried away by another, whereas the Apostles have the Prophets for the companions of their joy. And yet it cannot be inferred from this, that the Prophets themselves are witnesses, or are aware, of what is now going on in the Church; for Christ means nothing more than that the Prophets, so long as they lived, taught under the influence of such feelings, that they already rejoiced on account of the fruit which they were not permitted to gather. The comparison which Peter employs (1 Peter 1:12) is not unlike; except that he addresses his exhortation generally to all believers, but Christ here speaks to the disciples alone, and, in their per

27-42 The disciples wondered that Christ talked thus with a Samaritan. Yet they knew it was for some good reason, and for some good end. Thus when particular difficulties occur in the word and providence of God, it is good to satisfy ourselves that all is well that Jesus Christ says and does. Two things affected the woman. The extent of his knowledge. Christ knows all the thoughts, words, and actions, of all the children of men. And the power of his word. He told her secret sins with power. She fastened upon that part of Christ's discourse, many would think she would have been most shy of repeating; but the knowledge of Christ, into which we are led by conviction of sin, is most likely to be sound and saving. They came to him: those who would know Christ, must meet him where he records his name. Our Master has left us an example, that we may learn to do the will of God as he did; with d...

Verse 37. _HEREIN IS THAT SAYING TRUE, ONE SOWETH, AND ANOTHER_ _REAPETH._] Or, _One is the sower, and another is the reaper_. In what respects _you_, of this business, this proverb is true-_One is the_ _sower_, c., for I have sent you to reap, to preach my Gospel, and gain converts, where ye have not laboured-have not sown the first seeds of eternal life. Others have laboured-the _patriarchs_ and _prophets_, and ye are entered into the fruits of their labours. They announced the Messiah who was to come, and the expectation of the people was excited, and they longed for his appearance but they were gathered to their fathers before they could see the fruit of their labour. You are come to tell the people that the kingdom of God is among them, and that God has visited his people. The proverb which our Lord mentions above was taken from what ordinarily happens in the course of the Divine...

THAT SAYING - That proverb. This proverb is found in some of the Greek writers (Grotius). Similar proverbs were in use among the Jews. See Isaiah 65:21; Leviticus 26:16; Micah 6:15. ONE SOWETH ... - One man may preach the gospel, and with little apparent effect; another, succeeding him, may be crowned with eminent success. The seed, long buried, may spring up in an abundant harvest....

EXPOSITION JOHN 4:1 7. _The ministry and revelation of the Lord to those beyond the strict compass of the theocracy. _This passage describes an incident of consummate interest, and records a specimen of our Lord's intercourse with individuals, and the reaction of that instruction upon the disciples. The event is a solitary chink through which the light of historical fact falls upon an otherwise darkened and unknown period of the Saviour's life. When we skirt a forest we see at intervals, where by some accident of growth the light falls upon a narrow space, a miniature world of life and loveliness of every kind, suggesting what might happen if every square yard of the forest could receive a similar illumination. Every day of that wondrous life of Christ may have been equally full of meaning to some souls. "These things are written, that

AND HEREIN IS THAT SAYING TRUE,.... This verifies that proverbial expression so much in use, and which may be applied to different persons and cases: ONE SOWETH, AND ANOTHER REAPETH; the prophets sowed, and the apostles reaped....

John 4:1. _When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples), He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee._ Our Saviour was not a man of strife; he was quite ready to contend with the Pharisees on fit occasions, but just then he avoided an encounter with them. Besides, one woman of Samaria, whom he was going to save, was worth more to him than ten thousand Pharisees who would not be saved by him. Most of the learning and culture of Palestine was possessed by the Pharisees, but Christ thought nothing of it in comparison with the soul of the one poor woman of Samaria whom he was going to save. John 4:4. And he must needs go through Samaria. Thene cometh he to a city of Samaria, w

CHAPTER 4 _ 1. He Must Needs Pass Through Samaria. (John 4:1 .)_ 2. At Sychar's Well; Jesus and the Samaritan Woman. (John 4:6 .) 3. The Woman's Witness and the Believing Samaritans. (John 4:27 .) 4. His Return to Galilee. (John 4:43 .) 5. The Second Miracle, the Healing of the Nobleman's Son. (John 4:46 .) In the Gospel of Matthew the Lord told His disciples not to go into the way of the Gentiles and not to enter into any city of the Samaritans. (Matthew 10:5

THE RETURN OF THE DISCIPLES. The disciples return with the food they have bought. They are surprised that Jesus is talking with a woman (_cf. Pirke Aboth,_ i. 5, Prolong not discourse with a woman). The woman returns to the city, and her report leads the men to come and see. Meanwhile the disciples offer the food to Jesus. But His experiences have banished physical hunger. He explains that His true life is supported by doing His Father's work. Signs of accomplishment are not wanting. In common parlance four months separate seed-time from harvest (unless John 4:35_ a_ is to be taken as a note of time, in which case the event must have happened in December or January). In the spiritual harvest, which is independent of time, the grain is already ripe, as they will see if they look at the men coming from the city to Him. When fruit is gathered in to eternal life, sower and reaper share a com...