“One Sows and Another Reaps”

A study of John 4:35–38

“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.””
‭‭John‬ ‭4‬:‭35‬-‭38‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-Four Months: “τετράμηνός”; “τετράμηνος”, “tetramēnos”; adjective — of four months, lasting four months.

-Harvest: “θερισμός”, “therismos”; masculine noun — equivalent to the act of reaping.

-Look (Behold): “ἰδού”, “idou”; particle — a call to pay close attention to something.

-Lift Up: “ἐπάρατε”; “ἐπαίρω”, “epairō”; verb — to look up.

-See (Look On): “θεάσασθε”, “θεάομαι”, “theaomai”; verb — to behold, look upon, view attentively, contemplate.

-Fields: “χώρας”; “χώρα”, “chōra”; feminine noun — land which is plowed or cultivated.

-White: “λευκαί”; “λευκός”, “leukos”; adjective — spoken of the whitening color of ripening grain.

-Reaps (v.36): “θερίζων”; “θερίζω”, “therizō”; verb — to harvest.

-Reaps (v.37): “θερίζων”; “θερίζω”, “therizō”; verb — in proverbial expressions about sowing and reaping: John 4:37: where the meaning is ‘you hereafter, in winning over a far greater number of the Samaritans to the kingdom of God, will enjoy the fruits of the work which I have now commenced among them’.

-Is Receiving: “λαμβάνει”; “λαμβάνω”, “lambanō”; verb — to receive what is given; to gain, get, obtain.

-Is Gathering: “συνάγει”; “συνάγω”, “synagō”; verb — to gather together, to gather.

-Eternal: “αἰώνιον”; “αἰώνιος”, “aiōnios”; adjective — without end, never to cease, everlasting.

-Life: “ζωὴν”; “ζωή”, “zōē”; feminine noun — life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last forever.

-Sows: “σπείρων”; “σπείρω”, “speirō”; verb — to sow, scatter seed; in proverbial sayings: to scatter the seeds of instruction, i.e. to impart instruction.

-May Rejoice: “χαίρῃ”; “χαίρω”, “chairō”; verb — to rejoice, be glad.

-Logos: “λόγος”, “logos”; masculine noun — what is declared, a thought, declaration; in John 4:37: a proverb.

-Labor: “κόπον”; “κόπος”, “kopos”; masculine noun — intense labor united with trouble; of toil in teaching.

-Labored: “κεκοπιάκατε”; “κοπιάω”, “kopiaō”; verb — in Biblical Greek alone: to labor with wearisome effort, to toil.

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

After having told His disciples that doing the Father’s will is far more satisfying than physical food, Jesus says there is plenty more to do. He says the fields are ready for harvest now and the sowers and reapers involved in this harvest will rejoice together. The work to which they had been called did not begin with them, but they, like us, are called to fulfill their part in doing God’s will.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

Here, Jesus continues to speak of physical realities for the purpose of teaching about spiritual realities. He has just compared doing the will of God the Father to food in order to explain doing God’s will is far more satisfying than a full stomach. Now, He begins to speak about crops and harvest time. But of course, He is not simply talking about grain. He is talking about people, and the spiritual harvest that will be reaped in their hearts and souls.

Jesus quotes a proverbial saying of the time, “Do you not say there are yet four months, then comes the harvest?” This saying implied there was no sense of urgency, because harvest time had not yet come, but Jesus says this to contrast it with His very next statement: “Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see the fields are white for harvest.” He is telling them the grain might not be ready to harvest yet, but there is a greater harvest ready now. While food is important, Jesus is speaking about a spiritual harvest of human souls. When the grain turned white, that meant it was time to harvest. And Jesus is saying, ‘this grain may not be ready to harvest for about 4 months, but look at the Samaritans streaming out of the city to come and see Me’ (John 4:30). The grain of their hearts has been prepared by the testimony of the woman of Samaria, and their souls are ready to be harvested and gathered into God’s Kingdom. The time to harvest is now.

In verse 36 Jesus explains we have different roles to play in this work, and we will rejoice together at harvest time. He describes the role of “sower” and “reaper”. To “sow” is to plant seeds, and to “reap” means to harvest the grain or produce. In this instance Jesus has just “sown” words of truth in the woman of Samaria’s heart, and she in turn hurried into the city to do the very same thing by telling everyone about Him. Oftentimes our role may be that of a “sower” who plants and waters seeds of truth in the hearts of non-believers, but we may never reap. We might not see the result of our efforts in our lifetime, but when you plant a seed, it does not sprout up overnight. It takes time. God may call another person in the future to be by the side of the one whose life we have sown into and they will “reap” as the given person decides to believe in Jesus. This is what Jesus means by “gathering fruit for eternal life.” But the point is, whether we see the harvest or not, no role is above another. Whether we sow or reap, we are working together in this field of souls, and sower and reaper will rejoice together at harvest time.

Jesus says this as both a call for us to join in the work He is doing and to encourage us by telling us at least three things:
“The one who reaps is receiving wages…” There will be a reward in the end for delighting in and doing the will of God.

“…and gathering fruit for eternal life…” The produce of this work will last forever, unlike the produce of a harvest of mere grain that will either be eaten or spoil.

“…so that sower and reaper may rejoice together…one sows and another reaps…” Every worker who takes part in this harvest will rejoice together, no matter what their specific role is. This is a team effort, led by the Holy Spirit. If we are making the will of God and accomplishing His work our spiritual food, we will delight in the role God has given us. We will not be filled with envy over the seemingly more glamorous or prominent roles other brothers and sisters in Christ have been called to. We will be satisfied and overjoyed to serve in the manner God has called us, cheer on our brothers and sisters in their God given role, and rejoice together come harvest season as the Holy Spirit works through our labors to resurrect people from death to life in Jesus Christ.

Verse 38 provides a word to the reapers: “I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” This is a pattern in God’s kingdom that goes all the way back to the time of Joshua. As the end of Joshua’s life approached, he spoke to the people of Israel to remind them of all the Lord had done and called them to remain faithful. As he reminded them of the Lord’s provision and protection he spoke the words of God about the land God had given them and taken from the Canaanites saying, “I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant” (Joshua‬ ‭24‬:‭13‬). This hearkened back to the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 6:10–11, where he told the people God would do exactly this.

This is often God’s pattern. He says what He will do. He does it. Then He reminds us He said it. And this particular message is that God calls us to be a part of what He is doing, but we are only ever a part. Whether we sow or reap, we are a small part of the work God is doing. It is not about us. It is about Him, and the love He wants to show to others. It is a blessing to play any part at all in His work, and what we do is simply a continuation of the work He has already been doing. And in addition to the work itself (doing God’s will) being a source of spiritual satisfaction and delight in and of itself, the work we are called to will bring reward, eternal life, and rejoicing to us and others.

I need to make one last comparison because it is so obvious it feels criminal not to. In 1 Corinthians 3:6–10 Paul said, “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.”

Paul summarized this concept beautifully as he addressed an issue in Corinth where Christians were valuing Apollos over Paul or vice versa. Both men were called by God to minister the word to people, and Paul was telling them they, and every other Christian, are no better than anyone else. We have all been called to fulfill different roles, but we are working together. And the harvest is the Lord’s.

So, in conclusion, at this point in John 4, the people of Sychar are streaming out of the city to see Jesus after the woman by the well told them about Him. The truth has been sewn in their hearts and minds. And now, the disciples, along with Jesus, are about to reap a harvest of saving faith from among these people. But Jesus wants them to know, they are servants joining in on the work God has already been doing through other servants of His. They were about to harvest a crop they did not plant.

Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

It is an absolute joy and undeserved privilege to fulfill the role God calls us to in people coming to believe in Him and receive eternal life. Whatever our role is, whether it be planting, harvesting or something in between, we are a small part of something big God is doing. We are no more important than any other laborer (Christian) in God’s fields, and in the end we will rejoice together with all of our fellow laborers, who are also our brothers and sisters in Christ.

From John 4:34 we learned the satisfaction that doing God’s will brings, far exceeds that of a full stomach or earthly acclaim and prominence. But in addition to the reward of being a part of God’s work in giving eternal life to people, we will also be rewarded for our labors in the end somehow (2 Cor. 5:10), and we will rejoice along with all of our fellow laborers forever.

Self Reflection:

Am I struggling with contentment in the role God has given me to work in, in His harvest field?

Do I see the others as less important because of the role God has called them to?

Do I believe Jesus that doing His will is far more satisfying than physical comforts, and that it will bring eternal reward?