João 4
R.C.H. Lenski · Citado em PreceptAustin
João 4
Lenski comments "In the case of this woman Jesus has gone as far as he could with the gospel. He has laid the foundation and has laid it well. He now suddenly turns to the law. This thrust of Jesus’ is direct and goes home. Jesus bids this woman to do what he knows she cannot do. Such biddings are like the Ten Commandments; like the command to the lawyer, “This do and thou shalt live!” Luke 10:28; and like that to the rich young ruler, “Sell all!” Luke 18:22+. Biddings and commands like these are intended to reveal to the person concerned this very inability and the sin and guilt connected therewith. The divine law demands perfect love and by that very demand shows us, who lack this love, that we are full of sin. The lawyer, ordered to do the commands he recites, by that order is to discover that he cannot do them and must seek a different way to heaven. The rich young ruler, bidden to sell all and to give it away, finds that here lay his guilt in an outwardly moral life—he loved his possessions with an unholy love. This woman, who cannot go and call and bring her husband to Jesus, by that very fact is to see just what kind of a woman she is, what a wretched, sordid, immoral life she had led." (BORROW The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel) J C
João 4
Lenski - Jesus accepts, Jesus commends, Jesus completes her confession....Instead of wringing the rest of the confession from the woman, Jesus makes it for her. It is a touch of his gentleness with the sinner. So the father of the prodigal stops him in the middle of his confession—the same gentleness in a different way (Lk 15:21, 22+). (BORROW The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel) MacDonald on not your husband - This is the important point. The woman was a sinner, and until she was willing to acknowledge this, the Lord could not bless her with living water. (BORROW Believer's Bible Commentary)
João 4
Lenski - Jesus’ bidding her to call her husband is really a call to confess her sins, to confess them voluntarily. For in saying “go call” Jesus, indeed, gives her the opportunity to pretend that she has a husband and that she now goes to call him, thus avoiding confession, and thus also getting away from Jesus altogether. When the bidding of Jesus to this woman is contemplated from this viewpoint, the perfect mastery of it comes to view. The woman makes no move to go—she is not trying to get away. She does not lie by pretending that she has a husband, since Jesus mentions “husband.” She stands there before this strange Jew and confesses her shame, “I have no husband.” Those few words cost the woman something. Cold comment says that she is half lying and does not understand what it takes for a woman to reveal, even partly, her disgrace. Why fault the woman for confessing only so much? Her quick mind surely tells her that Jesus may probe farther, but this does not seal her lips, does not make her evade, does not rouse her temper, does not make her say, “What business are my private matters to thee?” No, she confesses. The fact that she does this before this stranger is the effect of what he has been saying to her. The gospel aids the law, as the gospel is also aided by the law. It helps the sinner by making him ready to confess. To Jesus, whose lips are filled with the gospel, the sinner finds he can confess. (BORROW The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel) Perceive (2334)(theoreo from theaomai [used in Jn 4:35] = to look at closely or attentively or contemplatively - even with a sense of wonder; cp theoros = a spectator) (Gives us English = theater, theorize) usually refers to physical sight but can also refer to perception and understanding. It connotes intensive, thorough, lingering, astonished, reflective, comprehending, observation. Theoreo is used more in Gospel of John (18x) than in all the synoptic Gospel's combined (15x) - Matt. 27:55; Matt. 28:1; Mk. 3:11; Mk. 5:15; Mk. 12:41; Mk. 15:40; Mk. 15:47; Mk. 16:4; Lk. 10:18; Lk. 14:29; Lk. 21:6; Lk. 23:35; Lk. 23:48; Lk. 24:37; Lk. 24:39; Jn. 2:23; Jn. 4:19; Jn. 6:19; Jn. 6:40; Jn. 6:62; Jn. 7:3; Jn. 8:51; Jn. 9:8; Jn. 10:12; Jn. 12:19; Jn. 12:45; Jn. 14:17; Jn. 14:19; Jn. 16:10; Jn. 17:24; Jn. 20:6; Jn. 20:12; Jn. 20:14; Acts 3:16; Acts 4:13; Acts 7:56; Acts 8:13; Acts 9:7; Acts 10:11; Acts 17:16; Acts 17:22; Acts 19:26; Acts 20:38; Acts 21:20; Acts 25:24; Acts 27:10; Acts 28:6; Heb. 7:4; 1 Jn. 3:17; Rev. 11:11; Rev. 11:12 John 4:20 "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you [people] say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." BGT John 4:20 οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ προσεκύνησαν· καὶ ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἐστὶν ὁ τόπος ὅπου προσκυνεῖν δεῖ. NET John 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you people say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." NLT John 4:20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?" ESV John 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship." NIV John 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." GNT John 4:20 οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ προσεκύνησαν· καὶ ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἐστὶν ὁ τόπος ὅπου προσκυνεῖν δεῖ. KJV John 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. YLT John 4:20 our fathers in this mountain did worship, and ye -- ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where it behoveth to worship.' ASV John 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. CSB John 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, yet you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem." NKJ John 4:20 "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." NRS John 4:20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." NAB John 4:20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem." NJB John 4:20 'Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, though you say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.' GWN John 4:20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain. But you Jews say that people must worship in Jerusalem." fathers: Ge 12:6,7 33:18-20 De 27:12 Jos 8:33-35 Jud 9:6,7 2Ki 17:26-33 your say: Dt 12:5-11 1Ki 9:3 1Ch 21:26 22:1 2Chr 6:6 7:12,16 Ps 78:68 Ps 87:1,2 132:13 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries A DIVERSION OR AN HONEST DECLARATION? Our fathers worshiped (proskuneo) in this mountain - She is referring to Mt Gerizim (4x - Dt. 11:29; Dt. 27:12; Jos 8:33; Jdg 9:7) to which she probably pointed (Jacob's Well was said to be at the foot of Mt Gerizim). She is alluding to the different places Samaritans and Jews worshiped. Was she trying to divert the conversation or was this a sincere declaration (as Cole sums up below interpreters differ). Brian Bell Christ’s sharp perception pricks her conscience...squirming, she shifts to more comfortable conversation. [Let’s argue religion technique] 1. What about the heathen in Africa? What about them Pygmy’s in Pygmy-land? How can a good God, allow suffering & evil? What about creation & evolution? Sprinkling or immersion? Wine or grape-juice? King James or Living Bible? This is her Red Herring that she hopes will hide her blemished soul, from His penetrating gaze. So she drags a smoked herring across her trail to cover up her scent, as they use to in England to throw off tracking dogs from the fox. However, this Vixen wont get away from this Terrific Tracker though!
João 4
Lenski - She would have been bold, indeed, to face all these additional strangers. And yet God in his providence had so timed her arrival at the well that her conversation with Jesus could reach the supreme point before the arrival of the disciples. Quick-witted as she showed herself in her answers to Jesus, she now strangely forgets to take her filled waterpot along and in spite of her great reverence for Jesus forgets too all about his original request for a drink. These are exquisite psychological touches in John’s narrative, indicating how deeply the words of Jesus had gripped her heart, making her forget all else for the moment. (BORROW The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel) This woman's enthusiasm caused her to jump the common social hurdles of the day, for a Osborne points out "women did not normally talk to men in this way. In fact, women could not be official witnesses of anything. If a robbery occurred and was witnessed only by women, the thief could not be prosecuted because women could not provide official testimony (cf. m. Rosh HaShanah 1:8)." (See The Gospel of John) Rod Mattoon - The fact that she left her water pot indicates several things. It shows that she is in a hurry to share what she found with people she had avoided. She goes from a convicted sinner to a devoted saint. One of the first instincts of a person who gets born again is to share. Do you share the Gospel with others? This woman found living water. Leaving her water pot has symbolic meaning. That which she depended upon to satisfy her, she left behind. People need to leave the water pots of good works, religious rituals, and church membership behind them if they are looking to these things for salvation or expect these things to satisfy God. We are to leave the old sinful lifestyle behind us too. Leaving the pot indicated that she planned to come back to the Lord. Her material possession was not as important as the souls of men. John 4:29 “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” BGT John 4:29 δεῦτε ἴδετε ἄνθρωπον ὃς εἶπέν μοι πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησα, μήτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ χριστός; NET John 4:29 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can't be the Messiah, can he?" NLT John 4:29 "Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?" ESV John 4:29 "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" NIV John 4:29 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" GNT John 4:29 Δεῦτε ἴδετε ἄνθρωπον ὃς εἶπέν μοι πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησα, μήτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός; KJV John 4:29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? YLT John 4:29 'Come, see a man, who told me all things -- as many as I did; is this the Christ?' ASV John 4:29 Come, see a man, who told me all things that ever I did: can this be the Christ? CSB John 4:29 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could this be the Messiah?" NKJ John 4:29 "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" NRS John 4:29 "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" NAB John 4:29 "Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?" NJB John 4:29 'Come and see a man who has told me everything I have done; could this be the Christ?' GWN John 4:29 "Come with me, and meet a man who told me everything I've ever done. Could he be the Messiah?" John 4:17,18,25 Jn 1:41-49 1Co 14:24,25 Rev 22:17 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages (on "come, see")... Isaiah 1:18+ “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. Isaiah 55:1 “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. Matthew 11:28+ “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Revelation 22:17+ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. THE WOMAN'S ENTICING INVITATION Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done- So here is a woman with a sordid past and yet she is so excited by the revelation of Jesus that she boldly and enthusiastically describes her encounter with him. She exaggerates a bit, but her point is that this man knew many things about her that were not common knowledge, especially to a stranger! Robertson suggests that "a guilty conscience led her to exaggerate a bit." (John 4 Word Pictures in the NT) Vincent suggests that "Jesus’ insight in the one case convinced her that He knew everything, and to her awakened conscience it seemed as though He had told everything." (John 4 Commentary) Notice that she is not telling them what to believe but to come and see for themselves, for then they could make up their own mind. Had she been forceful and direct, the response would very likely not have been so positive. But as we say she "left the ball in their court." And they took the "ball" and "ran" with it.
João 4
Lenski explains "Here we catch a remarkable glimpse of how Jesus put his very soul into his work. Instead of doing it mechanically, in a business-like sort of way, with professional ease, he did it with all his heart. It so occupied him that all else for the time being was excluded. The exaltation of it prevented him from at once descending to lesser and lower things. It filled him with such joy and satisfaction that it acted like food and drink to his body, weariness, thirst, and hunger being forgotten. Not having been present when Jesus saved the woman’s soul, the disciples could not know the food Jesus had enjoyed." (BORROW The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel) Vance Havener - At Jacobs Well John 4:1-42 THE account of our Lord's interview with the woman at Jacob's well carries many precious truths which we might easily overlook. Our Lord was on a detour here, and we observe that some of our best work is often done when we are off the main line. No one knows or cares what the good Samaritan had started out to do that particular day, but he is remembered for what he did not start out to do. Bunyan wrote Pilgrims Progress as a sort of matter "on the side," but by it he is remembered. Our Lord first broke custom by speaking to the Samaritan woman. We, too, need to shatter precedent—and must, if we are to win souls. This woman with a hidden thirst knew only the well of Jacob. How many souls are depending today upon broken cisterns that can hold no water and know not the gift of God! This woman was disposed to raise side issues, but our Lord brought the matter down to the sin in her life: "Go, call thy husband...." Immediately the woman said, "Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet." The mark of a prophet is to bring people to realize they are sinners. Too much preaching today never exposes sin, never makes people face their iniquities. This woman, sensing her needs, kept speaking to Jesus as the one who told her all things that ever she did; she so described Him to her acquaintances back in the city. There is a pleasant preaching today that tries to prescribe the remedy before people are made to realize that they are sick; tries to lead to the light people who do not know they are in the dark! Men will never be convicted until they are made to see themselves as sinners, and to do that, sin must be condemned and exposed, and it must be made personal. We must get down to the street where people live. Jesus did not give this woman a lecture on sin in general, He spoke of her sin. Paul's epistle to the Romans starts by picturing sin and it names sins, and then proclaims the remedy in justification by faith. When you get close to the sins of people, do not be surprised if they want to change the subject. This woman immediately raised the issue of where to worship—a liturgical question. How easily sinners shift the subject of conversation when you specify sins in their lives! But our Lord was not to be sidetracked; He held to the subject. Finally, when she spoke of the coming Messiah, our Lord made a clear and unmistakable claim to be the One who should come. It is strange how anyone can read our Lord's claim here and then deny that He ever professed to be the Messiah. The woman left her water pot and went into the city to tell others of this prophet she had found. When we find the Living Water, we have no more use of the broken cisterns of earth! She was a good personal worker, for she brought her crowd back with her to see the Lord. The disciples who had been out looking for food came back and marveled at our Lord's conversation with this woman. They were looking for meat. He was looking for men. The church today is too busy looking for tangible things: numbers, money, success. If we made our business soul-winning—which is the business of the church—all other things would be added. Vance Havner - At Jacob's Well, II John 4:1-42 OUR Lord must needs go through Samaria. Our byway ministries often are more fruitful than our service on the main road. "Being wearied with His journey," our Lord sat on the well. It is a precious human touch. Then follows a masterpiece of personal work. This woman, coming at noon to draw water, was a bad character. But our Lord saw a soul to save. We love to preach, but do we love the people to whom we preach? We still snub the Samaritans and need to read James 2:1-9. "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him and He would have given thee living water." If only men knew the gift of God and the Giver! The "water" here points to John 7:37-39, where we know the Lord speaks of the Spirit. The woman asks whether our Lord is greater than Jacob, for the well is deep and He has nothing to draw with. Are we not like her?—we let trifling circumstances stand between us and Him! And how we cling to Jacob rather than Jesus! We measure our lives by the things we get from Jacob, by inheritance or circumstance. We cling, as in Jeremiah 2:13, to broken cisterns, but here is one greater than Jacob who can give us living water so that we shall never thirst again! But the water of Jacob's well never satisfies. When the woman makes a light reply, our Lord strikes at the real problem in her life: "Go, call thy husband." Sin always lies at the base of skepticism. "We are not sinners because we are skeptics, but skeptics because we are sinners." The woman again sidesteps with another issue about where to worship, but our Lord meets it with the declaration of true worship: "in spirit and in truth." Then comes a clear claim to be the Messiah, and the woman leaves her water pot to go tell others. When we come to know Him we shall leave our water pots which we have carried to Jacobs well! The old things are deserted; the water of the natural cannot meet our need—we have found living water! This woman became a true soul-winner: she told others and brought them to Jesus. Thus they came to know Him for themselves and not only through another. "We have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world." It is the argument of experience. Our Lord was found by the disciples in the midst of this strong interview, which was astounding to them. Our meat, like His, should be to do the will of God. The world says, "Four months, and then cometh harvest." We are not concerned for the lost. The Samaritans were likely coming across the fields even as our Lord spoke the words: "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." Oh that we might see the lost today with the urgency desired by our Lord! Remember, "He that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad." John 4:33 So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” BGT John 4:33 ἔλεγον οὖν οἱ μαθηταὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους· μή τις ἤνεγκεν αὐτῷ φαγεῖν; NET John 4:33 So the disciples began to say to one another, "No one brought him anything to eat, did they?" NLT John 4:33 "Did someone bring him food while we were gone?" the disciples asked each other. ESV John 4:33 So the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought him something to eat?" NIV John 4:33 Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?" GNT John 4:33 ἔλεγον οὖν οἱ μαθηταὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους, Μή τις ἤνεγκεν αὐτῷ φαγεῖν; KJV John 4:33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? YLT John 4:33 The disciples then said one to another, 'Did any one bring him anything to eat?' ASV John 4:33 The disciples therefore said one to another, Hath any man brought him aught to eat? CSB John 4:33 The disciples said to one another, "Could someone have brought Him something to eat?" NKJ John 4:33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?" NRS John 4:33 So the disciples said to one another, "Surely no one has brought him something to eat?" NAB John 4:33 So the disciples said to one another, "Could someone have brought him something to eat?" NJB John 4:33 So the disciples said to one another, 'Has someone brought him food?' GWN John 4:33 The disciples asked each other, "Did someone bring him something to eat?" Mt 16:6-11 Lu 9:45 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE DISCIPLES ARE SPIRITUALLY CHALLENGED! So the disciples (mathetes) were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” - Can't you just picture these guys scratching their heads and looking around at each other with a look of "What' going on?" The disciples were puzzled over Jesus' declaration that He had food. They were so focused on the physical that they totally missed the spiritual. Jesus was "setting the table" for an incredible "spiritual meal!" Lest we are too hard on the disciples, undoubtedly we too fail to see the spiritual truth in some passage or some circumstance (which God allows in our life to teach us), because we are too "horizontally" focused so to speak! We too often "invert" Colossians 3:2+ setting our minds on the things of this earth rather than the things above! The disciples saw their mission here was to make sure Jesus was fed, but with this physical focus they totally miss His mission which would ultimately become their mission once He returned to the Father. John 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. Living Bible - Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God Who sent me, and from finishing His work." NET John 4:34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to complete his work. GNT John 4:34 λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Ἐμὸν βρῶμά ἐστιν ἵνα ποιήσω τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με καὶ τελειώσω αὐτοῦ τὸ ἔργον. NLT John 4:34 Then Jesus explained: "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. KJV John 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. ESV John 4:34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. NIV John 4:34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. ASV John 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to accomplish his work. CSB John 4:34 "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work," Jesus told them. NKJ John 4:34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. NRS John 4:34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. YLT John 4:34 Jesus saith to them, 'My food is, that I may do the will of Him who sent me, and may finish His work; NAB John 4:34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. NJB John 4:34 But Jesus said: My food is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to complete his work. GWN John 4:34 Jesus told them, "My food is to do what the one who sent me wants me to do and to finish the work he has given me. BBE John 4:34 Jesus said, My food is to do the pleasure of him who sent me and to make his work complete. My food: John 4:32 Jn 6:33,38 Job 23:12 Ps 40:8 Isa 61:1-3 Lu 15:4-6,10 19:10 Ac 20:35 Jer 15:16 and: Joh 5:36 17:4 19:30 Heb 12:2 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Deuteronomy 8:3 “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD (NOTE "EVERY WORD" IS WHERE WE FIND THE "WILL OF GOD") Job 23:12+ “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. Jeremiah 15:16+ Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. FOR THE SAVIOR SPIRITUAL FOOD SUPERSEDES LITERAL FOOD Supersede means to replace, take the place of or supplant. To replace in power, authority, effectiveness, acceptance, use, etc., as by another person or thing. In the mind of Jesus, spiritual food is superior to literal food. The former is eternal, the latter temporal. Rod Mattoon entitles this section "The Diet of the Lord." Jesus said to them - Jesus sees their confusion at this statement “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” This statement is almost like a "parable in miniature" and the disciple did not have a clue for they interpreted Him literally. And as with many of actual parables, Jesus proceeds to reveal the hidden truth. My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me - TLB = "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God Who sent me." Food in this context is a metaphor which is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them. What was the similarity Jesus was emphasizing? That "food" which really nourished His soul was doing the will of His Father. This the the "food" that satisfied Jesus. His delight was doing the will of God. In context that will was to deliver souls from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light.
João 4
Lenski points out the pattern - From the harvest the thought of Jesus extends to the reapers and backward also to the sowers and then turns (Jn 4:38) to the disciples personally. See the comprehensive grasp it thus reveals and the grip it puts on the souls of the disciples. (BORROW The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel) Already he who reaps (therizo present tense) is receiving (present tense) wages (misthos) and is gathering (sunago) fruit (karpos)for life eternal - NLT = "The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life." Note John parallels wages (Jn 4:35 is his only use of misthos) with fruit. The only thing that you cannot do in heaven is share the Gospel, so do it know while you have the golden opportunity. Time is short. The need is urgent! While these principles were directed toward the first disciples, they clearly have a broader application to all disciples of all time. Receiving wages is present tense indicating continually (even now = "eternity present") as they see a soul come to Christ and then forever and ever in eternity future. The sower may not see it, but as Jesus goes on to say, since they both play a vital role in the harvest of this soul, they both will rejoice. THOUGHT - Sowers may never hear about the person they shared the Gospel with coming to Christ (as the reaper does), but they will hear about it in eternity when they meet that saved soul and as Jesus says, they will rejoice which is in the present tense which says it will ring out throughout eternity! If that does not encourage you to share the Gospel with someone today, this week, this year (2021), I don't know what will! Just make sure you are filled with/walking in the Spirit so that you will recognize the opportunity God gives you to share the Gospel (And don't procrastinate out of fear, because it is true that some opportunities only knock once!). Paul put it this way "Conduct (present imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders (UNSAVED), making the most of (redeeming = exagorazo in the present tense = continually) the opportunity (kairos = "time" - see "Redeem the Time"). 6 Let your speech (cf Eph 4:29+) always be with grace (IF YOU ARE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT, YOU WILL BE READY), as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. (Col 4:5-6+) Lange - The connection with the preceding is this: The field is white for harvest. Be reapers. Reaping in the spiritual field is full of promise. Edwin Blum - As reapers, the disciples had the great and rewarding privilege of leading people to faith in Christ. (SEE Bible Knowledge Commentary - scroll up and down for more text) Lenski - The wages of the spiritual reaper are the souls gathered for life eternal—here not necessarily only heaven but eternal life also as a present possession reaching unto heaven. (BORROW The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel) A T Robertson on reaps is receiving wages - The spiritual harvester can gather his harvest without waiting four months. Jesus is reaping a harvest right now by the conversion of this woman. The labourer is worthy of his hire (Luke 10:7; 2 Tim. 2:6). John does not use misthos (reward) again, but karpos (Jn 15:2–16), “fruit for life eternal” (cf. Jn 4:14). (John 4 Word Pictures in the NT) So that - Purpose clause. What's the purpose? Jesus has just referred to rewarding the reaper. Now He says the purpose is for the reaper and sower to rejoice together. This clearly implies they were a "team." Both played vital roles in a soul coming to the Savior. Both would rejoice because they "shared" in the reward. That reward is already...not yet. That is to say we are overjoyed now (already) when a soul is transferred from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light. And we will rejoice eternally with them in heaven, even as Paul alludes to in 1Th 2:19-20+ referring to the believers he had a part in "harvesting" in Thessalonica (note his triple repetition of "joy"!).... For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you (YOU BELIEVERS IN THESSALONICA), in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? 20 For you are our glory and joy. describing them as His "glory and joy." (TLB = "For you are our trophy and joy.) (Present joy and future joy!). He who sows (speiro) and he who reaps (therizo present tense) may rejoice (chairo) together - Some of the sowers are Moses, the Prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus, and even the Samaritan woman. This is a wonderfully encouraging passage, for I have often sown seeds of the Gospel but only seldom actually led someone to the Lord. This passage implies both parties are on "equal ground" so to speak in eternity future (i.e., the sower and the reaper will be rewarded for their role in a soul's salvation). And this makes sense, because ultimately the supernatural work of saving a lost soul is God's business. Sowers and reapers simply have the "opportunity of a lifetime" to join Him in His great drama of redemption. Reapers won't be weepers at the Bema Seat! Reapers and sowers will both be rejoicers! Vincent on rejoice together - The construction is peculiar: that both the sower may rejoice together and the reaper. Together signifies not in common, but simultaneously. So quickly does the harvest follow the gospel-seed sown among the Samaritans, that the sower and the reaper rejoice together. (John 4 Commentary) Blum - Harvest time in the ancient world was a time of joy (Ruth 3:2, 7; Isa. 9:3). There is also great joy at the time of salvation (cf. Luke 15:7, 10, 32). The disciples had the greater joy of seeing the completion of the process (John 4:38). (SEE Bible Knowledge Commentary - scroll up and down for more text) Barton on rejoice together - Jesus here mentions the sower in addition to the reaper. Jesus, as both sower and reaper, sowed the seed through a single Samaritan woman and reaped a harvest from many in a Samaritan city. This sowing and reaping transpired so quickly that the sower and reaper could rejoice together. Normally, the sower’s joy is hopeful, for it is based on a future harvest. The reaper’s later joy is complete, for it is based on the stored harvest. But in the context of eternity, the sower and reaper will be together and can rejoice over the harvest they both accomplished. (BORROW Life application New Testament commentary ) No matter who reaps, God alone deserves the credit. - Faith Life Study Bible LASB - The wages Jesus offers are the joy of working for him and seeing the harvest of believers. These wages come to planter and harvester alike because both find joy in seeing new believers come into Christ's Kingdom. (BORROW Life Application Study Bible) Steven