What does John 4:31-38 mean?

³¹ In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. ³² But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. ³³ Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? ³⁴ Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 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. 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. ³⁷ And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. ³⁸ I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. (John 4:31-38 KJV)

Jesus Tells Them of a New Kind of Food

While the woman was gone, Jesus spoke with his disciples (John 4:31-38). Jesus made full use of every moment. When the woman was there, he taught her. When she left, he turned to teach them. We should do the same—use every fragment of time for good.

Christ expressed how deeply he delighted in his work—seeking and saving the lost. Though tired and hungry, he forgot both in the joy of saving a soul. His disciples urged him to eat, fearing he’d become weak, but his heart was so engaged that they thought someone else had fed him (John 4:31-33). Spiritual concerns outweighed physical needs. Like Abraham’s servant who wouldn’t eat until his message was delivered (Genesis 24:33), or Samuel who delayed the meal until David was anointed (1 Samuel 16:11), Christ showed holy focus.

He said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). Saving souls is the will of God (1 Timothy 2:4), and Christ came into the world for that purpose. He delighted in this work more than in food or drink. He was determined not just to begin it but to finish it. “It is finished” was his final cry (John 19:30). We should follow his example: do God’s will with focus, joy, and perseverance.

Then Christ encouraged his disciples to share his zeal. Their work—preaching the gospel and building God’s kingdom—was like harvest labor (John 4:35-38). Gospel ministry is harvest work: urgent, time-sensitive, and full of opportunity. It must be done at the right time, or it cannot be done at all.

He said, “You say, ‘Four more months and then the harvest.’ But I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). The disciples likely said this in reference to literal crops. But Jesus pointed to a spiritual harvest already ready—the Samaritans coming to him. Gospel opportunities don’t always wait for our timetable. We must act while the door is open. God has set a season for harvest—when it’s here, we must labor faithfully.

A saying of Christ concerning the gospel harvest; his heart was as much upon the fruits of his gospel as others’ were upon the fruits of the earth. To this he directed his disciples: “Look, the fields are already white for harvest” (John 4:35). First, here in this place, where they now were, there was work for him to do. They wanted him to eat (John 4:31), but he said, “I have food to eat that you do not know about” (John 4:32), as the crowds of Samaritans were coming from the town, ready to receive the gospel. People’s eagerness to hear the word is a great encouragement to ministers’ diligence in preaching it.

Secondly, across the country there was harvest work for them all. “Consider the regions—you’ll find multitudes as ready to receive the gospel as ripe grain ready to be reaped.” The fields were white to harvest:

1. By God’s decree revealed in Old Testament prophecy. Now was the time when the gathering of the people would be to Christ (Genesis 49:10), when great additions would be made to the church, and its borders expanded. Understanding the times encourages us to act, as the right season brings success.
2. By people’s readiness. John the Baptist had prepared a people for the Lord (Luke 1:17). Since he began preaching, many pressed into the kingdom (Luke 16:16). It was time for gospel preachers to work with full energy, “thrust in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe” (Revelation 14:15). If ripe grain isn’t harvested, it’s lost; if souls under conviction aren’t helped now, their beginnings may come to nothing, and they’ll be lost to deception. When people’s hearts are ready, the work can be done quickly (2 Chronicles 29:36). It motivates ministers when people love to hear the word.

It was also profitable work, and they themselves would benefit (John 4:36): “He who reaps receives wages.” Christ pays those he employs. He won’t do as Jehoiakim did, using others’ service without wages (Jeremiah 22:13), or as those who withhold pay from harvesters (James 5:4). Christ’s workers won’t cry against him; they receive wages even now. There is a present reward in Christ’s service, and the work itself is its own reward.

1. Christ’s reapers have fruit: they gather fruit for eternal life. A faithful minister saves both himself and his hearers (1 Timothy 4:16). Souls won to Christ are good fruit, gathered for him (Romans 1:13; Song of Solomon 8:11-12), and gathered for eternal life. Faithful ministers are comforted that their work contributes to the eternal salvation of souls.
2. They have joy: “That the sower and the reaper may rejoice together” (John 4:36). The one who begins the work, like John the Baptist, sows; the one who continues it reaps. Both rejoice. First, though God gets all the glory, ministers can enjoy the comfort. Reapers share the joy of the harvest, even if the profit goes to the Master (1 Thessalonians 2:19). Second, ministers should not envy one another but rejoice in each other’s success. Though not all are equally effective, if they are faithful, they will all enter the joy of their Lord.

It was easy work, half done by those who came before them: “One sows and another reaps” (John 4:37-38). Moses, the prophets, and John the Baptist had prepared the way and sown the seed. The New Testament ministers mostly gathered the fruit. “I sent you to reap what you didn’t work for” (John 4:38).

1. This shows two things about the Old Testament ministry:

• First, it was incomplete. Moses and the prophets sowed but saw little of the harvest. Their writings have since done more good than their preaching ever did.
• Second, it was essential. The prophets’ writings, read weekly in synagogues, raised hope for the Messiah and prepared people to receive him. If not for them, the Samaritan woman could not have said, “We know that Messiah is coming” (John 4:25). Old Testament writings are often more useful to us now than to those who first received them, being better understood in light of their fulfillment (1 Peter 1:12; Hebrews 4:2; Romans 16:25-26).

2. And about the apostles’ ministry:

• First, it was fruitful. They gathered a great harvest of souls in a short time, more than the prophets had done in many generations.
• Second, it was made easier by the prophets’ work. The prophets sowed in tears; the apostles reaped in joy, saying, “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph” (2 Corinthians 2:14). The work of ministers who have died still brings fruit through succeeding generations. John the Baptist and others labored, and Christ’s disciples entered their labor. We are reaping where others sowed.

When the laborers of old and those of today meet on the last day, far from envying each other’s roles, both those who sowed and those who reaped will rejoice together, and the Lord of the harvest will be glorified.