Jesus is doing two things here at the well in
1) He is speaking to the woman
2) He is teaching his disciples
4:31
4:32 – Live for God’s
Will or Live to Take Care of Our Wills?
“I” and “you” are contrasting each other.
“I” do the will of God. “You” eat food for yourself.
Jesus is sustained by doing God’s will and keeping his life in step with God’s will.
People fight for survival as they try to live out their own wills.
If we would seek God’s will the provisions would come.
If we seek our own will we will need to provide for ourselves.
Philippians 4:11-13
4:33
–Misunderstanding God’s Words
For the fourth time Jesus words are miss understood:
1) At the temple:
a. “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” (2:19)
b. “But the temple he had spoken of was his body.” (2:21)
2) To Nicodemus:
a.
“No one can see the
b. “”Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” (3:4)
3) To the Woman:
a. “He would have given you living water” (4:10)
b. “Sir. . you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?” (4:11)
4) Now, here, to the disciples:
a. “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” (4:32)
b. “Could someone have brought him food?” (4:33)
4:34 – Jesus’ Life
was Directed By God’s Will and His Goal Was to Finish the Work
If Jesus is our example then we to need to:
a) follow God’s will for our lives
b) finish the work God sent him to finish
The Work Jesus did was the work God sent him to do:
5:30
6:38
7:18
8:50
9:4
10:3-38
12:49-50
14:31
15:10
17:4
“Finish” is the Greek word teleiow.
In 19:30 “finished” is
telew a cognate of teleiow
work that God had assigned to him could only be finished at the expense of the
cross.
For us also, to
finish the work of God in our lives will cost us.
2 Tim. 4:7
4:35
“Do you not say”
means “you people have a saying”. It is
not Jesus’ view, but their view.
“Four months
more and then the harvest.”
-
This
saying is a vehicle for communicating an attitude of waiting.
-
The
seeds have been planted now we wait for the growth. Then after we have waited for 1//3
of the year to pass we will begin the harvest.
For now, we wait.
-
This
was not Jesus’ attitude nor the perspective that moved him through life.”
Jesus has his own
saying, “Open your eyes!”
a) they say four more months then we’ll see
a harvest
b) Jesus says open your eyes now then you
will see a harvest now
“The
use of leukai is somewhat puzzling, for few crops are
white at harvest time, and certainly not wheat (golden grain). The expression clearly means “ready to
reap.” H. V. Morton tells of an incident
at this spot: ‘as I sat by Jacob’s Well a crowd of Arabs came along the road
from the direction in which Jesus was looking, and I saw their white garments
shining in the sun. Surely Jesus was
speaking not of the earthly but of the heavenly harvest, and as He spoke I
think it likely that He pointed along the road where the Samaritans in their
white robes were assembling to hear His words.” (page 247 NICNT ‘The Gospel
According to John by Leon Morris, 1995)
Lightfoot made the same connection when he said that this was “pointing without doubt towards that numerous crowd of people that, at that time, flocked towards him out of the city.”
The disciples may have said the Samaritans need
the message but they are not ready.
Jesus said the Samaritans are ripe.
4:36
“Even now the reaper draws his wages” means that
the harvest had already began and some where already receiving wages for work
completed.
In the truly spiritual labor there is no
competition.
The sower and the reaper both rejoice at the
success of the reaper.
Reaping always has a celebration and joy
attached with it.
Planting season does not lend itself to the
atmosphere of a celebration when the seeds are finally all planted.
Amos 9:13 the reaper is overtaken by the plowman
and the planter by the one treading grapes.
4:37
4:38
The hard work was done by:
1)
the OT prophets and believers
2)
John the Baptist and his disciples
1 Corinthians 3:6
The disciples were to be reaping. . .Even though
they were in training and barely could keep up with Jesus’ use of language and
illustrations.