John 4:31-36

John 4:31-36
John 4:31 (KJB)
In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
Since the woman had just left to go back into the city, the disciples came back with the provisions they purchased and had prepared something to eat and they had asked Jesus to eat with them since by this time He was probably hungry. It no doubt was a number of hours between their departure and return. Since the Samaritans were considered outcasts by the Jews, I wonder how the disciples felt going in to that city and especially buying food? I am sure they checked the provisions well just in case anything might have been poisoned.
John 4:32 (KJB)
But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
Meat - Food - Used metaphorically here as spiritual food
In the absence of the woman and the anticipation of the noon or afternoon meal, Jesus now begins to teach the lesson of spiritual things being more important than the temporal things. Just as Jesus had finished making a comparison between the physical water and the living water, He is now ready to make a comparison between the physical food and the spiritual food, which is the Gospel leading to eternal life. With this statement, Jesus now tells the disciples that He has food or meat that they do not know about. When He said this, I am sure they started looking around and saw nothing and wondered.
John 4:33 (KJB)
Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
As usual the disciples were focused on the physical food as they wondered if someone had brought Jesus some food while they were away. They always seemed to be reasoning among themselves instead of asking Jesus plainly if someone brought Him any food. This is another great spiritual lesson, instead of the disciples going to the Lord they dialogued with each other and of course they would all think the same things since they were focused on the physical. If we want to know what God says on a certain matter, we go directly to His word and not seek the wisdom of man. Man will think on the secular, even those who are saved tend to combine the sacred and secular, but we are to totally depend upon the word of God as our guide. This is the problem with many Christians, they seek the answers from pastors and theologians while their Bibles collect dust.
John 4:34 (KJB)
Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
Since the disciples were unaware of what Jesus was speaking of, Jesus gives them a vital lesson concerning their priorities in this life and the mission of Jesus. Just as physical meat satisfies and sustains the physical body, what Jesus is saying here is that he is sustained spiritually by doing the Father’s will. Doing the Father’s will means that we are being obedient to God in whatever He has for us. When we pray for God’s will to be done, we are asking that the will or purpose of God be fulfilled in whatever situation we are praying for. Let’s say we are praying for a sick Christian and we pray seeking God’s will for him. Now it may be God’s will or purpose for that Christian to be healed or it may be God’s will for them to go home to be with Him. So as Christians, we imitate Jesus by desiring to do the will of God for our lives, even if it seems to place us in a bad situation. Isn’t It better to be in a bad situation and be in the will of God, than to be in a good situation and be out of the will of God, which means disobedience? Let me add one more thought. Those who are out of the will of God are never in a good situation.
Jesus stated that He came to do the Father’s will and to finish the work. The work in view is the work of redemption of the Elect which began back in eternity and was finished upon Calvary. (Rev 13:8 KJV) And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13:8 states that Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world, which means in principle, Jesus was already slain before the foundation of the world for the Elect. (Rom 4:17 KJV) (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Just as God stated to Abraham that he was going to have a son by Sarah in their old age and they did, the same principle applies. God states in Romans 4:17, which teaches us that God calls those things which are not as though they were. God states that before the foundation of the world His Son was slain for the Elect and it was as good as done, even though it was not to be completed for thousands of years in the future. (John 19:30 KJV) When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. Jesus came to finish the work on Calvary. In John 19:30, the Bible teaches us that the work was finished, that is, the work of redemption. Now comes the part where the atonement of Christ is applied to the Elect until the last one is saved on the last day. The sacrifice of Christ is the last one for sin and there will be no more. (1 Pet 2:24 KJV) Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. The will of God for the believer is to carry out the Great Commission and we must realize that we will never finish the work as Jesus did because we send out the Gospel, and people become saved and they evangelize the next generation. (Acts 13:36 KJV) For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: Just as David served his generation, you and I, who are saved are serving our generation and if there is another one after this, we will be taken home and given eternal rest, just as David was taken home, and the next generation will take over and this will continue until the last day when it is all finished.
John 4:35 (KJB)
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.
Now Jesus is giving them a practical lesson in which they will use when they finally begin their ministries. Jesus is telling them that the seeds have just been planted and then in four months, there will be a harvest of the crops. Jesus is teaching them not to follow this pattern. Look at the fields and you will see that they are ready to be harvested. Of course, Jesus was speaking of the harvest of souls. Many Christians desire to go to the mission field and yet they fail on their training ground at home. That is, they think that they need to go 10,000 miles to be a witness when the fields at home are white to harvest. I like to use the evangelism model that Philip used. (Acts 8:40 KJV) But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea. If you notice Philip was going to Caesarea but was first found at Azotus. Azotus was due west of Jerusalem almost on the Mediterranean sea coast and Caesarea was about 55-60 miles north, almost by the province of Syria. We read in Acts 8:40, that Philip had preached in all the cities from Azotus to Caesarea.
He did not wait to preach until he reached his destination, he utilized the trip and made it a preaching trip from start to finish. Let us bring this up to today. There are 7 billion people in this world, there is no need for one to go 10,000 miles to evangelize. A flower blooms where it is planted and God plants us in certain areas of the world to be a witness in that area. Sometimes God will move us to a different area but we wait on Him for that and never move ourselves on a whim. The fields are ready and the Christian who states they have no ministry is just lazy, for anyone can buy tracts and hand them out and you can continue to do that until God gives you the ministry He is preparing you for.
John 4:36 (KJB)
And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
Reapeth - Harvest or gather
Wages - Reward
Soweth - Scatter, spread, or disperse
Jesus continues the theme from the previous verse. Those who go out into the world and evangelize will receive a reward just as those who become saved. When we go out into the world with the Gospel, we are bringing in the souls to eternal life. Just as wheat or other grains are harvested and placed in silos, when we gather souls for the Kingdom, they are placed in one place which is Heaven. Normally, in an agrarian culture, the ones who sow are not necessarily the ones who reap. So the reapers partake in the fruit which is harvested and receive the wages for their work. The reapers are the ones who see the fruits of the labor of those who planted. Now it is different in the kingdom of God, both those who plant the seed of the Gospel and those who reap the harvest will rejoice together. That is because both are being obedient and are finding fulfillment in this life. We may hand out a tract and a person may take it and read, and then someone comes along and speaks the word and they remember the gospel tract they had and the Lord opens up their spiritual minds and saves them. So both those who sowed the word and those who reaped the soul rejoice together because a person has become saved.
I send back tracts with my bills and maybe someone will receive it and read it, then a saved employee might be used of God to start speaking to them about salvation and they become saved. So I rejoice along with the one who was the reaper. Each believer can be a sower and reaper, we can sow the word of God and we can reap the harvest where someone has become saved by another’s ministry. This is how the body of Christ works together. There is no competition, only cooperation in the kingdom of God, and we each complement another’s ministry. The first time I heard the true Gospel was from Blind Evangelist Ralph Montanus when I was 12 years old in 1965 from WOR radio in New York City. I did not become saved until I was 27 years old and became saved through the ministry of Jack Van Impe, who at the time was not an apostate but since has turned into one. So Ralph Montanus sowed and the crop took 15 years to harvest through Jack Van Impe. So we continue to sow and never concern ourselves with timing, that is God’s business and if we reap, it is in God’s timing. By the way, the reward we receive is eternal life and not some type of special recognition. (Luke 18:30 KJV) Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
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