March 8th, 2020
John 4:27-42
“Come See then Go Do”
Aux Text: James 1:22-27
Call to Worship: Psalm 67
Service Orientation: When we see the whole Truth of Who Jesus is we will be inspired to evangelize and follow Jesus. Seek the truth about Jesus.
Bible Memory Verse for the Week: But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. —Deuteronomy 4:29
Background Information:
- It is interesting to trace our Lord’s movements that brought Him to Samaria. He was in Jerusalem (Jn 2:23) and then came into Judea (Jn 3:22). From Judea He went into Samaria (Jn 4:4), and the Samaritans declared Him to be “the Savior of the world.” This is a perfect parallel to Acts 1:8. (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Alive, 71)
- (v. 27) The Rabbis so despised women and so thought them incapable of receiving any real teaching that they said: “Better that the words of the law should be burned than deliver to women.” They had a saying: “Each time that a man prolongs converse with a woman he causes evil to himself, and desists from the law, and in the end inherits Gehinnom.” (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, 162)
- (v. 27) No rabbi would have carried on a conversation with a woman. One of their sayings ran, “A man shall not be alone with a woman in an inn, not even with his sister or his daughter, on account of what men may think. A man shall not talk with a woman in the street, not even with his own wife, and especially not with another woman, on account of what men may say.” (Leon Morris, The New Int’l Commentary on the NT: John, 242)
- (v. 27) Their unvoiced surprise that he was talking with a Samaritan woman reflects the prejudices of the day. Some (though by no means all) Jewish thought held that for a rabbi to talk much with a woman, even his own wife, was at best a waste of time and at worst a diversion from the study of Torah, and therefore potentially a great evil that could lead to Gehenna, hell (Prike Aboth 1:5). Some rabbis went so far as to suggest that to provide their daughters with a knowledge of the Torah was as inappropriate as to teach them lechery, i.e., to sell them into prostitution (Mishnah Sotah 3:4; the same passage also provides the contrary view). Add to this the fact that this woman was a Samaritan, and the disciples’ surprise is understandable. (D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, 227)
- (v. 27) That the disciples wondered, as the Evangelist relates, might arise from one of two causes: either that they were offended at the mean condition of the woman, or that they reckoned the Jews to be polluted, if they entered into conversation with the Samaritans. Now though both of these feelings proceeded from a devout reverence for their Master, yet they are wrong in wondering at it as an improper thing, that he deigns to bestow so great honor on a woman who was utterly despised. For why do they not rather look at themselves? They would certainly have found no less reason to be astonished, that they who were men of no note, and almost the off-scourings of the people, were raised to the highest rank of honor. (Calvin’s Commentary on the Gospel of John, 166-7)
- (v. 27) Without changing any creation-ordinance regarding the proper place of woman, the Lord clearly indicates that before God the soul of a woman is not less precious than that of a man. (William Hendriksen, NT Commentary: John, 176)
- (v. 27) There was an important lesson here for the disciples to learn. Although the gospel would be preached first to Israel (Mt 10:5-6; 15:24), it would not be preached exclusively to Israel (Isa 59:20-60:3; Rom 1:16). It would cross all cultural barriers–a concept that was difficult for many Jews to accept. The unforgettable story of Jonah’s dramatic refusal to obey when God called him to preach to Nineveh demonstrates the Jews’ anti-missionary attitude. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: John, 155)
- (v. 28) The Greek word here rendered “water-pot” is the same that is used in the account of the miracle at Cana in Galilee (Jn 2:6). It does not mean a small drinking vessel, but a large jar, such as a woman in Eastern countries would carry on her head. We can therefore well understand that if the woman wished to return in haste to the city she would leave her waterpot. So large a vessel could not be carried quickly, whether empty or full. (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 1, 235)
- (v. 35) Using the grain growing in the surrounding fields as an object lesson (cf. The use of similar illustrations in Mt 9:37-38; 13:3-8, 24-32; Mk 4:26-32), Jesus impressed on the disciples the urgency of reaching the lost. There was no need to wait four months; the spiritual fields were already white for harvest. The disciples had only to lift up their eyes and look at the Samaritans coming toward them (v. 30), their white clothing forming a striking contrast against the brilliant green of the ripening grain and looking like white heads on the stalks that indicated the time for harvest. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: John, 158)
- (v. 35) When the corn is ripe, the harvest cannot bear delay, for otherwise the grain would fall to the ground and be lost; and, in like manner, the spiritual corn being now ripe, he declares that there must be no delay, because delay is injurious. We see for what purpose the comparison is employed; it is to explain the reason why he hastens to perform his work. (Calvin’s Commentary on the Gospel of John, 170-1)
- (v. 36) Generally there is a considerable interval between sowing and reaping. But in this case hardly any time had elapsed between the sowing of the seed and the reaping of the harvest. Hence, in order that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together, Christ, the Sower, and the disciples, as reapers, rejoice together. The prophecy of Amos 9:13 is fulfilled. (William Hendriksen, NT Commentary: John, 174)
- (v. 38) Such a use of the past tense is common in Scripture, and especially when God speaks of a thing about to be done. With God there is no uncertainty. When He undertakes a thing, it may be regarded as done and finished, because in His counsels it is certain to be finished. Our Lord’s meaning is, “I send you throughout Samaria, Galilee, and Judea, to reap the fruit of the labors of the prophets and John the Baptist. They have sowed, and you have now only to reap.” (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 1, 249)
- (v. 38) It should also be noted that the toil of the sower is more arduous than that of the reaper: when Christ says, “Other men labored, and ye (the reapers) are entered into their (the sowers’) labors” He used a word which signified “to toil to the point of exhaustion,” indeed it is the same word which is used of the Savior at the beginning of this chapter, when we read, “Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey.” (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 221)
- (v. 39) Morgan comments on this verse: “If those disciples had been appointed a commission of enquiry as to the possibilities of Christian enterprise in Samaria I know exactly the resolution they would have passed. The resolution would have been: Samaria unquestionably needs our Master’s message, but it is not ready for it. There must first be ploughing, then sowing, and then waiting. It is needy, but it is not ready.” (Leon Morris, The New Int’l Commentary on the NT: John, 247)
- (v. 40) Jesus is always ready and willing to spend time with those who invite Him. He waits to be invited; He never intrudes, and if He is not abiding at your house and in your heart it is because you have not invited Him. He will come in if you will open the door. (Oliver B. Greene, The Gospel According to John, Vol. 1, 243)
- (v. 40) Begged. What a contrast to His experiences in Judea. There they ordered Him away, taking up stones against Him, finally plotting His death. But look how these heretical Samaritans treat Him! They WANT Him! (C.S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on John, 74)
- (v. 42) The expression Savior of the world is found only here and in 1 Jn 4:14 in the NT. It is most significant that it should have first been applied to Jesus by Samaritans. (R.V. G. Tasker, Tyndale NT Commentaries: John, 80)
- (v. 42) A more full declaration of our Lord’s office as “Savior of the World” is nowhere to be found in the Gospels. Whether the Samaritans clearly understood what they meant when they spoke of our Lord as “the Savior,” may be reasonably doubted. But that they saw with peculiar clearness a truth which the Jews were especially backward in seeing,–that He had come to be a Redeemer for all mankind, and not for the “Jews” only,–seems evident from the expression, “the world.” That such a testimony should have been borne to Christ by a mixed race of semi-heathen origin, like the Samaritans, and not by the Jews, is a remarkable instance of the grace of God. (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 1, 251)
- Like Jonah, the disciples needed to be shaken out of the rigid provincialism of their cultural prejudice. They needed to recognize that the good news of the gospel is for all people (Rom 10:12; Gal 3:28). (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: John, 155)
The question to be answered is . . . What makes the woman at the well and the Samaritans do what they do?
Answer: They both see the freedom, life and hope that comes through Jesus and are changed forever.
The Word for the Day is . . . Inspire
What motivates the Samaritans?:
I- The unqualified, undeserving woman “saw” Jesus and evangelized. (Jn 4:29, 39; see also: Lk 7:47; 1 Cor 9:16; 2 Cor 5:14; Col 1:29; 1 Thess 1:3)
She had already recognized her need (4:15), her sin (4:19), her true condition (4:26) and that He was the source of her eternal life. Now she eagerly desired to communicate her discovery to others. Her zeal and enthusiasm provides the clinching piece of evidence that her conversion was genuine. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: John, 156)
We are told that the Samaritan woman “went into the city, and said to the men, Come, see a man which told me all things that I ever did: is not this the Christ?” In the day of her conversion she became a missionary. She felt so deeply the amazing benefit she had received from Christ, that she could not hold her peace about Him. Just as Andrew told his brother Peter about Jesus, and Philip told Nathanael that he had found Messiah, and Saul, when converted, straightway preached Christ, so, in the same say, the Samaritan woman said, “Come and see” Christ. (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 1, 232)
It would be unlikely that the elders of Sychar would accept theological information from a woman of her reputation, and she did not venture to make a dogmatic pronouncement. Nevertheless, her manner was so sincere and her invitation so urgent that they immediately proceeded to the well to investigate. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 57)
I do not try to be obedient because God will zap me if I’m not. But, I try to be obedient because God loved me when I wasn’t obedient. I am motivated and constrained by His love, not His judgment. —Steve Brown
What had happened was that the woman had been born again. She is the first clear example in the Gospel. She had come down the hill a child of Adam’s race, thinking only of the life she had known and of her very mundane need for more water. Instead she had met the second Adam, Jesus, who had filled her with a desire for a quality of life that she had never dreamed of and who had revealed himself to her as the One through whom that life is imparted to men and women. As a result of Christ’s words the woman believed on him and became his witness. (James Montgomery Boice, John, The coming of the Light, 307)
The disciples bought food here, yet never said a word about the Messiah being outside of town. So God used a harlot to bring the news. She not only gets the credit for winning a city, but reaps the joy. The disciples missed a great opportunity. No doubt prejudice sealed their lips. (C.S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on John, 72)
He began by bidding the woman go and “call her husband.” The end of the conversation which ensued was her going and calling all the men of the city to come and see Christ. (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 1, 236)
Here is a woman who, a matter or an hour or so before, had been completely trapped in a life of immorality, as a social outcast. There was no way backwards or forwards for her; all she could do was to eke out a daily existence and make sure she went to the well at the time of day when there would be nobody there to sneer or mock. Now she has become the first evangelist to the Samaritan people. Before any of Jesus’ own followers could do it, she has told them that he is the Messiah. And then as they have come to see Jesus for themselves, they have become convinced. (N. T. Wright, John for Everyone, Part One, 50)
Here in Samaria was a people who seemed most unpromising: no record is given of Christ performing a single miracle there; and yet many of these despised Samaritans received Him. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 224)
II- The despised Samaritans “saw” Jesus and followed. (Jn 4:39, 42 see also: Mt 4:19; 9:9; 19:27; Mk 1:17; 10:28; Lk 5:27; 18:28; Jn 1:43; 10:4-5, 27; 21:19-22; 1 Pt 2:21)
That Samaritans should invite a Jewish teacher to stay with them, with no fear of a rebuff, shows how completely he had won their confidence. (F. F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, 115)
What these Samaritans say involves a principle that has validity for all time: personal contact with Christ is necessary to make faith complete. (William Hendriksen, NT Commentary: John, 175-6)
Others had sowed the seed in the Samaritans’ hearts (e.g., Moses, John the Baptist, and Jesus Himself). Yet the disciples would have the privilege of sharing in the resulting harvest. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: John, 159)
Are we aware of people’s need for Jesus? We will never be inspired to share Jesus with the world unless or until we see the world’s desperate need for Jesus. — PK
Newbigin has an apt comment: “And so what was hidden from the wise and understanding Nicodemus is revealed to these spiritual babes, and while scribes and Pharisees stand aside, the pagan world flocks into the kingdom.” (Leon Morris, The New Int’l Commentary on the NT: John, 251-2)
It is possible, but by no means certain, that the “city of Samaria” that Philip evangelized a few years later (Acts 8:4-8) was Sychar or perhaps nearby Sechem. The ready acceptance of Philip’s message might then find some explanation in the preparatory work accomplished in this visit by Jesus and his disciples. (D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, 231-2)
Worship Point: Worship the Savior of the World who inspires freedom, life and hope.
It is a mark of spiritual barrenness in the church when people come to worship to fulfill a duty or keep a habit rather than satisfy an appetite. (Eric Alexander, Truth for Life tape 65562 Side A)
A proper view of God’s person is a powerful motive to true repentance. (Owqen Roberts; Repentance, 159)
If you don’t see the absolute holiness of God, the magnitude of your debt, the categorical necessity of God’s just punishment of your sin, and therefore the utter hopelessness of your condition, then the knowledge of your pardon and deliverance will not be amazing and electrifying! — Tim Keller
The world rings with praise–lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favourite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favourite game–praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians and scholars…just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?” …I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. (C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, 94-5)
We carry our religion as if it were a headache. There is neither joy nor power nor inspiration in it, none of the grandeur of the unsearchable riches of Christ about it, none of the passion of hilarious confidence in God.” — Oswald Chambers
This statement shows that Jesus lived to please his Father and in so doing found spiritual satisfaction (17:4). To do God’s will meant that Jesus submitted himself to the Father’s plan and enjoyed carrying out his Father’s desires. Satisfying the Father gave Jesus true satisfaction. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 90)
Gospel Application: Freedom, life and hope are found ONLY through Jesus and His grace. Our own work and our own way is bankrupt. Look to Jesus.
Our Christian experience will often begin with a humiliating wave of self-disgust. It usually happens that the last thing a man sees is himself. And it often happens that the first thing Christ does for a man is to compel him to do what he has spent his life refusing to do–look at himself. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, 163)
The Jews saw scores of mighty miracles worked by our Lord, and heard Him preach for weeks and months, and yet with a few rare exceptions remained impenitent and hardened. The Samaritans saw no miracles worked at all, and only had our Lord among them for two days, and yet many of them believed. If ever there was clear proof that the grace of the Holy Spirit is the chief thing needed in order to procure the conversion of souls, we have it in the verses we are now leaving. (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 1, 252)
One single soul saved, shall outlive and outweigh all the kingdoms of the world. (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 1, 241)
Spiritual Challenge: Continually seek Jesus until you are motivated to follow Jesus unconditionally. Find truth and allow the Truth to set you free to serve Jesus with all your heart, mind, soul and strength as either an inspired sower or reaper.
Inspiration
Inspiration is
That electrifying spark
Of God within us. Molly A. Marsh 23 June 2009 6:51 AM
One is that loving God is not a mere decision. You cannot merely decide to love classical music–or country western music–much less God. The music must become compelling. Something must change inside of you. That change makes possible the awakening of a compelling sense of its attractiveness. So it is with God. You do not merely decide to love him. Something changes inside of you, and as a result he becomes compellingly attractive. His glory–his beauty–compels your admiration and delight. He becomes your supreme treasure. You love him. (John Piper, Think, 87)
I do not think our Lord was suggesting that when people are really spiritual, they go without food. Nor do I think that he was saying anything against the disciples for suggesting that he eat. As believers we need to realize that we are not angels. We have to eat and sleep. But Jesus was saying that we should have such a passion for God’s work that we temporarily forget about our own physical welfare and say, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me.” (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 132)
That verse also leads to a second point in our study, for Jesus did not say, “My food is to will the will of him who sent me.” That is important enough, but it is only part of the story. He actually said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me.” This is important for us, for it is often true that even when the will of God is revealed to us we fail to do it. (James Montgomery Boice, John, The coming of the Light, 321)
Until the will is right, nothing is right! (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 133)
What is the secret of genuine, fulfilling, godly life? Absolute submission to the divine will and the thrilling consciousness of doing it were the dynamics of Christ’s life, and they ought to be evident in ours too. Are they? If not, perhaps we are feasting on empty pleasures–entertainment, food in excess, worldly amusements, fame, or success. We are then feeding on wind. The only food that will last is doing God’s will and work. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 133)
The woman might introduce them to Jesus, but faith is not faith as long as it rests on the testimony of another. There must be personal knowledge of Christ if there is to be an authentic Christian experience. (Leon Morris, The New Int’l Commentary on the NT: John, 250-1)
And it is the nature of faith that we want to bring others to share eternal life with us when we have become partakers of it. The knowledge of God cannot lie buried and inactive in our hearts and not be made known to men. For that word must be true: “I believed and therefore will I speak” (Ps 116:10) (Calvin). (Leon Morris, The New Int’l Commentary on the NT: John, 243)
The Christian life is based on the twin pillars of discovery and communication. No discovery is complete until the desire to share it fills our hearts; and we cannot communicate Christ to others until we have discovered him for ourselves. First to find, then to tell, are the two great steps of the Christian life. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, 164)
The interval between the sowing and the harvesting has been closed. Now is the time for harvesting. If we are following Christ, we will have a sense of urgency. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 136)
Where there needs to be change, there will have to be motivation to change. What will it take to make us want to change and grow, and to keep at it not just for this week or month or year or period in life, but for an entire lifetime? Where the most important reality is intangible, as it is in the church, it is a mistake to think that change and growth will be attained automatically, without determined effort. What will motivate us to pursue this goal? . . . Christians know that it is our love for God, and, even more basically, His unconditional love for us, that motivates faithful, healthy service and growth. (Donald J. MacNair; The Practices of a Healthy Church, 80)
It is marvelous to have a pastor or an evangelist who can attract great crowds and lead great numbers to receive Jesus and make confessions of faith; but before we praise one man for the harvest, consider the hundreds of men and women–even the shut-in and disabled–who sowed the seed for that harvest, sometimes at great cost to themselves. All too often excessive honor is given to the reapers, and the sowers are overlooked and forgotten. But GOD does not forget; He keeps the record, and in that crowning day all will rejoice together. (Oliver B. Greene, The Gospel According to John, Vol. 1, 240)
The image of the harvest is a familiar one in the Bible and is often applied to the ministry of winning lost souls. Both the parable of the sower and the parable of the tares (Mt 13:1-30) relate to this theme, and Paul used it in his letters (Rom 1:13: 1 Cor 3:6-9; Gal 6:9). We plant the seed of God’s Word in the hearts of people who hear it, and we seek to cultivate that seed by our love and prayers. In due time, that seed may bear fruit to the glory of God. (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Alive, 69)
We confess because we have been born again. (James Montgomery Boice, John, The coming of the Light, 308)
All Christian service and acts of compassion must be done by those who submit to God’s will. It must be God’s work, not ours, and the motivation to do it will come as we are rightly related to the Father. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 91)
Our Lord did not look on the Father’s will as a heavy burden or a distasteful task. He viewed His work as the very nourishment of His soul. Doing the Father’s will fed Him and satisfied Him inwardly. “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart” (Ps 40:8). The Samaritan woman was now doing the Father’s will and finding excitement and enrichment in it. (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Alive, 68-9)
“If what you love to do is what you ought to do then you will be free.” (John Piper message at College Baptist Church Hillsdale MI October 13, 2005)
“If you long to be cut free from the world, if you long to be free to love and to do what you ought to do then give yourself to the renewing of your mind.” (John Piper message at College Baptist Church Hillsdale MI October 13, 2005)
Spiritual Challenge Questions:
A- Have you ever learned or discovered “something” that was so amazing and wonderful that you just had to share it with anyone who would listen? What was it about that “something” that inspired, compelled or constrained you to share?
B- Have you ever learned or discovered “something about Jesus” that you were that inspired, compelled or constrained you to share? If so what?
C- If you are sorely lacking in this love, affection or amazement concerning Jesus . . . How do you get it? Do you want to get it? If not, why not?
The greatest motivation for purity is one’s desire for God Himself. Sexual sins and impure thoughts are impediments to intimacy with God. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (R. Kent Hughes; Disciplines of Grace, 134)
So What?: If you have no desire to serve Jesus or His Church, your faith may be dead. If you want to live the life that is truly life, you must seek faith in Jesus Who brings freedom, life and hope. Hunger and thirst to “see” Jesus as the Savior of the World . . . and be inspired.
Paul scores a beautiful verbal bull’s-eye when, writing to the Thessalonians, he celebrates “your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thes 1:3). This trio of responsive energies, or should I say, this threefoldness of energetic response, should be visible in every Christian’s life: faith, love, hope; work, exertion, endurance–all together. (What God has joined, let not man separate!) This is Christ-like living. This is holiness in the round. (J. I. Packer; Rediscovering Holiness, 248)
Such dissatisfaction with the world as it is is preparation for traveling in the way of Christian discipleship. The dissatisfaction, coupled with a longing for peace and truth, can set us on a pilgrim path of wholeness in God.
A person has to be thoroughly disgusted with the way things are to find the motivation to set out on the Christian way. As long as we think that the next election might eliminate crime and establish justice or another scientific breakthrough might save the environment or another pay raise might push us over the edge of anxiety into a life of tranquility, we are not likely to risk the arduous uncertainties of the life of faith. A person has to get fed up with the ways of the world before he, before she, acquires an appetite for the world of grace. (Eugene H. Peterson; A Long Obedience in the Same Direction discipleship in an Instant Society, 23)
When a church wears out the linoleum on the floor of the social hall more quickly than it wears out the carpet around the altar, you may mark that church as carnal; it is feeding on the wrong kind of meat. That is why the world is in such sad condition today–churches have become social and recreational centers instead of spiritual cafeterias where souls can be fed and satisfied with the Word of God. The Church of the living God was not commissioned to feed hungry bodies, but to nourish the souls of men. (Oliver B. Greene, The Gospel According to John, Vol. 1, 235)
People are always full of questions, many of them religious questions. If you can get them to express these questions through yourself asking questions, by the grace of God you have already accomplished a great deal in your witness and God will use the aroused interest to point the one asking the questions to Jesus. (James Montgomery Boice, John, The coming of the Light, 314-5)
As the body is satisfied only by food, so is the soul satisfied by obedience. (C.S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on John, 72)
We are to be the kind of people who sometimes get so involved in ministry to others that we do not think of our own needs. It is wonderful to be the kind of people who partake of food the world knows nothing about. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 136)
Recognize the spiritual hunger to which Jesus referred in statements like, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Mt 5:6); and “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ . . . But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Mt 6:31, 33). Don’t you hunger to do God’s will? (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 91)
When were you last so excited about something that you didn’t need to eat? For that matter, when were you last looking with the eyes of Jesus, at the harvest waiting to be gathered? (N. T. Wright, John for Everyone, Part One, 50)
Many a man has to work and never sees the results of his labors. I was once taken round an estate which was famous for its rhododendrons. Its owner loved their acres and knew them all by name. He showed me certain seedlings which would take twenty-five years to flower. He was nearly seventy-five and would never see their beauty–but someone would. No work for Christ and no great undertaking ever fail. If we do not see the result of our labors, others will. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, 169)
Some of you good people, who do nothing except go to public meetings, the Bible readings, and prophetic conferences, and other forms of spiritual dissipation, would be a good deal better Christians if you would look after the poor and needy around you. If you would just tuck up your sleeves for work, and go and tell the Gospel to dying men, you would find your spiritual health mightily restored, for very much of the sickness of Christians comes through their having nothing to do. All feeding and no working makes men spiritual dyspeptics. Be idle, careless, with nothing to live for, nothing to care for, no sinner to pray for, no backslider to lead back to the cross, no trembler to encourage, no little child to tell of a Savior, no grey-headed man to enlighten in the things of God, no object, in fact, to live for; and who wonders if you begin to groan, and to murmur, and to look within, until you are ready to die of despair? (Charles Spurgeon, Metropolitan Taberncale Pulpit, Vol. 55, 128)
Some persons think that they can be secret believers, but the Word of God never considers this a possibility. What does the Word of God say? “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven” (Mt 10:32-33). “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Rom 10:9-10). (James Montgomery Boice, John, The coming of the Light, 308)
We must never despise means because of their apparent weakness, feebleness, and inaptness to do good. God can make the weakest instruments powerful to pull down the strong-holds of sin and Satan, just as He made David’s sling and stone prevail over Goliath. (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 1, 250)
“Another four months, then it’s harvest time;” in other words, there’s always a time lag between sowing and reaping. Not so, says Jesus: in this case, there’s no time lag at all! No sooner sown than reaped! Don’t delay, it’s harvest time already! (N. T. Wright, John for Everyone, Part One, 49)
JESUS:
COMPELLING
