The Harvest is Ready

The harvest is ready

July 16, 2023

John 4:27-42

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INTRO: We live in an amazing state. I have here a representation of one of the most valuable cash crops for the state of Idaho. If you drive to northern ID up by Granville and Moscow, you see a sea of this crop all over the landscape. Wheat is an amazing plant and makes up $706 million dollars of income to Idaho’s farmers last year. But, I was thinking of this plant this week and thought that wheat and or grain is mentioned all over the Bible.

This plant is very interesting to me. It is used in bread, crumpets, muffins, noodles, pasta, biscuits, cakes, pastries, cereal bars, and many other foods. But what is most interesting is that it tells you when it is ready. For some plants only a trained eye can see when it is ready. I am not a farmer and will not pretend to be one but to me, it is no wonder that wheat is used by our Lord as an example and analogy in this text. The reason why I see it being so valuable is because wheat lets you know, it’s time.

Today we see the result of the conversation with the woman at that well. As a review, we talked about the importance of the conversation at the woman at the well. We talked about how the Jews hated the Samaritans and why it was so amazing that Jesus was even in the area. We also talked about the interaction between the woman at the well and Jesus. Remember what the entire point of the discussion was last time? It hinged on worship. Who the Messiah is and why we worship. Today we will see that there is a field of work, a team that works it, a result of their efforts, and a message as a result of that harvest.

1. The woman at the well saw the field.

28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him. [1]

She left her water jar and went. We need to see that she did not stay there and argue with Him or get into a deeper theological argument about the intricacies of the universe. She “went away into town and said…” Her action is a natural action based on an encounter with the Messiah of the world. Her actions are the natural action of someone who recognized salvation.

Many pastors have made entire messages of her leaving her water Jar. I think that is not the point of why John put it there. We can only assume why. Maybe she wanted to leave it for the Lord to get a drink. Maybe it is a representation of her leaving her old life behind. Maybe it was her saying “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Phil 3:7-8) We don’t know the reason exactly and to assume is to error.

Although we cannot fully understand the reason, we can in fact, and absolutely understand the cause. The cause is what is important, not necessarily the effect. The cause is a personal interaction with the living water, an interaction with the author of salvation, and an interaction with the only one in whom hope is found. We see that a very reasonable reaction and if we do not appreciate it, we can miss the importance of why it is written in the Bible and canonized throughout all generations.

If we look at this text, there are three key players. Jesus, the woman, and the disciples. I do not have time to spend on the disciples other than at a very high level. To sum them up, they missed the conversation and the point. They are on the receiving end of the instruction and miss the importance. It is like someone walking up in the middle of a conversation. We can come back and address their responses later but what I want to specifically look at is her and Jesus.

She, an outcast nobody sinner, one that not only her society had written off but one that all of the cultures had discarded got something over the disciples. She understood the value of the one she spoke with. She, a true sinner of sinners, got the point with only “I who speak to you am He”. Got it when Nicodemus, an overly educated man of the law couldn’t. She saw something that all these guys did not. She saw the field.

When I drive through our farmlands, do you know how many crop types I can ID? I can do wheat, corn, and alpha-alpha. That is about it. I can take a guess at some of the others but unless I have someone with me that knows, I am only guessing. After her interaction with the Lord of the universe, she went from a pagan non-believer to a new creation. Her actions showed an immediate effect and an expected outcome. She had an obvious sense of urgency in response to the message by the savior. Jesus also recognized that there is a sense of urgency.

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35[2]

A. Jesus found a new gear. He went from thirsty and no doubt tired to fired up. I have food you don’t know about because you can’t see the importance of what we are about. How many times have you gotten into something so important that you hit a new gear? A burst of energy, clarity, and motivation in spite of no food or water? Jesus sees what is happening. She sees what is happening and it is worth the extra effort and urgancy.

“ 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.[3]

B. “There are yet four months, then comes to the harvest”: If I were to say, looking at this wheat head, how long would you say it has before you should harvest this wheat? Not long. Jesus is saying that the season is obvious. So too is the harvest spiritually speaking!

John 9:4 “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.”

I wonder, do we have that level of energy, clarity, and motivation? There are many fields out there and we are about feeding ourselves instead of working the fields. Church, never before has our country, schools, and communities needed hope. The fields are ready and the workers are few.

2. The spiritual harvest is ready now.

Jesus masterfully uses the planting cycle to teach us how the harvest is done. This process is obvious and we see it today. We may not pay attention to it, but it is playing out in front of our eyes daily. We only need to lift our eyes and see it. We have talked about this a lot, but, people are starving for truth. Not the temporal truth that is offered by our culture that is changeable by the whims of the latest fad. To be clear, people, in their natural non saved state search, just anything but God. This is why the Gospel is so important. If presented in truth, it produces fruit.

The harvest is the result of the truth and that truth is wrapped into what Jesus told the woman at the well. In response to the statement, “Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ)…” Jesus responds “I who speak to you am He”. This was the truth that she and all those who seek it hang their hopes. Truth is wrapped into the person and work of Jesus the Christ.

My favorite verse: “I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except through me”. That verse in John 14:6 is a truth claim. It is also an exclusive claim at being the ONLY way. It is a definitive claim to be true and final. This woman at the well was seeking Christ and ran into Him as she was seeking water from a dusty well. The meeting RESULTED in a powerful testimony of her responding to the light of the world. The interaction produced a tangible example and reason why she is in scripture.

a. “28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”[4]

I love what the NASB version of the Bible says, : “and went into the city and said to the men” There are a couple of profound applications to this:

I. She went to the MEN: this took guts an a demonstration of the fruit of salvation! The men would not have listened to her as the testimony of women was not valued.

Remember what Jesus commanded her to do back in verse 16? “go get your husband”? Who did she go get? The town!

II. She faced her shame head-on and went to the men of the city walking through any cultural or social norms.

III. She had NO fancy pre-determined message to “sell” people. She only said, “Come and see. Could this be? “

These three observations are not exhaustive. We could draw many more from this but one thing that has me concerned. We often take our “testimonies” and elevate them to the level of the Gospel. As powerful as our testimonies are, they are not the Gospel. What Jesus has done in our lives is a RESULT of the Gospel. It would be like me sitting down to eat an amazing steak the size of my head, juicy and moist and sitting unable to take my eye off the fork and a wonder in its technology. The steak is the main attraction! NOT the fork. Is the fork valuable? Sure, but, it is NOT the main character.

b. She left her jar and went: She went! She did not stay and do nothing. She did not sit back and wait for the disciples (varsity team) to go get the men. She went. She was a part of the harvest. She was a key part of the process and Jesus employed her.

This proves that believers are instruments in the spreading of the Gospel. Remember what I said last week? We are the means at which grace is dispensed. We are the instruments used by our Lord in the harvest. Please turn to 1 Cor 3:6-9

1 Cor 3:6-9

“6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. [5]

We are on a team. Sometimes the team spans generations, years, and circumstances without us knowing the real results. But, we see that Paul is saying that we who do the planting, watering are nothing. It is only God who gives the growth. He is the one responsible for the outcome. We are called to present the Gospel in obedience regardless of the outcome.

MARGO analogy

Matt Sly analogy

God is the one who does it all, we are called to present the Gospel in obedience. If asked, share our testimony but return to the Gospel. It’s all about the Gospel of Christ.

3. Reap the harvest in your own field.

Here is the application for the day. It is my goal today to bring us to this final point. If you don’t hear anything else, I want you to hear me now. We as believers are required to REAP the harvest in our own fields. Where are these fields?

i. Fathers: your field is first your lovely bride you put a ring on and the ones setting next to you with the coloring crayons or begging you for dutch on the way home ALONG with that irritating employee or co-worker you deal with every Monday through Friday

ii. Moms: your field is your husband first, kids, and then the lengthy list of people who look to you for truth.

iii. Grandparents: your field is not done growing and producing crops. It is still growing and it is expected and required that you still be in the game.

iv. Youth: your field is the hardest. It is the school of non-believers who do not have the benefit of fathers and mothers like yours.

BUT, before we take on this stress and burden, allow me to share with you this truth. You do not produce the harvest. That is NOT your job. With all my heartache and frustration, I wish I could produce the fruit. But, I cannot.

Tony Mather story:

Your job is NOT to save. It is to be obedient to the calling of the Gospel of Christ Jesus. Look at the result of the woman’s efforts:

“39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” [6]

Look at the progression. They were curious and came to Him and “believed” in Him. If I stopped there it kind of shoots my argument apart about the power of a personal testimony, doesn’t it? BUT, we can’t stop reading! Look closely at verse 42, “for we have heard for ourselves, and we KNOW that this is indeed the Savior of the world”.

That is the lasting truth. This right here is a lasting conversion. This is the hearts of believers getting it. Seeing the harvest and recognizing who it is that is harvesting. This right here is the difference between a head knowledge that tickles people’s curiosity and true faith in the Savior of the world. This is a true conversion that is spoken of in Romans 10: 9-10

“…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is LORD and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

The word “confess” means “acknowledge, admit” in Greek: meaning, a core, soul confession that HE is LORD. Lord means the Lord of salvation. These people see that HE who is harvesting is the God of heaven and Earth. The God who celebrates when just one sinner repents and is saved.

John 4:36 “Already the one who reaps (Christ) is receiving wages and gather fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.”

What an amazing picture! God of heaven rejoicing in the time of Harvest! No wonder why Jesus was saying, “guys don’t bug me about the sandwich! Game on boys! We got work to do!”. This verse is NOT a stand-alone!

Luke 15:7 “…I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Who is celebrating? All of heaven! Heaven rejoices! God, Son, Holy Spirit, and the angels! Look at the party in heaven and it SHOULD be happening here on Earth. If you have come to know Christ, that is your Spiritual Birthday and I would argue it is more important than your physical birthday and we should be celebrating it! That is why we ask about it during our next steps classes. We want to know your story that POINTS to Christ. We want to know it and celebrate it because it points to Jesus.

This celebration makes what we do every Sunday and day of the week when we work in our fields a joy, not a chore. Are you going to those fields I talked about and “acting Christian” because you have to? We need to remember the value of this message and who this message is about. When we lose sight of the harvest, we turn this Christian thing into a chore.

VBS story:

I was asked to fill in for the discussion time. After the message was given to the kids I was asked to answer any questions. I listened to the guy giving the salvation message to the kids and then I was supposed to answer any questions. The poor kids had no idea what was coming. I was given the 5th graders. Instead of answering questions, I asked them the questions and they were not ready for it. I thought, how can kids accept the Gospel of Christ if they don’t know what it is or who He is? So, I asked them:

1. What is the Gospel? “Jesus loves you”

2. Why Jesus? “He wants to save us”

3. From what? “From our sin”

These were the answers and to me, not to the level of a fith grade student. They are okay, but do they capture what the Gospel is? I would argue we have some work to do. Look, before I go any further, how can I tell people about Jesus if I don’t fully understand who He is? The Biblical Jesus is this and it each of us HAVE to know this!

The Gospel is Jesus! The sinless Son of God. Sent to be born of a virgin into a sin filled world. He was sent to live under a perfect law that we break continually day in and day out. He not only kept the law but fulfilled that law perfectly living a righteous perfect life. He was the perfect Son of God who stood ready to offer HIS perfect righteousness to us affording us the opportunity to stand blameless before a perfect God.

He went to a cross where He willingly died to bare the sins of everyone who was to believe and confess that He is Lord. There on that cross, Christ bore the weight of the sin and shame of every believer. He alone satisfied the justified wrath of the Just God of heaven. He took the penalty of that sin on Himself affording us believers to be free from that wrath that was intended for us. Thanks to Christ’s work on that cross, God does not remember our sin anymore. He casts it as far as the east is from the west. The penalty that was on us is no more.

Think about this! The very worst about me was laid unjustly on Him and the very best of Him graciously laid on me. As he poured out His perfect blood on that cross, He reconciled us to God. By doing this HE gives us the gift of being called sons and daughters of the Highest. There is no other name under heaven who can save! By doing this He cuts the burden of sin, shame and rebellion and offers us the title of heir to the King of Kings, Lord of Lords. After hearing the Gospel, one has to ask, why me? I don’t’ deserve this! Now it’s personally real is it not?

Now, how does that message compare to “Hey, Jesus loves you man, and has a good plan for you”?

Kids, I just said that you have your own fields. Adults, I just said that you have a field. How does your message of the Gospel sound? If I asked today, are you prepared to be the woman at the well and go and tell of a man who saves? You have a responsibility to present the TRUE Gospel. 1 Peter 3:14-15 says:

“14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect[7]

If I read this verse right, we are to have no fear. God’s Word clearly says perfect love casts out fear. God’s love is what we are to embrace and show in our lives. This love is shown in His written and revealed Word and in your laps. It is all there and is simple enough for children to read. We are to honor Christ enough as Holy by being prepared to make a defense for what He has done in our lives. That means, believers, we are responsible to know and share. To tell the field that Christ has put us in about who Jesus is.

CONCLUSION:

Today we learned a lot about a woman who was sent into a field that was ready for the harvest. She got it. She understood that it was time and there was urgency to the need. She did not know all the theological answers, she responded to the light that was given her in the obedience. Then the HS took it from there. She was obedient to go to her field and bring people to the one who is able to save. The harvest was huge. Her obedience was a part of the harvesting process but the glory is due to the One who saves. It’s about Jesus. It’s about what He did and does in our lives that should create urgency in Him.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. [2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. [3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. [4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. [5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. [6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. [7] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.