John 4:31-38 says...

Today's devotional verses are John chapter 4 and verses 31 through 38, which read,

v.31 - Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."

The disciples have come back from town with some food for Jesus.  They find Him talking to a woman, a Samaritan woman.  They question this in their minds.  The Samaritan woman flees from their presence leaving the water-pot that she came with.  Maybe there are more questions going through their minds of why that happened but it is pushed aside as they get back to the main concern, their Rabbi's hunger.  Nicodemus focused on the physical, the Samaritan woman focused on the physical, and here are the disciples focused on the physical.

v.32, 33 - But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."  So the disciples were saying to one another, "No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?"

The disciples have followed suit to get stuck on the physical while Jesus is talking about the spiritual.  Jesus is telling them that there is a different kind of food available to them.  The spiritual birth (being born again) is different than the physical birth (from the womb).  The living water ( from Jesus) is different than the physical water (from Jacob's well).  The heavenly food (to be revealed) is different that the physical food (just purchased in town).

v.34 - Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work."

What is spiritual food?  Spiritual food is doing God's will.  Spiritual food is being about God's work.  There is a satisfaction and satiety that comes from operating out of the palm of God's hand.  Just as physical food brings fullness to our bellies so spiritual food brings fullness to our souls.  Have you felt full spiritually?  It only happens when you are about doing the will of God and the work of God.

v.35 - "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest."

They planted in December and they harvested in April.  So Jesus is saying that in the physical world they are waiting for April to gather in the physical harvest.  But in the spiritual world, the harvest is ready now.  The spiritual harvest is white; it has ripened; and it is ready to be gathered.  The spiritual harvest is very different than the physical harvest.  The physical harvest is dependent on the seasons but the spiritual harvest is dependent on the will and work of God being performed which Jesus has been doing through the conversation with the woman at the well.

v.36, 37 - "Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this case the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.'"

Jesus is the one who has been sowing and the disciples are going to be in on the reaping in our next devotional on Monday.  Jesus offered Nicodemus eternal life.  Jesus offered the Samaritan woman eternal life.  Jesus is telling His disciples that they will be reapers of those who receive this eternal life given by Jesus.  Both He, the Sower, and they, the reapers, will rejoice together over this endeavor.

v.38 - "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor."

There has been work done before you as the reaper, the harvester, have arrived.  There is the Word of God; there are the prophets of God; there are the faithful ones of faith of the Old Covenant; there is John the Baptist pointing the way; and there is Jesus who is the salvation.  We come on the heels of all of that not to steal their thunder but to participate in God's grand plan.  God set it up this way.  We are not the answer, Jesus is.  We speak of Him who saves and we sometimes just spread the seed about Him; sometimes we water the seed that has already been given; and sometimes we get to harvest someone ripe for harvest to confess, call, and commit to Jesus Christ.  This labor is not our own.  It is God's and when we are about God's work, we will be filled like no physical food could fill us.

It is Christmas time and there is a lot of physical food around us.  Some of this physical food is special and we only prepare and eat it once a year.  We may look forward to grandma's special cookies or the Christmas breakfast we have each Christmas morning.  Be reminded by Jesus that even these special preparations of delicious physical food pales to the satisfaction you will receive from taking in the spiritual food of doing the will and work of God.  Let us pray.

"Heavenly Father, what a passage of Scripture that is yet to be completed.  You have prepared Your disciples for what is yet to come.  There is a harvest that has been sown that needs to be harvested.  May we be willing and eager reapers of Your labors today.  Amen."

Pastor Adam