The Great Harvest
For the Lord’s Day:  the 24^th of October 2004 

John 4: 27-38

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.  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.  Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.”  (John 4: 34-36)

Introduction:  Earlier this summer, when we were driving in the county – one of my students wondered out loud if the entire county was planted to field corn.  Only a third, I assured her and it would all be out of the fields by Thanksgiving.  Thinking back to my youth, I remember how my father harvested ear corn the old fashioned way.  He was aware of course that corn needed a drying time and was used to the old methodology that you did not gather the ears into the bin until late October and early November.  But there were things that could be done to make use of the new harvest.  As early as August and September, there would be the daily trips to the field to cut the still green stalks for the cattle, and once the ears developed, they were chopped into bite sized pieces to make eating and digesting easier for the livestock.  Only in October could some of the dryer ears be run through the corn sheller or taken into the elevator for grinding, cob and all. 

In the September-October meantime, like some of the Amish, he would go into the field on wet days and shock the stalks, ears and all – go get a head start on the drying time.  These stalks could be brought in to the barn and processed on warm winter days when the fields would allow the necessary traffic.  All of this may seem complicated – but it was just several of the methodologies to save the drying expense and postpone the cash sale of any excess to when a neighbor with a combine could come in and haul out the now dry grain, after their own was already done.  In addition, whenever the heavy equipment could not get into the fields, he would go out with the horses and wagon and harvest the corn ear by ear.  Sometimes, if he was working late some of us would go out and help after school until twilight.

All of this varied activity came home to roost in my mind years later, when I later read of Melanchthon’s dream of Luther working frantically in a world sized field taking in the spiritual harvest of the Reformation.  So Melanchthon left his prayers and studies to stand with Luther in the grand enterprise of gathering in the Reformation harvest in Europe.  The Lord too sent other laborers, such as Calvin, Knox and a host of others and thereby with the enabling of the Holy Spirit most of Europe was transformed into an evangelical Christian culture.

Development:  In my conversations with younger pastors over the years, I have learned how emotionally tied up we can all get with the amount of people in attendance on Sunday morning, week by week.  One young man even admitted that he had briefly wondered if he should continue in the ministry one particularly bad weekend when so many of his sheep were out of town or sleeping in.  Well, I must confess that I have also over the years found it very inspiring when the morning crowd is larger than ordinary!  However, if I may get to an essential point of the text – it is this:  do you see the excitement and anticipation of Jesus Christ in this scene, when the one woman to whom he was talking went into town to spread the word that she had met a prophet!  And thereby – a whole crowd began to come out of their houses and stores to see, hear and listen to the good news that Christ would have for them.

“I have food to eat that you do not know about.” This providential happenstance allowed the Lord to temporarily forget the fatigue, thirst and hunger of his ordinary human body.  The spiritual excitement of sensing the redemptive work being begun in the hearts of this small town in Samaria – allowed Him to put aside supper time until the necessary work was accomplished.  Calvin instructs us that in this passage, we should learn that “the kingdom of God ought to be preferred to all the comforts of the body.  God allows us, indeed, to eat and drink, provided that we are not withdrawn from what is the highest importance; that is, that every man attend to his own calling.”

It may appear that we have taken up the end of our text before exploring the beginning, however, I am only pointing to those verses which contain the central issue at hand in the text before us today, which is this:  the importance of the spiritual kingdom trumps every activity of the material when we are given an opportunity to do the Lord’s work.  While I do not get out and about as much as some, it is amazing that when you are meeting strangers, how often you really get a chance to share the hope that is in us. 

As you all should realize from knowing me more than just a few weeks – my primary calling is to sow the spiritual seed, rather than be a skilled harvester.  I have labored for almost three decades in educational spheres where there were opportunities for a one on one witness was possible to lay the groundwork for a future spiritual harvest.  We all have to realize our abilities, skills and calling in this regard of participating in the work of the kingdom.  And I am not ashamed when others are able to demonstrate an ability to find the harvest when it is full born.  Too often in the Christian Church only one methodology of harvesting is evident, taught and encouraged.  Remember the multiple methods my father used in gathering in the corn crop?  Today, the mechanization process allows only one sweep through the field, whether the crop is ready or not.  If it is not – precious monies must be spent in drying the corn.  Yes, the harvest is more quickly gotten in and processed, but any ear by ear evaluation of the crop is long lost and much dust, dirt and inferior commodities are ground up in the animal feed supply.

What I am saying is that we are called to work one to one with those being called into God’s kingdom.  Certainly, we can labor together and enjoy much fellowship in the process.  Years ago, once the shocks had been gathered into the barn – it was common, week by week to arrange a series of husking parties around the neighborhood.  Couples and families would take a shock of the old blue corn and separate the stalks from the ears.  Many hands of course made quick work and once the shocks were stacked outside and the grain inside – the floor could be cleared, a fiddle brought out and a dance or more be had along with any refreshments, before heading home by buggy or sleigh.  And to add a little romance to the evening, couples who were husking the blue ears together – were allowed a quick kiss whenever a red ear was discovered.  Those farmers whose crop was more likely to produce a few more red ears thereby had more volunteers at their husking bees.

Application:   Now, you all know that I am not one who advocates the popular entertainment model of focusing on fellowship before the gospel in our day and time.  After all, there is more to the text than a Festifall or harvest celebration here in this passage.  And to that end, let us go back to the beginning of our text and work through the events which led to this crowd of villagers being brought to see and hear our Lord Jesus Christ.

First of all there is the providential arrangement of all things.  It doesn’t just happen that the lady at the well meets the Lord of life by chance.  Perhaps as some liberal commentators allow it, the woman has chosen to attend to her household duty of collecting water at a time of day when none of the other women in the village are likely to be stirring about.  After all – in the greater majority of small town and village cultures known to have existed, even pagans are reluctant to tolerate a loose woman preying on the village men without some small price in tolerance extracted.  It is only in our time, that locally enforced morals and habits have been suspended by village Soviets or politically correct law suits.  But, let us be certain of this; however the woman chanced upon the most important meeting in her life, it was not fate that found her, but the savior of men and women – the Lord Himself. 

Second, enough water had passed over the dam of life experiences that she was aware that her day to day existence was not in order morally.  All of those who belong to Christ must come to this conclusion at the pregnant moment when the new life is conceived in the desperate realization of sin which condemns the wicked to death and eternity in hell.  Jesus had only to remind her of the long trail of wretched relationships.  “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands and the one you now have is not your husband.  What you have said is true.”  (John 4: 17b-18)

Third, by rumor, tradition or minimal teaching and exposure – she shared however minimally in the Jewish hope of a promised Messiah.  In point of fact, at the time of Christ the whole Mediterranean world – that counted intellectually, morally and prophetically: there was a widespread minimal knowledge that great things were expected from the remnant tribes collected in Judea.  Their Messiah might actually come.  We know this because of the reaction of the local citizens.  “They went out of the town and were coming to him.”

Fourth: the whole of the harvest must be gathered in, in a timely manner as the Holy Spirit allows and encourages.  And like the almost ancient practices of harvesting American corn – the Lord follows in pursuit according to His will and purpose.  In the time of Christ, we may imagine the former Jewish crop of elect to be like the shocked corn, already gathered together but not yet shucked.  What a great day it was in Hades when Christ descended into the place of the dead and brought many captives out in his train, even as the psalmist once prophesied.  In addition, there are those laid up early in life to be dried out by the work and witness of Christ’s Church, and then later all of those whose life experiences has left them parched to be gathered later, if my opening methodology index be not unspiritual in its assessment.

Fifth: the important thing before us today, one and all is if we like the Samaritan woman are willing to admit our sin and recognize the Lord as the promised Messiah?  And if we are, then are we willing to put aside our precious chores and go to those we know and share the good news.  After all, there must have been some transforming infectious quality in this fallen woman – to gain the immediate attention of the whole village.  They must have seen in her a sinner transformed by grace and excited with the prospect of a new life in Jesus Christ.

Sixth and last: our final note comes straight from the Lord in the instructions that He gave to the disciples in our last two verses:  “For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’  I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor.  Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”  To that I might add, what I have said often enough – once the average person finally accepts the Lord Jesus Christ: as many as thirty people have had an influence towards that outcome.  We never know where we are in the precious chain of salvation being realized and thus we must be willing and able to speak to that which we know whenever another human passes by and engages us in conversation.  Are you able to participate in the harvest in those terms?  I do indeed hope so and I would pray that you are ready to serve the Master in this precious ministry today and always.  Amen.

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PREACHING RESOURCES
Calvin, John:  Commentary on the Gospel of John.
The Holy Bible:  English Standard Version.

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