Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 4:36
And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
36. unto life eternal ] Another small change without reason (comp. Joh 12:25, Joh 17:3). Our translators vary between ‘eternal life,’ ‘life eternal,’ ‘everlasting life,’ and ‘life everlasting’ (Joh 12:50). The Greek is in all cases the same, and should in all cases be translated ‘eternal life.’ See on Joh 3:16. Here ‘ into eternal life’ would perhaps be better: ‘eternal life’ is represented as the granary into which the fruit is gathered, not the future result of the gathering. See on Joh 4:14. Comp. for similar imagery, ‘The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few, &c.’ Mat 9:37-38.
that both ] i.e. In order that both: shewing that this was God’s purpose and intention.
he that soweth ] Christ, not the Prophets. The Gospel is not the fruit of which the O.T. is the seed; rather the Gospel is the seed for which the O.T. prepared the ground.
he that reapeth ] Christ’s ministers.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He that reapeth – He that gathers the harvest, or he who so preaches that souls are converted to Christ.
Receiveth wages – The laborer in the harvest receives his hire. Jesus says it shall be thus with those who labor in the ministry – he will not suffer them to go unrewarded. See Dan 12:3; Mat 19:28.
Gathereth fruit unto life eternal – Converts souls, who shall inherit eternal life. The harvest is not temporary, like gathering grain, but shall result in eternal life.
That both he that soweth … – It is a united work. It matters little whether we sow the seed or whether we reap the harvest. It is part of the same work, and whatever part we may do, we should rejoice. God gives the increase, while Paul may plant and Apollos water. The teacher in the Sunday school, who sows the seed in early life, shall rejoice with the minister of the gospel who may gather in the harvest, and both join in giving all the praise to God.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 36. And he that reapeth receiveth wages] Or, And already the reaper receiveth wages. By making the word , already, the beginning of this verse, on the authority of some excellent MSS. and versions, a more consistent sense is obtained than from the common arrangement, where terminates the preceding verse.
Already the heavenly sower, Jesus Christ, becomes the reaper of the produce of the seed which he had so lately sown; and receives the wages which he desired, the high gratification of saving immortal souls; and gathers in his fruit unto eternal life. So the sower and the reaper, who are here one and the same person, rejoiced together, having seen the seed time and the harvest take place on the same day. The sower had not time to leave the field which he had sown, till it was full time to gather in the harvest!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
You that are the Lords instruments, to reap what the prophets of old, and John Baptist lately, have sown, shall not lose your labour, you shall receive wages; and your wages shall not be small, it shall be no less than eternal life: They that turn man, to righteousness, shall shine as the stars for ever and ever, Dan 12:3. Thus the prophets, and John the Baptist, who sowed the seed of the gospel, and you that succeed them, and reap the fruit of what they did sow, shall have the same reward in glory and rejoice together. The ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed, as Amos speaks, Amo 9:13. This text is of great use to those godly ministers who faithfully sow the seed of the word, but do not in their lifetime see any great effects of it; it may be it comes up when they are in their graves. The reward of a faithful preacher doth not depend upon his success in his labours, but upon his faithful discharge of his work; though one soweth and another reapeth, yet both he that soweth and he that reapeth shall rejoice together.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
36. he that reapeth, c.As ourLord could not mean that the reaper only, and not the sower, received”wages,” in the sense of personal reward for hiswork, the “wages” here can be no other than the joy ofhaving such a harvest to gather inthe joy of “gathering fruitunto life eternal.”
rejoice togetherTheblessed issue of the whole ingathering is the interest alike of thesower as of the reaper it is no more the fruit of the last operationthan of the first; and just as there can be no reaping withoutprevious sowing, so have those servants of Christ, to whom isassigned the pleasant task of merely reaping the spiritual harvest,no work to do, and no joy to taste, that has not been prepared totheir hand by the toilsome and often thankless work of theirpredecessors in the field. The joy, therefore, of the greatharvest festivity will be the common joy of all who have taken anypart in the work from the first operation to the last. (SeeDeu 16:11; Deu 16:14;Psa 126:6; Isa 9:3).What encouragement is here for those “fishers of men” who”have toiled all the night” of their official life, and, tohuman appearance, “have taken nothing!”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he that reapeth receiveth wages,…. Angels are sometimes called reapers, and so are ministers of the Gospel here. The works and ministry of the apostles are here expressed by “reaping”: for as in reaping, when the corn is ripe, the sickle is put in, and the corn is cut down, and laid to the ground, and then bound in sheaves, and gathered into the barn; so when things are ripe in providence, and God’s set time is come to convert any of his people, he makes use of his ministers for the cutting them down, laying low the loftiness and haughtiness of man, stripping him of all his goodliness, and taking him off of a dependence on his own righteousness and works, and for the gathering them into his churches, which is done with a great deal of joy and pleasure: and such as are so employed, and in this way made useful, shall “receive wages”, shall not only be taken care of in providence, and have a sufficient and comfortable maintenance, the labourer being worthy of his hire; but shall have pleasure, delight, and satisfaction in their work, that being blessed for the good of souls, and the glory of Christ, and they having the presence God in it; and also shall hereafter receive the crown of righteousness, when they have finished their course, and shall shine like the stars for ever and ever.
And gathereth fruit unto life eternal: by fruit are meant sinners converted and turned from the error of their ways which are the fruit of a Gospel ministry, of the efficacy and power of divine grace accompanying it; see Joh 15:16; and these are gathered, by the preaching of the Gospel, out from among the rest of mankind, unto Christ, the Shiloh, or peace maker, and into his churches, and remain, abide, and persevere to the end; that grace, which is implanted in their souls, being a well of living water, springing up to everlasting life; so that they are at last gathered into Christ’s garner, into heaven, where they shall live with him for ever:
that both he that soweth, and he that reapeth, may rejoice together. The sowers are the prophets of the Old Testament, who sowed that seed in the prophecies, which sprung up in Gospel times, and laid the foundation therein of the great success of the apostles of Christ in preaching the word; for they so clearly described the Messiah, and pointed out Christ, his offices, and his work, in so distinct a manner, that when he was come he was readily known, and cheerfully embraced; they greatly facilitated the work of the apostles, who had nothing to do but to preach Christ, as come in the flesh: and hence they reaped and gathered a vast harvest of souls every where. John the Baptist also was one that sowed; he prepared the way of the Lord, and made straight his paths: and our Lord himself was a sower, that went forth to sow, and who sowed good seed in the field; all which succeeded well, and were ripening apace for a general harvest, which began on the day of Pentecost, after our Lord’s ascension to heaven. This was in Judea; and in the Gentile world there was a sowing in providence, which contributed to make the work of the disciples more easy there, and to bring on, in time, a large harvest. The books of the Old Testament were translated into the Greek language; and the Jews were scattered in the several parts of the world; and the Greek tongue, in which the New Testament was to be written, was every where generally spoken; and these providences were ripening apace to bring on a great work there. And now, as before observed, the apostles were the reapers; they were remarkably successful in the gathering in of souls, even more than the prophets, than John the Baptist, or Christ himself; never was such a harvest of souls, either in Judea, or in the Gentile world, before or since; of which the conversion of these Samaritans was a pledge or earnest. Now when the whole harvest is gathered in, at the end of the world, all these will rejoice together, the “patriarchs” and prophets, the forerunner of Christ, and Christ himself, and all his apostles and ministers; the different parts they have had in this work all concurring and agreeing together, and issuing in the glory of God, and the good of souls.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Already he that reapeth receiveth wages ( ). The spiritual harvester can gather his harvest without waiting four months. Jesus is reaping a harvest right now by the conversion of this woman. The labourer is worthy of his hire (Luke 10:7; 2Tim 2:6). John does not use (reward) again, but (15:2-16), “fruit for life eternal” (cf. 4:14).
That he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together ( ). Final use of with present active subjunctive of , to rejoice, in the singular with (the sower) and to be repeated with (the reaper). The adverb (together) elsewhere in N.T. only John 20:4; John 21:2; Acts 2:1. Usually considerable time passes between the sowing and the reaping as in verse 35. Amos (Am 9:13) spoke of the time when “the ploughman shall overtake the reaper” and that has happened here with the joy of the harvest time (Isa 9:3). Jesus the Sower and the disciples as the reapers are here rejoicing simultaneously.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And he that reapeth receiveth wages,” (ho therizon misthon lambanei) “The one who reaps receives wages,” personal pay or remuneration for his labors, as well as the one who sows, Psa 126:5-6; Ecc 11:1-6; 1Co 3:8; 1Co 9:16-17.
2) “And gathereth fruit unto life eternal:- (kai sunagei karpon eis zoen aionion) “And personally gathers fruit with relation to eternal life,” so that the final testimony of one’s labors, influence, and works that follow him in the Lord, will not be without remuneration, at the judgement seat of Christ, Rom 6:22; 2Co 5:10-11.
3) “That both he that soweth and he that reapeth,” (hina ho opeiron kai ho therizon) “in order that he who sows and he who reaps,” as one plants and another waters, etc. 1Co 3:6; Act 16:14; 1Co 15:10-11.
4) “May rejoice together.” (homou chaire) “May rejoice one day together,” at the time of rewarding, 1Co 3:5; 1Co 3:9; 1Th 2:19; Ecc 11:1.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
36. And he who reapeth receiveth reward. How diligently we ought to devote ourselves to the work of God, he proves by another argument; namely, because a large and most excellent reward is reserved for our labor; for he promises that there will be fruit, and fruit not corruptible or fading. What he adds about fruit may be explained in two ways; either it is an announcement of the reward, and on that supposition he would say the same thing twice in different words; or, he applauds the labors of those who enrich the kingdom of God, as we shall afterwards find him repeating,
I have chosen you, that you may go and bear fruit, and that your fruit may remain, (Joh 15:16.)
And certainly both considerations ought greatly to encourage the ministers of the word, that they may never sink under the toil, when they hear that a crown of glory is prepared for them in heaven, and know that the fruit of their harvest will not only be precious in the sight of God, but will also be eternal. It is for this purpose that Scripture everywhere mentions reward, and not for the purpose of leading us to judge from it as to the merits of works; for which of us, if we come to a reckoning, will not be found more worthy of being punished for slothfulness than of being rewarded for diligence? To the best laborers nothing else will be left than to approach to God in all humility to implore forgiveness. But the Lord, who acts towards us with the kindness of a father, in order to correct our sloth, and to encourage us who would otherwise be dismayed, deigns to bestow upon us an undeserved reward.
This is so far from overturning justification by faith that it rather confirms it. For, in the first place, how comes it that God finds in us any thing to reward, but because He has bestowed it upon us by his Spirit? Now we know that the Spirit is the earnest and pledge of adoption, (Eph 1:14.) Secondly, how comes it that God confers so great honor on imperfect and sinful works but because, after having by free grace reconciled us to himself, He accepts our works without any regard to merit, by not imputing the sins which cleave to them? The amount of this passage is, that the labor which the Apostles bestow on teaching ought not to be reckoned by them hard and unpleasant, since they know that it is so useful and so advantageous to Christ and to the Church.
That he who soweth, and he who reapeth, may rejoice together. By these words Christ shows that the fruit which the Apostles will derive from the labors of others cannot give just ground of complaint to any person. And this additional statement deserves notice; for if in the world the groans of those who complain that the fruit of their labor has been conveyed to another do not hinder the new possessor from cheerfully reaping what another has sown, how much more cheerful ought the reapers to be, when there is mutual consent and mutual joy and congratulation?
But, in order that this passage may be properly understood, we must comprehend the contrast between sowing and reaping The sowing was the doctrine of the Law and the Prophets; for at that time the seed thrown into the soil remained, as it were, in the blade; but the doctrine of the Gospel, which brings men to proper maturity, is on that account justly compared to the harvest. For the Law was very far from that perfection which has at length been exhibited to us in Christ. To the same purpose is the well-known comparison between infancy and manhood which Paul employs, when he says, that
the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth not from a servant, though he be lord of all, but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed by the father, (Gal 4:1.)
In short, since the coming of Christ brought along with it present salvation, we need not wonder if the Gospel, by which the door of the heavenly kingdom is opened, be called the harvest of the doctrine of the Prophets. And yet it is not at all inconsistent with this statement, that the Fathers under the Law were gathered into God’s barn; but this comparison must be referred to the manner of teaching; for, as the infancy of the Church lasted to the end of the Law, but, as soon as the Gospel had been preached, it immediately arrived at manhood, so at that time the salvation began to ripen, of which the sowing only had been accomplished by the Prophets.
But, as Christ delivered this discourse in Samaria, he appears to extend the sowing more widely than to the Law and the Prophets; and there are some who interpret these words as applying equally to the Jews and to the Gentiles. I acknowledge, indeed, that some grains of piety were always scattered throughout the whole world, and there can be no doubt that — if we may be allowed the expression — God sowed, by the hand of philosophers and profane writers, the excellent sentiments which are to be found in their writings. But, as that seed was degenerated from the very root, and as the corn which could spring from it, though not good or natural, was choked by a huge mass of errors, it is unreasonable to suppose that such destructive corruption is compared to sowing Besides, what is here said about uniting in joy cannot at all apply to philosophers or any persons of that class.
Still, the difficulty is not yet solved, for Christ makes special reference to the Samaritans. I reply, though everything among them was infected by corruptions, there still was some hidden seed of piety. For whence does it arise that, as soon as they hear a word about Christ, they are so eager to seek him, but because they had learned, from the Law and the Prophets, that the Redeemer would come? Judea was indeed the Lord’s peculiar field, which he had cultivated by the Prophets, but, as some small portion of seed had been carried into Samaria, it is not without reason that Christ says that there also it reached maturity. If it be objected that the Apostles were chosen to publish the Gospel throughout the whole world, the reply is easy, that Christ spoke in a manner suited to the time, with this exception, that, on account of the expectation of the fruit which already was nearly ripe, he commends in the Samaritans the seed of prophetic doctrine, though mixed and blended with many weeds or corruptions. (84)
(84) “ C’est a dire, de corruptions.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(36) And he that reapeth.The wages of the reaper is the joythe greatest that the heart can knowof gathering others, as men gather corn into the garner, into eternal life. The sower is Christ Himself, whose words have been the seed in the womans heart, already bringing forth a harvest in those who are coming to Him. The reapers are the disciples. In this harvest day they would learn, from sympathy with the souls of others, the joy of the reaper, and in that joy it was ordained that sower and reaper should rejoice together.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
36. Receiveth wages There is not only joy in the crop but wages for the labour. His disciples, as well as himself, are sowers and reapers, who have the delight of success in this world, and the reward of eternal life in the eternal world.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘He who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For in this the saying holds true, ‘one sows and another reaps’. I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.’
Jesus now took the opportunity to press home the lesson. The opportunity was not only His but theirs. They too must take every opportunity to proclaim His message, for then they will receive great rewards and they will ‘gather fruit for eternal life’. This latter refers to those who would be saved through their labours. They will have the joy of knowing they have changed the lives of others and brought them into the life of the age to come. By their fruits they will be known.
He then reminded them that they were not the only ones involved. There have to be sowers as well as reapers, and often the former is the harder task. The prophets had sown, and had suffered. John the Baptiser had sown, and he too would suffer, although he at least had seen some of the harvest. Simeon and Anna the prophetess were sowers (Luke 2). But the disciples were in the privileged position of being reapers. They would harvest the work of others. The work of the Spirit had now begun. They must not hesitate to reap the harvest. Then both sowers and reapers would be able to rejoice together.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 4:36-38. And he that reapeth, &c. As the disciples laboured together with our Lord in this spiritual harvest,to encourage them, he put them in mind of the reward. The passage should be read as follows: “He that reapeth and gathereth the fruit [of souls] unto life eternal; he that conducts others into heaven (alluding to the gathering of reaped corn into barns) such a personreceiveth wages; that both he that soweth, and he that reapeth, may rejoice together; namely, in the reward bestowed on them, the pleasure of which will be increased by their joint participation of it.” Our Lord then proceeds to apply another proverb, Joh 4:37. The words, whereon ye bestowed no labour, Joh 4:38 mean, “no labour of sowing;” Other men laboured, namely, in sowing the feeds of piety and holiness among the Jews, and therebyexposed themselves to great persecutions, (he meant the prophets of old;) “and ye are entered into their labours,into the field on which their labour had been carefully employed;” .Comp. 2Co 10:15. “Ye are employed to reap that, which they with great difficulty sowed; for ye are gathering into the kingdom of heaven those, who, by the writings of the prophets and the grace of God, having been imbued with a sense of piety and virtue, are prepared for entering into it.” This application of the proverb, one soweth and another reapeth, does not imply any discontent in the persons who sow without reaping, as it seems to do in common use; for the sower and the reaper are represented as rejoicing together in the rewards of this spiritual husbandry.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 4:36 . This harvest how full of recompense for the reapers ( i.e . for you, my disciples)! The wages for the reaper’s labour consist in this, that ( explicative ) he gathers fruit into life eternal (this is spoken locally , as denoting the granary, as is clear from , against Luthardt, who takes to denote the result); comp. Joh 4:14 , without any figure: “He converts men, and thus secures for them an entrance into the Messiah’s kingdom.” Thereupon, as well the sower (Christ) as the reaper rejoice together , according to God’s ordinance ( ). Chrysostom and many others wrongly take to denote the prophets . For , with one verb in the singular and two subjects, comp. Hom. Il . . 61: ;; Soph. Aj . 1058. Here, however, it certainly signifies the simultaneousness of the joy, not simply joy in common (B. Crusius, Luthardt); for it is the joy of harvest , which the Sower also shares in time of harvest, on account of the blessing with which His toil in sowing is now crowned.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
Ver. 36. That he that soweth, &c. ] That is, that both the prophets that sowed and the apostles that reaped, &c., for the people were prepared by the writings of the prophets to be wrought upon by the apostles. The Samaritans also had the Bible, agreeing, for the most part, with that we have from the Jews. The copy of this Samaritan Bible was first brought from Damascus into Christendom by one Petrus de Valle, A. D. 1626.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
36. ] The of the is in the here implied, in having gathered many into eternal life, just as the of the was His joy already begun in His heavenly work. See Mat 20:1-16 and notes.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 4:36 . W. H [51] close Joh 4:35 with and begin 36 . Already, and not after four months waiting, the harvester has his reward and gathers fruit to life eternal. The reaper has not to wait, but even now and in one and the same action finds his reward ( cf. 1Co 9:17 ) and gathers the great product of this world which nourishes not merely through one winter till next year’s crop is gathered but to life eternal. , “that sower and reaper may rejoice at one and the same time”. Here among the Samaritans this extraordinary spectacle was seen, Jesus the Sower and the disciples the reapers working almost simultaneously. So quickly had the crop sprung that the reapers trod on the heels of the Sower.
[51] Westcott and Hort.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
eternal. App-151.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
36.] The of the is in the here implied, in having gathered many into eternal life, just as the of the was His joy already begun in His heavenly work. See Mat 20:1-16 and notes.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 4:36. ) and now accordingly. The time of the New Testament is the harvest.- , he who reapeth) The harvest itself follows at a very brief interval the whitening of the fields.-, reward [wages]) namely, the fruit itself: great compensation for ones trouble, great gain: Mat 18:15, If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.-, receiveth) already, at the present time.-, fruit) many souls.- , the sower) The sowing in Israel drew after it a harvest in Judea, in Samaria, and over the whole earth.-, together) in the same life eternal: not the one without the other: Heb 11:40, God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 4:36
Joh 4:36
He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal; that he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.-One who improves all opportunities, who does not despise the day of small things, who is constant about the work of the Father will receive wages and in his work will bear fruit unto eternal life, both he who sows and the fruit he bears will enjoy eternal life. [They who reap a harvest of souls will receive spiritual wages; not earthly pay in money, such as reapers in harvest fields reap, nor of fame, or position, but the happiness of doing the greatest work on earth and a crown that fadeth not away in the world to come. Gathereth fruit means souls that are gathered as the sheaves in the heavenly garner. There saved souls and the reaper rejoice together.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
he that reapeth receiveth: Pro 11:30, Dan 12:3, Rom 1:13, Rom 6:22, 1Co 9:19-23, Phi 2:15, Phi 2:16, 1Th 2:19, 1Ti 4:16, 2Ti 4:7, 2Ti 4:8, Jam 5:19, Jam 5:20
both he that: 1Co 3:5-9
Reciprocal: Lev 26:5 – threshing Ecc 4:9 – a good Ecc 11:6 – sow Mat 9:37 – The harvest Mar 4:26 – as 1Co 3:8 – he that planteth Gal 6:8 – of the Spirit Jam 3:18 – the fruit 1Jo 5:11 – God 2Jo 1:8 – that we receive
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6
Wages is used to represent the reward that all men will receive who do faithful work for the Lord. The production of a crop requires both a sowing and a reaping, but these are not always done by the same man. However, if they are working in harmony with each other, both will be benefited by the fruit produced.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 4:36. Already he that reapeth receiveth reward, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. The figure is continued and amplified. Not only are the fields ready for harvesting, but the reaper is even now at work, and receiving his reward; and how glorious a reward! Not a lifeless store, but (as in the case of the springing water, Joh 4:14, and the eating that abideth, chap. Joh 6:27) fruit gathered for life eternal,fruit that shall endure for ever in the fruition of the new life which Jesus brings. And all this takes place already (the word even standing emphatically at the head of the sentence), that in the spiritual fieldso quickly does the harvest follow the sowing of the seedsower and reaper may rejoice together.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
4:36 {6} And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
(6) The doctrine of the prophets was as it were a sowing time, and the doctrine of the gospel, as the harvest: and there is an excellent agreement between them both, and the ministers of them both.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The reaper in view was Jesus, and potentially His disciples could become reapers. The wages that reapers receive are the reward for their labor. For Jesus this was the exaltation that the Father gave Him and will give Him for carrying out His will faithfully. For the disciples it is rewards that they and we can receive at the judgment seat of Christ for faithful service. Some of this reward comes immediately in the form of satisfaction and perhaps other blessings. The fruit is probably a reference to the people as grain that will obtain eternal life. The one who sows is anyone who proclaims the gospel, but ultimately Jesus (cf. Mat 13:37).