John 4:27-42 “Look, Lift Up Your Eyes, and See the Harvest!”

1:35But then the researchers ask a second question. Did you see the gorilla? Because halfway through the video, a man in a gorilla suit walks in from the side, goes to the center of the circle, beats his chest, and then walks out the other side. And more than half of the participants, students at Harvard University, did not even notice the gorilla enter the scene. The experiment reveals that we miss a lot of what's going on right in front of us because we're paying attention to something else. And, friends, in today's text, the disciples are going to face that same challenge. They're going to miss what's going on right in front of them because they are focused on something else. Jesus is going to challenge them and challenge us today to look, to lift up our eyes, and to see that the fields are white for harvest.

2:31So, I want to do a little bit of recap from last week. A lot of us were traveling, including my family, over spring break. And so, if you missed last week's sermon, at the beginning of chapter four, Jesus and the disciples left Judea, which is the southern region of Israel, and they were going to travel to Galilee in the north. To get there, they did something that most Jews avoided at all costs, which was traveling through the middle region known as Samaria. When they came to the town of Saccar, Jesus Sat down beside Jacob's well to rest, and the disciples walked into the city to buy food.

3:05And while he's sitting there by this well, a Samaritan woman comes to draw water about noon, and Jesus begins speaking with her. And in that conversation, Jesus reveals that he knows everything about her. He knows that she's been married five times. He knows that she's living with a man that she's not married to currently. But Jesus did not go to the well to condemn this woman. He went to save her. And so he reveals that he is the source of living water, and that anyone who receives that living water from him will have eternal life. He is the Messiah who is called Christ.

3:45So that takes us now to verse 27, where we pick up today, and you see the disciples have come back from this grocery run. And to their amazement, Jesus, their Jewish rabbi, is speaking alone with a woman, a Samaritan woman. And John notes that they marveled at this breach of social convention because no Jewish rabbi would have spoken to a woman in public like this under these circumstances, let alone a Samaritan woman. But to their credit, none of the disciples confront Jesus to ask, look at what it says right there, what do you seek?

4:20And they don't question Jesus by asking him, why are you talking with her? I think little by little, they're beginning to learn and understand that Jesus knows what he's doing. So, Jesus, we can see from what happens here, is not concerned with appearances. He's not concerned about breaking social conventions or social norms. And I think, friends, that's a great challenge for us. Because a lot of times, we are concerned about appearances. We are concerned about how things look. We are concerned about breaking social conventions. And because of those things, we miss what's going on all around us.

5:00We miss the broken, lost, hurting people that are all around us every day. See, ministry is messy because people are messy. And Jesus was not afraid to get his hands dirty ministering to messy people like this Samaritan woman. And we need to be challenged today to follow his lead. Well, remarkably, John notes that the woman leaves her water jar next to the well and goes back into the city to tell everybody in the town about Jesus. And I want you to think about that for just a moment here.

5:35You don't draw water at noon. You go to draw water early in the morning in these circumstances because it's so hot outside. Have you ever tried to carry water before? You ever tried to carry something filled with water? It's so heavy. This is really hard work. Nobody does this in the middle of the day in the heat of the sun. And no woman in the first century would have left the city and walked along a road like the one to the city. Jacob's well, all alone. That was a dangerous thing to do.

6:04There were thieves, robbers, people that would do her harm. And yet, this woman walks to the well all alone at noon, the hottest time of the day, because she doesn't want to be seen, because she doesn't want to talk to anybody. But after speaking with Jesus, she leaves her water jar, she goes back into town, and she tells everyone that she can find, come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?

6:37Now, what kind of transformation would have to take place in this woman's life for her to do such a thing? I mean, we live currently in one of the most permissive societies ever. But I'm telling you right now, if you've been married five times and you're currently living with somebody that you're not married to, people in our culture are going to judge you. So, how do you think it was for this woman in her first century Middle Eastern context when she had been married five times and was currently living with someone that was not her husband?

7:13I mean, there's no doubt that everybody in town knew about her and her promiscuous lifestyle. There's no doubt that she was looked down upon, mocked, and ostracized by the people in town. That's why she walks all alone. To the well at noon. Because the glare of the sun is nothing compared to the glares that she gets every day when she's walking around that city. So, again, what kind of transformation would have to take place for this woman to leave her water jar, go back into town, and draw attention to herself and her promiscuous lifestyle by saying to everybody, Come and see a man who told me all that I ever did?

7:59A supernatural transformation would have to take place. A supernatural transformation would have to take place for this woman to be transformed so fully and so quickly. And the townspeople perceive that, which is why they went out to meet Jesus for themselves. So, meanwhile, you look at verse 31. The disciples are urging him, saying, Rabbi, eat. But look what Jesus says in verse 32: I have food to eat that you do not know about. Well, that's very puzzling to the disciples because they went into town with the express purpose of buying food.

8:43They didn't see anybody else coming or going from the well that could have brought Jesus food, and so they don't understand this statement at all. What does he mean he has food to eat that they don't know about? Look at verse 34: My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish it. His work. I want you to hear those words again. My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

9:14Jesus is nourished. He is satisfied in his inner being when he does what God commands and completes the assignments that God gives to him. That's how Jesus is nourished. That's how he's satisfied. It brings to mind the statement in Deuteronomy that we don't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Now, you may remember at the beginning of the chapter that John noted that Jesus and the disciples left Judea and departed for Galilee.

9:50And John includes this fascinating note in verse 4. Take a look at the screen, what he said. John notes, and he had to pass through Samaria. He had to pass through Samaria? Well, you don't have to go through Samaria to go to Galilee. In fact, most Jews didn't go through Samaria to go to Galilee. They would walk around it, so they didn't have to encounter any Samaritans that they viewed as unclean. And this is Jesus we're talking about. Jesus doesn't have to do anything, right?

10:29But not so. Fast in the very next chapter, Jesus is going to say multiple times that he can do nothing except the Father's will, and that he doesn't seek his own will, he seeks the will of the Father who sent him. So, the reason Jesus had to pass through Samaria is because it was God's will for him to do so. God had work for Jesus to accomplish in Samaria, starting with the woman at the well. So, doing God's will and accomplishing his work, that was Jesus' food, that was his spiritual nourishment, that's what truly satisfied him in a way that food never could.

11:11See, the disciples hadn't learned this. I mean, isn't it striking that Jesus' own disciples left him to go and buy food in the city and seemingly did not tell a single person in town about Jesus or invite them to come and meet him? And by contrast, the woman that just met Jesus left her water jar there by the well and then went back into the city in order to tell everybody about Jesus and to invite them to come and meet him and decide for themselves whether he was the Christ. That is fascinating.

11:52Church, I wonder if each one of us could honestly say, along with Jesus, my food is to do the will of God. Of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Could we honestly say that? That our food is to do the will of God and to accomplish his work. I think when we reflect on our own lives and ministries, all of us who are believers have had that amazing experience, that fulfilling experience of sharing your faith with someone or helping a child understand God's word or ministering to someone who is lonely or hurting or lost.

12:36Many of us who are Christians have had those experiences. You do those things as a believer. You do God's will and accomplish His work and you feel nourished. You feel satisfied in the inner being in a way that food and drink or social media or Netflix or our hobbies or anything else can never truly fulfill and make us feel satisfied. So when some of us read Jesus' statement, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work, we're like, amen.

13:06Because we've tasted that spiritual food and we've culted an appetite for spiritual things. So discipleship and evangelism and ministry opportunities, those things sound nourishing to us because we've cultivated an appetite for those spiritual things. But friends, for others among us, that's not the case. Because we haven't cultivated an appetite for spiritual things. We've cultivated an appetite for other things, for worldly things, maybe. And the pandemic did not do us any favors in this regard. I mean, one of the many negative effects of the pandemic was that a lot of Christians got out of shape spiritually, especially when it comes to the harder things in the Christian life: evangelism, discipleship, serving in the church, giving. A lot of us got out of shape spiritually. And I'm not a big baseball guy, but I know that spring training is underway. And I saw an article the other day, and I don't know why anybody would feel the need to say this, but Vlad Guerrero Jr., who's the big home run hitter for the Toronto Blue Jays, he showed up to camp 22 pounds overweight. And so he had to drop 22 pounds in four weeks. That sounds really hard to do.

14:29But I think that's where a lot of us are spiritually. A lot of us on the other side of the pandemic, we've gotten out of shape spiritually because we've been sitting around eating a lot of spiritual junk food for the last couple of years. During the pandemic, we were told to stay at home, to isolate ourselves from each other and from non-Christians in our lives. And so many churches like ours tried to be proactive. Okay, I guess we will live stream our services. I guess we'll record them so people can watch them later. But what were the side? Effects of all those well-meaning choices that churches like ours made.

15:06It created an environment that fostered spiritual laziness. It catered to our consumerism and selfishness. Now I can stay home and pick which church service that I want to watch and when I want to watch it. If I like that guy's preaching, but this church's music, I can just flip back and forth online. Now I can stay at home in my living room. I don't have to engage with other Christians, especially those that I find awkward or difficult to deal with.

15:39In my house, nobody's going to ask me to join a small group where I will be known and asked to know others. Nobody's going to ask me to serve. And I think the effect of all of those things of sitting on our couches and being away from people for so long and treating church like it's an opportunity to consume religious goods and services, I think all of that got us out of shape spiritually. So, church, I want to challenge you to look at the next seven or eight weeks as our own version of spring training. You're here this morning. You showed up to camp. That is a great start.

16:16But now the hard work of spiritual training begins. And so I want to challenge you this morning to look at the next few weeks like that. Get yourself into a Life group where you can know others and be known by them. Don't run out the doors after this. Stay for coffee and conversation. College students right over here in our lobby, adults over there in the preserve. Start the membership process or finish the membership process if you haven't. Sign up to serve in the church. Start giving. Even if you're giving a dollar a week, start giving. All of those things are going to be really hard. and uncomfortable at first, just like spring training is. But soon, friends, what you're going to see is that we're going to start getting back into spiritual shape. We're going to start creating and cultivating an appetite for spiritual things that maybe some of us have lost. And before long, we'll be able to say along with Jesus, I have food to eat that you don't know about. My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. That would be a great thing.

17:29Now, after that remarkable statement that his food was to do his father's will, Jesus says this in verse 35, Do you not say, there are yet four months, then comes the harvest? Now, I'm not sure exactly how people in first-century Jewish culture used that phrase. It doesn't come from scripture, it comes from somewhere else, but it does remind me of what Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 11:4. Take a look at this: He who observes the wind will not sow. And he who regards the clouds will not reap.

18:06In other words, if you're a farmer, there's always some excuse why you shouldn't go out into the field and sow or reap. It's too windy, it's about to rain, the conditions aren't ideal, and so the temptation is to just put off the work of sowing and reaping forever because you never have perfect conditions as a farmer. And so the phrase that Jesus quotes, four more months and then the harvest, that seems to capture that same kind of procrastinating spirit. It's too windy, it's too rainy, we've got time, there's no rush, four more months and then we can harvest.

18:44Well, look what Jesus does, he challenges that attitude at the back end of verse 35. He says, Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest. Look, lift up your eyes and see. Could there be a more appropriate challenge for our generation? A generation whose gaze is almost always downward, looking at our phones, oblivious to the people and the needs all around us? Look, lift up your eyes and see.

19:26And just imagine the scene for a minute. Remember, the woman went back into. Town told everybody that she encountered, Come and see a man who told me all that I ever did. Could this be the Christ? She invited them to come and meet Jesus for themselves and to draw their own conclusions about whether he was the Messiah or not. And so they went out to meet him. And so I want you to just picture Jesus. He's talking to the disciples. They've got their backs turned to the city. And he says, Look, lift up your eyes and see. And they turn around and they see this flood of people coming out of the city gates of this Samaritan town to meet Jesus.

20:09Look, lift up your eyes and see. The fields are white for harvest. And the disciples had missed it. They had completely missed it. They didn't understand why they were walking through Samaria, why they had stopped at this town, why Jesus was talking all alone to this woman. They didn't understand any of that. When they went into town, they just bought food. They didn't tell anybody about Jesus. They didn't invite anybody to come back with them and to meet Jesus because they assumed that, of course, there would be no harvest in this Samaritan village.

20:51But the fields are white. And so Jesus has to tell them to look, lift up their eyes, because the harvest is all around them. They just didn't have eyes. To see it. And so, church, I wonder if that's the same thing with us as well. That we have missed the fact that all around us, the fields, are white for harvest. 125,000 people in College Station, 75,000 students at Texas AM, 90,000 people in Brian, nearly 300,000 souls, many of whom are lost, unchurched, or both.

21:38The fields are white for harvest all around us, but we've missed it. Which is why Jesus says what he says in Matthew chapter 9. Take a look on the screen. Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. So few Christians doing the work of evangelism, of inviting people to come and meet Jesus. Just like the disciples, our gaze is down. We're not paying attention to what's going on, the white fields all around us in our classrooms, in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods.

22:30Are white. All we have to do is lift up our eyes and see it and then go out into that harvest as Christ's laborers. That's what he tells the disciples in verse 36. Take a look. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 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.

23:08Some sow and some reap. Jesus tells the disciples that they're going to reap a harvest that they didn't sow. They are entering into someone else's labor. John the Baptist's ministry was a ministry of sowing. His ministry was one of preparation, telling the people that the Messiah was going to come and that they needed to be ready. They needed to repent and be ready to receive him. Moses and the prophets, they had a ministry of sowing. But Jesus and his disciples were going to have a ministry of reaping thanks to the hard work of others who labored before them.

23:45And friends, this is a great reminder for all of us that sometimes we sow and sometimes we reap. Sometimes we reap a harvest that we didn't sow. You know, we get to lead somebody to faith in Christ, but only because. Their parents, their siblings, their friends have been sowing the gospel truth into their life for years and years and years. And then we come and we get to reap. We get to lead them to faith in Christ. And other times, we're the ones that are doing the sowing. We're pouring into these people all around us, our own children, other people's children, our neighbors, our friends, classmates, co-workers. They move away. We don't hear from them for years, but then we come to find out that they have come to faith in Christ. I've had that experience many times. I'm like, come on.

24:35I was shocked a few years ago when I found out that one of my fraternity brothers came to faith in Christ. And he just said it to me like so casually, you know, like, yeah, you know, started following Jesus a few years ago. I'm like, what? Do you not remember that I told you about Jesus every day? But this is the thing: sower and reaper rejoice together. It's not about me. It's not about you. It's about God doing his work through us. Some of us sow, some of us reap. And that's great because the win is people coming into the kingdom. And so we can celebrate whether we are reaping or sowing. So when you put John chapter 4 and Matthew chapter 9 together, what are we commanded to do? We are to pray for more laborers to go out into the harvest so that they can reap what we have sown. And then we are to go ourselves out into the harvest so that we can reap. Reap what others have sown. Only together do we get to sow and reap.

25:36Let's look at verse 39. Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony. He told me all that I ever did. Have you ever thought to yourself, I can't share my faith. I don't have the right words. I just want to point out that I think the Samaritan woman has put that excuse to rest for good. John records that many people believed because of the woman's testimony, which wasn't exactly a theological precursor to the book of Romans.

26:17Her testimony was true. It was simple. It was heartfelt. He told me all that I ever did. And God used that testimony to bring many people to faith in Jesus. Guys, we think we need the right words. We think we need all the answers to be able to share our faith. And Satan uses that to keep us from opening our mouths and sharing our faith with the people all around us because we think we don't have the right words and the right answers. But I want you to remember a few weeks back when Jesus and Nicodemus were talking, what did Jesus tell him?

26:54You must be born again. You must be born from above. You must be born of the Spirit. I mean, Nicodemus was the teacher of Israel. He had all of the words. He had all of the answers. And that didn't help him at all. He had to be born again. He needed God to regenerate his heart to make him a new creation. Listen to me. Our imperfect words will not keep people from coming to faith in Christ. But our silence will.

27:30Look at Romans 10. So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ. Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ. How do people come to faith? They come to faith from hearing the Word of Christ. How do people hear the Word of Christ? When we share it with them. So we have to be faithful to share the good news of the gospel, believing that faith comes from hearing. You don't need the right words. You don't need all of the answers. You're never going to have all of those anyway. What you need is the Word of Christ.

28:10So many Samaritans came to faith through the woman's testimony. And when they came out to Jesus, they asked him to stay longer. So he stayed two more days. Let's pick up in verse 41. And many more believed because of his word. 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. A lot of people came to saving faith through the woman's testimony, but even more of them came to saving faith through the words of Jesus Himself.

28:55And, church, that's why inviting people to simply read the Bible with you is so important. You're putting them into position to hear God's own words for themselves. Look at what Hebrews 4 says: For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. That's what God says about the power of his word. And so, parents, read scripture to your children. I hope that Together in 22 and our use of the Dwell app has been a real blessing to you. It's so simple to sit down with your family and listen to God's Word. Let your kids pick what translation that they want to listen to, what version, what person that they want to speak. We've talked about that a little bit on Church Center. You know, our family listens to Felix from Africa. It's awesome. You know, you can pick the different people speaking from all over the world the Word of God. But read God's Word with your children, however, you do it. College students, ask your roommates, ask your classmates, ask people in your organizations if they would like to read God's Word with you each week. Meet them somewhere on campus, in your building, in a classroom, someplace that they're comfortable. If you work in an office, ask your coworkers, would you like to read the Bible with me once or twice a month? Meet them in the lunchroom before work or at a break one day at lunchtime. Friends, I think a lot of us don't, we feel like we don't know where to begin when it comes to evangelism. But simply inviting people who already know and trust you to read God's Word with you in a place that they're already comfortable is both wonderful and effective. And so let's not make it overly complicated. Faith comes through hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ. So let's get people in position to read the Word of God with us and point them to Jesus.

31:12Now, after the Samaritans heard Jesus' word for themselves, they were convinced that he was the Christ. I want you to look again at the end of verse 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. Now that is great news. That is amazing news for the Samaritans, who had been told for centuries that they were second-class citizens, that God's promises did not apply to them, that salvation was not only from the Jews, but it was for the Jews only.

31:58And so, when Jesus is talking to that Samaritan woman, he affirms that salvation is from the Jews. Jesus is Jewish, but it wasn't only for the Jews. God was seeking people from every tribe, tongue, nation to worship him in spirit and truth, and he's still doing that today. That included Samaritans, even Samaritans who had been divorced five times and were currently living with somebody in an adulterous relationship. Friends, maybe you've been told or you've come to believe that you're a second-class citizen, that God's promises aren't for you, that because of your choices or your mistakes or your sins, you could never be accepted by God.

32:52God used this woman's testimony to bring an entire town to faith in Jesus, to persuade them that he is indeed the Lord. Savior of the world. Jesus knew all that she ever did and still sought her out to save her. I hope that her testimony encourages you and that her story will be used by God in your life today. All that you need to do is turn from your sin and receive Jesus by faith, believing that his perfect life, his death, and his resurrection from the dead is sufficient to save you from your sin and to grant you eternal life.

33:38You don't have to clean yourself up. You can't clean yourself up. There is no way for us to make ourselves good enough for God. But he seeks us out just like he sought the Samaritan woman out while we are still in our sin, while we are still his enemies. Because his desire is to purify for himself a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation for his own glory. And so you are hearing the word of Christ today. Faith comes through hearing. You just need to place your faith in Jesus today, just like the Samaritan woman did.

34:14If you're already following Christ, I hope this passage is a challenge to you to look, to lift up your eyes, and see that the fields all around us are white for harvest. God saved. The town through one woman's true, simple, heartfelt testimony. What could he do through us if all of us prayed for more laborers to go out into the harvest of Bryan and College Station and onto the campus of Texas AM and Blenn? What could he do through an entire church that went out into those harvest fields of our city and our campus, our neighborhoods, and shared the good news of Jesus?

35:03New life, God is at work all around us. The fields are white for harvest. We just need eyes to see it and faith to go. Let's pray. God, we have often been so distracted. With our lives and with what is required to simply live life. Going to the grocery store and maintaining our cars, fixing our kids' toys, getting our homework done, getting our assignments done at work, that we miss all of the people around us every day.

36:38People who, in many cases, are lost or unchurched, or both. We've been distracted, just like the disciples. God, I pray that you would give us eyes to see that the fields are white for harvest right here, not just across the world, but right here. I pray that we would be a church that prays for laborers to go into the harvest. We pray this morning for every other church in our area that they too would be faithful to pray and to go out into the fields.

37:28Some of them will sow. We will reap. And sometimes we will sow, and they will reap. And that is wonderful because it's about you and people coming into your kingdom through faith in Jesus. So we pray this morning for ourselves and for our brothers and sisters and other churches in our community that we would be faithful to go. But before we can go, we've got to see. So give us eyes, God. Give us eyes to see it.

38:03God, we continue to pray that men, women, and children would come to saving faith in Jesus Christ, that they would be baptized and that they would become disciple-making disciples, that you would let us see a great move of your spirit among us and through us this year. We continue to pray in faith that we would see that. That family members and friends and coworkers and classmates, some of which we've lost hope for, God, that you would restore our hope, that you can do all things. That if you can save the Samaritan woman and use her to become a great soul winner, a great evangelist, you can use any of us and all of us. And so we pray for that.

38:50Unite us together. Unite us in purpose. Help us not to get distracted from our mission. We thank you for your word and for the encouraging testimony of this woman and the great work that you did in her life. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.