John 4: 31-42

(John 4: 31-42)

In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.  But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.  Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?  Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.  And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.  And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.  I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.  So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.  And many more believed because of his own word;  And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

In the village of Samaria in Samaria, Jesus met a Samaritan woman and told him who he was, and said, "The water I give you will be a spring water that springs up for eternal life in it." Samaria was geographically located between Judah and Galilee, but the Jews would pass by without delay if they were forced to go around or pass by.

As such, Samaria was regarded as an unclean land to the Jews, and those who lived in that land were regarded as fallen Jews and pagans mixed with the Gentiles. This was the Samaritans seen from the eyes of the disciples, the Samaria region. In the eyes of the disciples, this area of Samaria was filthy and ugly to be favored by God. I couldn't imagine that people here would believe in Jesus. By the way, Jesus said, "Lift up your eyes and look at the fields. This area of Samaria reflected in Jesus' eyes is a harvest field. In the eyes of Jesus, this place seems to be a field where many spirits await the harvest. Knowing that this region is a treasure trove of spirits awaiting the harvest, Jesus stays in this unusual Samaritan area for two more days to reap the harvest of the spirit.

『 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.  And many more believed because of his own word;  And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. 』 A woman I met at the well told people who Jesus was. People's hearts began to move, and they began to believe in Jesus. Jesus, knowing that the human spirit had already come to harvest, stayed there for two more days to teach the Word, and many people believed in Jesus as Savior. Why was this harvest field visible to Jesus' eyes not visible to the disciples' eyes? It was because there was a fence that was invisible to the eyes of the disciples. Conventions surrounding the disciples, past experiences, and prejudices from culture and background were fenced off.

Jesus said to his disciples, Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” Jesus said, “Raise your eyes.” He tells the disciples to raise their eyes to the disciples who think that the harvest will be four months from now, and to those who dismiss the Samaritans as not wanting to know Jesus. Here, the meaning of the word (Greek: epilogue) of raising your eyes means “to lift up, to lift up”. If we raise our eyes and look at our neighbors, those who need to be saved will come into our eyes.