One sows the seed and another reaps the harvest.
After His initial encounter with the woman at the well, Jesus spoke in John chapter 4:
31 Then the disciples began to insist that Jesus eat some of the food they brought back from the village, saying, “Teacher, you must eat something.”
32 But Jesus told them, “Don’t worry about Me. I have eaten a meal you don’t know about.”
33 Puzzled by this, the disciples began to discuss among themselves, “Did someone already bring Him food? Where did He get this meal?”
34 Then Jesus spoke up and said, “My food is to be doing the Will of Him Who sent Me and bring it to completion.”
The word Jesus uses isn’t the common word for “food,” but is actually a word that means “nutrients.” It is also a homonym (the same word but different meanings) that is more commonly translated “kingdom.” Jesus has a Kingdom feast that no one else knows about. He feasts upon the devotion of His bride. The church is truly the “woman at the well.”
As it is written by The Holy Spirit in Song of Songs chapter 4:
15 Your life (Jesus) flows into mine, pure as a garden spring. A well of living water springs up from within you, like a mountain brook flowing into my heart!
35 As the crowds emerged from the village, Jesus said to his disciples, “Why would you say, ‘The harvest is another four months away’? Look at all the people coming—now is harvest time! For their hearts are like vast fields of ripened grain—ready for a spiritual harvest.
36 And everyone who reaps these souls for eternal life will receive a reward. And those who plant spiritual seeds and those who reap the harvest will celebrate together with great joy!
With all that is going on in the world, people are ready for a true solution to their problems: poverty, sickness, disease, etc. Jesus IS the solution and it is up to us to plant Seeds (The Word) when the opportunity arises. The Word will enter into their hearts and some will soon be ready for harvest. Yes, there will be some who reject The Word but we must not be discouraged with them. There are plenty of others who have nowhere else to turn.
37 And this confirms the saying, ‘One sows the Seed and another reaps the harvest.’
38 I have sent you out to harvest a field that you haven’t planted, where many others have labored long and hard before you. And now you are privileged to profit from their labors and reap the harvest.”
Let us profit from those who labored in the past but we must prepare ourselves for those opportunities by renewing our minds daily, coming to full maturity.
39 So there were many from the Samaritan village who became believers in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony: “He told me everything I ever did!” 40 Then they begged Jesus to stay with them, so He stayed there for two days,
41 resulting in many more coming to faith in Him because of His teachings.
42 Then the Samaritans said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you told us, but now we’ve heard Him ourselves and are convinced that He really is the true Savior of the world!”
Jesus Loved the people of the Samaritan village and stayed two days with them. This was a testimony to the disciples who were constantly being challenged because of the past teachings by the Pharisees. We must set aside traditions and opinions so that we can fully embrace seedtime and harvest of souls for The Kingdom.