“The Fields are White”

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

The Fields are White

By

Austin Shearer

John 4:35 – Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.

Jesus’ statement in John 4:35 comes on the heels of his incredible interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well. This interaction is astonishing not simply because Jesus interacted with a woman in a meaningful way, but also because she was a Samaritan. As far as the Jews were concerned, she and her kind were outcasts and repulsive because of their heritage, and immoral due to their insistence on worshiping on Mount Gerizim instead of Jerusalem. But Jesus shatters social norms and asks her for a drink of water. Not only that, but Jesus also offers her water in return, water that only he could offer to her. This interaction with Jesus had such a profound impact on this woman that she can’t help but run to the city and tell everyone about Jesus.

As she runs off to the city, the disciples come back carrying food for themselves and for Jesus. As they offer food to him, Jesus tells them in 4:32 “I have food that you do not know about.” Per usual the disciples are slow to understand and begin questioning each other about the source of Jesus’ food, but Jesus immediately provides his source of sustenance in 4:33 “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work.” It is at this point that Jesus says that the fields are white for harvest, and not only that but the one who reaps is already collecting wages and gathering fruit. Jesus is actively working in the fields because that is the will of the father.

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Jesus’ words are meant to provide his disciples with an understanding, not only of his mission, but their mission as well. They are meant to reach all people, regardless of nationality or gender. It is no surprise, then, that the very next section in John 4, recounts for us that many of the Samaritans in that city, where the Samaritan woman lived, believed in Jesus. Jesus came not only to break down the laws on where God’s people could worship, but also to break down the laws separating Jew from Samaritan from Gentile. God’s message is for all people! Therefore, Jesus says, “…look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.” In other words, the time is here, all people need to hear the saving message of the gospel, so go to work.

This account, I think, needs to prick our minds, and push us to deeper action in the Kingdom of God. The fields are white, and yet too often we remain planted in our pews, and we make no effort out in the fields. All people need the words of life, how can we keep it from them. Let us take the words and the actions of Jesus to heart, and begin working in the fields, for they are, “white for harvest.”

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