Effectual Discipleship : A Heart for the Harvest
Jesus declared:“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” John 4:34–35
Most believers are familiar with the account of Jesus and the woman at the well, where He spoke to her about living water. But there is another important lesson to be learnt in this encounter that Jesus intended His disciples to understand, and it is one that remains relevant for our lives as believers today.
Jesus had been travelling and was physically tired, hungry and thirsty. His disciples had gone into the nearby village to buy food. When they returned, they urged Him to eat. Yet Jesus responded: “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”John 4:32
The disciples were somewhat confused and taken aback by His statement. They asked amongst themselves, had someone already brought Him food? Herein is a truth that we must grasp in our lives: the disciples were thinking in the natural realm, whereas Jesus was speaking of eternal significance. Whereas these disciples were concerned about physical hunger, Jesus was consumed with the spiritual hunger of a world that needed to know His Father.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus continually used ordinary circumstances to reveal the realities of the Kingdom of God into the lives of the disciples. This is of tremendous importance in our lives as believers to understand: Jesus did much more than simply instruct His disciples; He did more than teach His disciples with words; He demonstrated the Kingdom through His life.
Everything Jesus taught was reflected in the way He lived. The disciples had the extraordinary privilege of walking daily with Him, watching, observing His priorities, and listening intently to His every word, or instruction.
Jesus said: “Do not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest.’ Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”John 4:35.Jesus was essentially saying: “You are looking at what is immediately before you. You see and know around you tired feet, empty stomachs and physical thirst. Jesus therefore was endeavouring to have the disciples comprehend and see beyond their natural confinement and to see things from His perspective.
In the minds of these disciples, when they saw the situation, their view was of a future harvest of grain; Whereas Jesus was looking at the souls of men and women. Jesus was teaching them that the opportunity to reach people with the truth of His Father was not something to be postponed. But Jesus wanted His disciples to understand the urgency of the moment.
Jesus was hungry and thirsty, yet something greater had captured His attention. He said: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”John 4:34. His greatest satisfaction was found in accomplishing the Father’s will. Jesus knew that the physical requirements of everyday life matter, but it was not His highest priority.
Jesus was consumed with finishing the work His Father had given Him. This same urgency can be seen throughout His ministry: “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”John 9:4.
Jesus understood that time was limited and the work was urgent. Jesus’ call to His disciples remains the same: “Follow Me.”Matthew 4:19. To follow Jesus is not merely to admire Him, agree with His teaching, or call Him Lord. It means learning to see what He sees and allowing His priorities to become our priorities.
Jesus calls His followers to look beyond the temporary and see the eternal. Jesus saw people differently. He saw beyond their circumstances, their failures and their outward appearance. He saw souls in need of the mercy, truth and salvation of God.
When the Samaritan woman came to the well carrying an ordinary water pot. Jesus saw a soul that needed living water. And after encountering Jesus, she went back to her city and told others about Him. The result?“And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified.”John 4:39. One encounter with Jesus became an opportunity for an entire community to hear.
The question for our lives as believers today is not simply: “Do we have a heart for Jesus?”There is the essential requirement in our hearts to be reexamined to see if we have the same heart for lost people that Jesus has.?
The earnest cry, the urgent desire of Jesus for our lives today has not changed from His encounter with His disciples, He wants us to “Lift up our eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.”People are still dying without knowing the love and salvation of God. The question is whether His followers are willing to lift up their eyes, to see what He sees, and labour for what He died to accomplish.