The Powerful Attraction of an Urgent Harvest

In the fourth chapter of John, Jesus left Judea to go to Galilee. The events that are conveyed in the first 42 verses of that chapter are the direct result of the fact that when Jesus set out on this journey he chose to walk the road less traveled. It seems that devout Jews refused to take the direct rout from Judea to Galilee because it passed through Samaria.

The Samaritans were of a mixed ethnicity. They were part Jewish and part Gentile. As a result they were despised by both Jews and Non-Jews, alike. According to 2 Kings 17:24-31, the king of Assyria brought foreign people in to settle in Samaria in 722 BC. Over time this band of interlopers intermarried and intermingled with some Jews (remnants of the Old Testament's Northern Kingdom) who remained in the area. These Samaritans were not only of a mixed race, but it seems that they also mingled their faiths together into a brand of religion that was all their own.

The Jewish influence from those that were descendants of the Northern Kingdom of Israel assimilated into the Samaritan culture. History tells us that they had their own version of the Pentateuch, their own temple on Mount Gerizim, and their own rendering of Israelite history. As a result, tensions often ran high between Jews and Samaritans. There was even a point in their history, according to the historian Josephus, that fighting between them got so intense that Roman Soldiers were called in to break it up.

Because of all of this, strict Jews, in order to avoid defilement, would normally bypass Samaria by opting for a longer route that involved crossing the Jordan and traveling on the east side. This was the more common, and safer route of travel. This is the way that you would expect a religious leader and his band of devout disciples to travel from Judea to Galilee. However, the scripture says that Jesus "had to pass through Samaria." (John 4:4 ESV)

Jesus "had to" go through Samaria. Not because it was the shortest route of travel. Not because it was the only way to get where he was going. Not because it was the preferred road to travel on. Jesus had to pass through Samaria because of the powerful attraction of an urgent harvest. Jesus was compelled by his purpose, which was to seek and save the lost. That purpose compelled him to pass through Samaria because he knew, as only he could know, that a desperately hungry woman was going to be making a journey to Jacob's well that day. Jesus had to go through Samaria because the harvest was ready and the opportunity was at hand. I believe this morning, that Jesus was compelled to journey through Samaria because, as the Messiah, he was attracted to a hungry heart.

I won't spend a lot of time this morning retelling the familiar story of what transpired at Jacob's well, instead I would like to jump to the end of the story if I could. After Jesus met the lady and ministered to her at the point of her need, his disciples returned. We know, from scripture, that they wondered what Jesus was doing talking with this woman at the well. Perhaps they were wondering, as well, what they were doing in Samaria. I believe that this was the case because when the disciples started discussing food with Jesus, he quickly turned the conversation to the subject of the Harvest.

I believe that Jesus was answering the lingering questions about why he had chosen this route and why he had stopped at this well when he said, "Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest." (John 4:35 ESV) I believe that the thing that compelled Jesus to travel through Samaria was the powerful attraction of an urgent harvest. It was the understanding that the time was right, that a precise moment had arrived and an opportunity was going to pass if it wasn't seized upon that compelled him to journey through Samaria.

I have lived in farm country all of my life. One of the primary crops around here is cotton. Cotton, like other crops, has a very distinct window for harvest. There is a limited amount of time that a farmer has to reap the harvest from the time that it reaches the state of being ready until the point that it is degraded beyond usefulness. There is a precise, particular window of time that is finite and will eventually close. I believe that Jesus, in his infinite wisdom, saw this dear lady in Samaria and recognized that the window for harvest had arrived, that the time was now. He was compelled to go to Samaria because of the urgency of the situation.

In his statement to his follower, and to us by extension, he stressed the fact that the harvest was an urgent, timely thing. He said, you look around and say, "In four months the harvest will be ready." When, in fact, there are those around us every day that are ready right now. Look again, he said, the "fields are white for harvest" now. Paul told the church in Corinth that "now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2 ESV)

My friend, there are those around us that are desperate, hungry and ready for this gospel message now. Today. If we could ever see that we would realize that the harvest holds an attraction that is based in the urgency of the situation. If we wait four months to try to reach them we will lose them. If we wait for a more expedient time, this opportunity is going to pass. For some of those around you, now is the time!

The Psalmist tells us that "the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord." (Psalm 37:23) I can't help but believe, today, that God is leading you and I into a harvest that is ready now. I believe that, as God orders the direction and events of our lives he compels us into encounters that have been divinely orchestrated because a hungry heart is present. My prayer today is that you and I won't get lulled into the mindset that looks around at our world and is content to say that harvest is coming "one of these days." Rather, I pray that we will be gripped by the urgency of the harvest and seize upon the moments and chances that God orchestrates in our lives so that we may snatch some "out of the fire" before it becomes too late. (Jude 1:23 ESV)

I am reminded of the words from an old song that says, "Lead me Lord and I will follow." Today I want to do more than just follow the route that the Lord has chosen for my life, I want to capitalize on the opportunities that he places in my path!