Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 4:38

"I sent you to reap that whereon ye have not labored: others have labored, and ye are entered into their labor." — John 4:38 (ASV)

The disciples would not have to wait indefinitely for the result of their mission; the sowing and reaping could go on together. Jesus implied that they had already received a commission to reap for him and that they could benefit from the preparation he and the prophets had made. The reaping of people for the granary of God is not the task of any one group, nor is it confined to one era. Each reaps the benefit of its forerunners, and succeeding generations in turn gain from the accomplishments of their predecessors (see 1 Corinthians 3:6). Perhaps v.38 is an allusion to the preaching of John the Baptist, whose message of repentance had prepared the way for the disciples’ preaching about Jesus.