John Calvin Commentary John 4:37

"For herein is the saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth." — John 4:37 (ASV)

For in this is the saying true. This was a common proverb, by which He showed that many men frequently receive the fruit of others' labor, though there was this difference: the one who has labored is displeased to see the fruit carried away by another, whereas the Apostles have the Prophets as companions in their joy.

And yet it cannot be inferred from this that the Prophets themselves are witnesses, or are aware, of what is now happening in the Church. For Christ means only that the Prophets, as long as they lived, taught with such feelings that they already rejoiced over the fruit which they were not permitted to gather.

The comparison Peter employs (1 Peter 1:12) is not unlike, except that he addresses his exhortation generally to all believers, whereas Christ here speaks to the disciples alone and, through them, to the ministers of the Gospel. By these words, He enjoins them to pool their labors, so that there may be no wicked envy among them. Those who are first sent to the work ought to be so attentive to the present cultivation that they do not envy a greater blessing for those who will later follow them. And those who are sent, as it were, to gather the ripe fruit, ought to be employed with equal cheerfulness in their office. For the comparison made here between the teachers of the Law and of the Gospel may likewise be applied to the latter when considered in relation to each other.