John 4:36-38 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

And he that reapeth, &c.— As the disciples laboured together with our Lord in this spiritual harvest,—to encourage them, he put them in mind of the reward. The passage should be read as follows: "He that reapeth and gathereth the fruit [of souls] unto life eternal; he that conducts others into heaven (alluding to the gathering of reaped corn into barns) such a person—receiveth wages; that both he that soweth, and he that reapeth, may rejoice together; namely, in the reward bestowed on them, the pleasure of which will be increased by their joint participation of it." Our Lord then proceeds to apply another proverb, John 4:37. The words, whereon ye bestowed no labour, John 4:38 mean, "no labour of sowing;" Other men laboured, namely, in sowing the feeds of piety and holiness among the Jews, and therebyexposed themselves to great persecutions, (he meant the prophets of old;—) "and ye are entered into their labours,—into the field on which their labour had been carefully employed;" εις του κοπον αυτων .—Comp. 2 Corinthians 10:15. "Ye are employed to reap that, which they with great difficulty sowed; for ye are gathering into the kingdom of heaven those, who, by the writings of the prophets and the grace of God, having been imbued with a sense of piety and virtue, are prepared for entering into it." This application of the proverb, one soweth and another reapeth, does not imply any discontent in the persons who sow without reaping, as it seems to do in common use; for the sower and the reaper are represented as rejoicing together in the rewards of this spiritual husbandry.