Scripture

⁶Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;^*
because they sell the righteous for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals—
⁷they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth,
and push the afflicted out of the way;
father and son go in to the same girl,
so that my holy name is profaned;

¹³So, I will press you down in your place,
just as a cart presses down
when it is full of sheaves.^*
14Flight shall perish from the swift,
and the strong shall not retain their strength,
nor shall the mighty save their lives;
¹⁵those who handle the bow shall not stand,
and those who are swift of foot shall not save themselves,
nor shall those who ride horses save their lives;
¹⁶and those who are stout of heart among the mighty
shall flee away naked on that day, says the LORD.

The end of verse 6 is referring to the institution of slavery. In Amos’s day, there were two ways for a person to become a slave. The first is capture in war and the second over the legal issue of debt. Here Amos is highlighting the second way and saying that it was a corruption of justice.

In order to understand how this action of the Israelites was a corruption of justice, one must first be acquainted with Torah or the Law. First, the Law set down guidelines in order to free people from their selfishness and to enable them to love God and others. With this in mind, the Israelites were commanded by God to never treat one another as slaves. For in Leviticus 25, God commanded the people of Israel as follows: “If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave. He is to be treated as a hired worker or a temporary resident among you; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee.” Here God is demanding that people, no matter what situation or station they are found in life, be treated with respect and dignity.

Amos charges the Israelites of his day with corruption of justice because they allowed their countrymen to be treated as worthless. Amos’ use of the phrase “a pair of shoes” is probable an expression meaning “a very little”, which emphasizes the disrespect that the Israelites were showing for their family.  Thus, the Israelites corrupted justice.

The second charge that Amos brings against the people of Israel is similar to the first. The Israelites distorted their covenant relationship with God by oppressing rather than advocating for the powerless. Again the Law states, that if a person from the community were to become poor then they were to be treated as aliens or temporary residents so they can continue to live in the community and be supported without exacting interest on them.  The first part of verse 7 states that the Israelites had changed their societal rules so that one could “trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth.”  In other words, the poor were being used by the wealthy to support their lives. The phrase “turn aside the way of the afflicted” is an indication that  the poor were not being recognized by the community. The last part of verse 7 indicates that a father and son were sexually assaulting a servant in their house because the word-translated maiden is better understood to mean servant girl rather than an un-wed woman. Therefore, it is appropriate for Amos to charge the Israelites with corrupting their covenant relationship with God as they did not care for the poor and dehumanized them by abusing them sexually and economically.

These harsh indictments should pierce the hearts of North American Christians.  We stand within a societal structure that allows for the oppression of the powerless, dehumanizing of the broken and the sexual abuse of countless women.  To such a world, the Gospel must be more than a set of beliefs.  Amos’ witness demands that the good news means that Christians must become “doers of justice and advocates of the oppressed.”  We must take hold of our responsibility and allow the Spirit to guide us into a broken world in order to actively proclaim the wholeness of God.

Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”(NIV)

I. Introduction to a lesson (31-33)

a. An expected Request “Rabbi, eat something.”(v31)

b. Unexpected Answer “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”(v32)

c. Confusion “Could someone have brought him food?”(v33)

II. The Work of Christ (34-38)

a. Defines his mission “My food is to do the will of him who sent me…”(v34)

b. Call to the mission “They are ripe for harvest.”(v35)

c. Urgency of the mission “Even now the reaper draws his wages”(v36)

d. The workers are separate “One sows and another reaps”(v37)

e. The workers “Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”(v38)

Most scholars answer the question of why the Gospel of John was written by simply pointing to the writer’s own explanation. The author of the Fourth Gospel states “these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”(John 20:31). The phrase “that you may believe” presents a problem in interpretation because there is uncertainty in what the original text read. The original text may have read either pisteusete or pisteuete (Cubie 7). One translation suggests the making of an act of faith (pisteusete) and the other a continuing in faith (Beasley-Murray). Some believe that it was written with the intent to make disciples and this would go along with the theme of “witness”, which is found in chapters 2-12 (Cubie 7). So it is in this discourse with the disciples Jesus is revealing more of his mission to them so that they can better know him. He than is calling them to do the work that he is doing.

4:31 In the preceding passages the discourse between Jesus and the Samaritan women occurred. During their conversation, the disciples had gone into the city of Sychar to buy food. As they were returning, Jesus and the woman had finished talking and she went back into the town to tell the people of Sychar who she had just talked to. The comment “Rabbi, eat something (4:31).” is an expected question that the disciples ask because they had gone to get food and apparently had brought some back for Jesus.

4:32 “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Jesus’ reply brought confusion to the disciples just as his reply to the Samaritan women brought her confusion (Barrett 240). This confusion seems to be true to Jesus’ style of teaching. He brought confusion to those that he wanted to teach so that he could gain their interest than he proceeded to teach them a lesson from it. Brosis is the Greek word that the NIV translates as food. It actually means the process of eating (Lindars 194). This is contrasted with the other word John used for food in verse 34.

4:33 “Could someone have brought him food?” The disciples had not wanted to bother Jesus about the explanation to his answer. So they ask one another for a possible solution (Westcott 75). This reply, as stated previously, was similar to that of the Samaritan woman when she talked to Jesus. The confusion that the disciples had and what the Samaritan woman had were different though. The Samaritan woman did not understand the gift of life that Christ was talking about, but the disciples did not understand that which sustained the life (Barrett 240).

4:34 “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” This is an explanation of food in which Jesus had referred to in v32 and the food is also the mission of Jesus. Broma is the Greek word for food that is used in the verse. Unlike brosis, broma refers to food in general. Thus it denotes that which is needed to sustain life (Lindars 194). There are two parts here in the explanation of the food of Jesus. The first part of the explanation that Jesus gives about the food strengthens the Johannine Christology because Jesus identifies his food as doing the will of God. His life would have no meaning or no sustenance without complete obedience to the will of the Father (NIB 569). This revelation of the mission of Jesus fits into the purpose of the Fourth Gospel, which is that people may come to believe and not only believe but also become disciples. The revelation that the Son is completely obedient to the Father is something that needs to be understood by a true believer in order to know the Son. It is also important for the disciple to know that the mission of the Son is not something that is of human origin but a total identification with the will of the Heavenly Father and thus it is of divine origin (Morris 245).

The second part of the explanation of the food was that he had come to finish the will of the Father. The translation of finish could also mean that he had come to “bring to true end” or “perfecting” his work (Westcott 75). This alludes to the fact that Christ had come to bring to completion the will of the Father. All other things done until this point have only been preparation or partial workings of the Father’s will. There is also a sense that in every part of Christ’s ministry there had been completeness to it. There is also a deeper understanding that nothing is complete without the cross (Morris 246).

4:35 “Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” Several scholars argue over the identification of the people whom Jesus is talking about in this passage. Lindars comments that the “you” is emphatic and is thus referring to people in general and he believes that verses 35-37 should be taken in a parabolic interpretation and that verse 38 identifies specific people. The proverb ‘Four months more and then the harvest’ is considered to be of Semitic origin (Lindars 194). The records of the sowing and harvesting time show that the latest time with sowing and the regular harvest time would have an interval of about four months. Barrett suggests that it could be a rural proverb but no records have ever been able to substantiate such a claim (Barrett 241). Other scholars interpreted the verse literally and believe that this event was taking place during the sowing time in Samaria. If that was the case then the identification of the “you” would be the disciples and the “harvest” would refer to the Samaritans that may have been coming out to see Jesus as that discourse was taking place (Westcott 76).

“They are ripe for harvest.” This is a call to the mission of Christ, which was to do the will of the Father. This is a contradiction to the proverb that has already been stated in the scripture because Jesus seemed to be stating that the crops are ready to harvest at the time of sowing. The harvest refers to that of the souls that are ready to receive the truth of who Jesus of Nazareth is and thus we see that Christ is telling the disciples that unlike in the real world the readiness of a soul to be brought to the knowledge of the Son of God does not take four months like the growth of a crop but the planting of the seed of truth and the harvesting of the belief in Jesus the Christ happens at the same time. This verse is using the harvest language that is common to the Synoptic Gospels which also define the harvest as people coming to truly believe that Jesus is the Christ (Lindars 194).

4:36 “Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.” This verse is best understood when it is placed with the previous verse and than interpreted in a parabolic manner, instead of allegorical (Barrett 241). The parabolic interpretation brought out the fact that there was no identification of the people to whom Jesus was referring. He did point to the fact that it was important to get started on reaping. His message had a sense of urgency and in this passage he makes it known to the disciples that it was already taking place and that they need to hurry up and get involved in it (Morris 248).

4:37 “Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.” Jesus placed importance that the roles of the sower and reaper will remain separate. That there will be ones that sow and others that reap even though there was immediacy to the harvest of souls (NIB 570). This proverb also brought out the fact that it was not a bad thing that one sows and another reaps. This proverb is used in the Synoptic Gospels (Matt. 25:24, Luke 19:21) but it derives a connotation of judgment. That one will sow but will not reap the benefits (Lidars 196). Barrett suggests that the source of the proverb may be from Greek origin, and that was how it was being used in this passage. The proverb brings about the fact that in the work of Christianity there is a need for not just one laborer but several and that it is joy to share in the toil and fruits even if the sower of the Word of God does not reap the harvest of the soul.

4:38 “Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” Some scholars place much emphasis on this verse as the one that identifies whom Jesus is talking about when he says “others” and “you”. Some possibilities that they suggest is that the “others” could refer to Jesus, John the Baptist, the Old Testament Writers, the Apostles, and Prophets. They also suggest that the “you” could be identified as the disciples and that the work that had been done was done by Jesus, John the Baptist, and the Old Testament writers and that the reward was the conversion of the Samaritans (Barrett 243). The “you” could also have reference to the Mission of the Church of John’s day, but this does not seem to be a good possibility because there was no discourse that followed, which would apply to the church of John’s day. I would conclude that Jesus was not clear about the people who did the work but he was sending a clear message to the disciples that they needed to be reapers. While being with Jesus they should not just think that they are in preparation but that they are to be about the mission.

In the previous passage of Scripture, Jesus has gone through a lesson with the disciples calling them to be a part of his mission and work. He expressed to them the urgency of the work that needs to be done and that people are already about it. It was a call to get involved with ministering, not just to wait for your time after you have prepared. It is a call that has continued to be made throughout the generations.

Bibliography

Barrett, C.K. The Gospel According to St. John. Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1978.

Beasley-Murray, George B. Word Biblical Commentary. Word Books Publ., Waco,

Texas, vol.36 1987.

Cubie, David L. Gospel of John An Introductory Commentary. 2001.

Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John. William B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., Grand

Rapids, 1995.

Lindars, Barnabas. New Century Bible Commentary The Gospel of John. Wm. B.

Eerdmans Publ. Co., Grand Rapids, 1972

New Interpreter’s Bible. Abingdon Press, Nashville, vol.9, 1995.

Westcott, B.F. The Gospel According to St. John. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., Grand

Rapids, 1967.