John 4:27–38

²⁷Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” ²⁸The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, ²⁹“Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” ³⁰So the people came streaming from the village to see him.

³¹Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”

³²But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”

³³“Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.

³⁴Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. ³⁵You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe^* for harvest. ³⁶The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! ³⁷You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. ³⁸I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”