Juan 4:37

"Thus" in the NIV is misleading. It implies that this verse explains the previous one. However the Greek term, en touto (lit. in this) can look forward as well as backward. In this case it looks forward. John 4:37, which contains a proverb, summarizes John 4:38. It means that both sowers and reapers are necessary to get a good harvest. Sowers must not think that their work is secondary to reaping, and reapers must remember the important contribution of those who sow. Today some Christians do more sowing than reaping and others experience more fruitful ministries as harvesters. Both are essential in God’s plan (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:6).

"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." [Note: Tenney, "John," p. 58.]