Final answer:
According to John 4:36, both the sower and the reaper are those who gather fruit for eternal life, meaning they contribute to bringing souls to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to John 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 passage suggests that both the sower (those who plant the seeds of faith and the message of the Gospel) and the reaper (those who bring others to faith) gather fruit for eternal life. In Christian belief, this fruit represents the souls saved through faith in Jesus Christ.
It emphasizes the cooperation and shared joy between those who introduce others to faith and those who help nurture that faith to maturity, ultimately leading to salvation. This concept connects to the wider Christian theology that through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, humanity is offered the possibility of eternal life in paradise, contrasting with the loss of eternal life represented by Adam and Eve's exile from the Garden of Eden.