DAY TWENTY-SIX | JOHN 4:27-38

And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”

The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”

But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word.

Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

An Invisible Feast

There is so much goodness packed into John 4. What started out as simple request for something to drink turned into a personal encounter with the Living Water. The story of Jesus’s interactions with the Samaritan woman at the well is one of the most beautiful pictures of the way that Jesus shared the gospel with individuals.

In this, the second part of the passage, we find the disciples coming back from the grocery store, bringing Jesus His lunch. Earlier in the chapter, we saw that Jesus was weary and sat down near the well to rest. We also know that he was thirsty and asked this woman for something to drink. It is understandable that the disciples wanted to make sure that Jesus had something to eat. But Jesus’s response to His friends is telling and reveals an important part of the way that He operated.

I have food to eat of which you do not know.

The disciples seemed confused when Jesus told them He had food. They turned and questioned each other, “Did someone else bring him something to eat?“

My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

As Jesus said these words, I like to think that the disciples begin to get an understanding of the type of food that He was speaking about. No one had brought Him a sandwich, but He had enjoyed a different kind of meal. Jesus was telling His friends that what really satisfied Him was to please His Father and finish everything that the Father has given Him to do.

This is in line with what we find Jesus saying in other parts of the Gospels. He told His friends that He only did what He saw the Father doing, and similarly in a different place, He said that He only spoke what He heard the Father saying. Jesus came to reveal the Father to us, and to do His will.

Evidently, there was something about doing what He saw the Father doing in that conversation with the Samaritan woman, that brought sustenance to Him in a moment where He had been weary, thirsty, and hungry. Doing the will of the Father satisfied Him more than food. It gave Him life to the core of His being.

We shouldn’t be surprised by this. After all Jesus said that man could not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Thankfully, this delicious feast remains available for those who follow after Jesus today.

Have you ever had an experience like the one described here in John 4? Are there times where doing something that you know that God has directed you to has brought true satisfaction to your spirit in a way that has made you feel full? Have you ever had a time where you were aware of your own needs and humanity, only to find yourself unexpectedly refreshed and replenished after serving someone else?

These special moments often come in the midst of releasing heaven to earth, by doing something that we know we were created to do. For some, this happens in times of physically serving someone in need. Others find themselves refreshed after helping a friend find comfort in a time of crisis.

My wife really comes alive when we have a chance to serve and give to the homeless on the street. Over the course of our marriage, I have been astounded by the way that Adriane’s eyes twinkle with wonder and her heart floods with joy at the opportunity to show God’s love to a stranger that we meet who has a profound need. She looks like a little kid at Christmas, going through her things, looking for something to share.

Once, when we were passing out blankets and food at a homeless shelter on a cold winter night, I watched as my wife rubbed skin care lotion onto the broken, cracked feet of a mentally challenged, homeless woman. Adriane‘s voice was so soft and gentle as she spoke words of value to this precious one. It seemed as if the room was being filled with God’s glory as Adriane anointed the feet of one of the least of these.

I was overwhelmed that night. My wife hates touching anyone’s feet. She doesn’t even like to fold clean socks. But there, in a homeless shelter with this beautiful young woman, she was feasting on Heaven’s finest fare as she did the thing that her Heavenly Father had prepared for her to do.

I believe that this type of meal is different for each person because this deep sense of satisfaction is directly connected to accomplishing the thing that our heavenly Father created us to do. I believe that we are each unique expressions of God’s heart, and that He gives us assignments that are in line with His perfect design for us.

This is what Jesus put on display for us in His tired, weary moments with the woman at the well. By all accounts, He may have just been thirsty and asking for a drink. But when He saw the opportunity to love this woman, and share words of life with her, He did. And that was the thing that the Father had for Him that day.

I pray that as we look at the life of Jesus, we would be emboldened to follow Him into doing what we see the Father doing. I pray that we would recognize the moments that God has equipped us for ahead of time, so that we can partner together with Him to see heaven released on the earth. Finally, I pray that you would experience the joy of knowing that you are doing the thing that God has given you to do.

JOURNALING QUESTIONS // LINK TO PLAYLIST

Examine – How would you describe what this passage reveals about the life of Jesus?

MindShift – Is there anything about what you read in this passage that challenges the way you think about what it means to follow Jesus?

Prayer Focus – Is there any prayer that you can pray to co-operate with Holy Spirit to see your mind renewed to become more like Jesus?