John 4: "My food is to do the will of him who send me and to do his work"

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.  (John 4:31-35)

The first part of John 4 is taken up with the amazing story where Jesus talks with the Samaritan woman.  This story never fails to inspire - the social and spiritual divides crossed and the life transformed in an instant.  But I'm hardly going to talk about the Samaritan woman here, and instead give a little exploration on what this story tells us about food, zooming in on Jesus' conversation with his disciples when the returned.

Because through the ages, and even today, many have taken passages such as the one quoted above to suggest that we don't need food, and that we should be completed satisfied in God.  Food should hold no enjoyment for us, no satisfaction, it is simply fuel for our bodies in order to do God's work.  But this is not the case!  In Psalm 104 the Psalmist talks of ‘wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart’ (Psalm 104:15-16)   Psalm 145 says: The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing (Psalm 145:15-16) and Paul writes: For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:4-5) and whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

So what about our passage?  Is Jesus saying in this instance that our physical hunger should be met by doing God’s work?  To further understand the scene, we need to take note of the time of day.  The conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well which had just taken place, takes place at ‘about the sixth hour’.  In other words, it’s noon (6 hours after dawn) and it’s lunchtime.  We could call this story ‘the day Jesus skipped lunch to talk to a woman about salvation’. 

Jesus, like he often does, is engaging in a bit of hyperbole.  If Jesus were to mean that his ministry replaced actual food at all times, we would not have accounts of him eating and drinking (and, on a related note, taking time away from the crowds to recuperate).  The point he is making, however, is challenging.  Our desire to do God’s will should be greater than our (completely legitimate) desire for food, and we should be willing to forgo our pleasures and comforts for the sake of doing God’s work.

In addition to this, Jesus emphasises our place in salvation history.  Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, as see that fields are white for the harvest (john 4:35).  When it’s time for the harvest, time is short, and it’s all hands to ensure that everything is gathered in before it spoils.  Many of us don’t see the harvest so we don't appreciate the challenges that farmers face. I remember meeting some olive growers in Spain when on a field trip for my undergraduate Geography degree.  We wanted to talk to them about farming, but they could only spare a few minutes.  The race was on as they rushed to harvest the olives to get them to market. 

When Jesus talks about those who hunger and thirst for righteousness being satisfied (Matthew 5:6) he is not saying in this instance that righteousness will satiate physical hunger, but drawing on the familiar feelings of hunger and thirst, and the satisfaction we feel when these are met, to illustrate how we should feel about righteousness.   When we are hungry and thirsty, that longing drives us to action, and we find it difficult to focus on something else until that desire is filled.  We feel single-minded, with all our efforts focused on the goal of getting something to eat or drink.  That, Jesus says, is the way we should feel about the pursuit of righteousness.

Food is precious.  Life is precious.  But the Gospel of Jesus Christ is even more precious.  It's not just more important than bad or useless things, it's more precious than good things that God gave us to be good, and that makes it very special indeed.