“31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, eat.’ 32 But He said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ 33 So the disciples were saying to one another, ‘No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?’ 34 Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work’” John 4:31-34.
This text appears towards the end of the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. When all the dust settled and the Apostles returned from downtown Sychar with food for Jesus and themselves they continued to rest and drink water from Jacob’s well while they ate. They left Jesus at the well, tired and exhausted, so they were concerned when Jesus wasn’t eating so they urged Jesus to eat. Immediately Jesus engages them in a dramatic conversation about hunger and food when He tells them: “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” And when they misunderstand the spiritual nature of Jesus’ response they turned to each other wondering if anyone else had brought Jesus anything to eat. And then at this point comes the mother load of all comments from Jesus. He tells them that has food about which they know nothing. But what Jesus says to them is no mere response to their concern for His health, it is a challenge, a command, an invitation, and an example for all of us to follow. “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work’” John 4:34.
Jesus was most passionate about submitting to and obeying the will of God — His Father in heaven. The truth is that Jesus wasn’t just the only person ever to have been totally obedient to the will of God, Jesus’ will was God’s will. wHat God liked Jesus liked. What God wished Jesus wished.
Throughout then Gospel of John we see that Jesus was sent by God. Jesus obeyed God as only Jesus could. He was God-sent! And we see this in Jesus’ frequent comments about do the work God His father in heaven sent Him to do. Jesus said: “The works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me” John 5:36. The works which the Father has given Jesus to accomplished were all completely accomplished. Jesus looked at the works the Father has given Him as commandments to be obeyed, including His very death on the cross. “No one has taken my life away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father” John 10:18. Frequently Jesus spoke of doing the will of His father in heaven. “38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” John 6:38. In fact Jesus loved to do what His Father asked Him to do: “I always do the things that are pleasing to Him” John 8:29. As far as Jesus was concerned, the only proof of love lay in the keeping of the commandments of the One you claim to love. “If anyone loves Me, you will keep My word; and My Father will love you, and We will come to you and make Our abode with you” John 14:23.
So at the well Jesus is inviting us all to obey Him in everything, just as He obedient to God His Father in heaven. The only source of peace in life is to do whatever Jesus tells us to do. The only source of happiness in life is to do everything Jesus tells us to do. The only source of true power in the world and in our lives is to do everything Jesus tells us to do.
Dear friends please consider today your obedience to Jesus. What areas in your life are you still in control of rather than humbly obeying the will of God? If Jesus walks into your day today to speak to you what is the one thing He would say you need to be obedient to? To Him — right? Then pray that you will change and do everything Jesus tells you to do.
Oh dear Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner. Late have I obeyed You and slowly have I proved my love for You. Help me! In Jesus’ name I pray.
From the Bible:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments” John 14:15.
“Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him”
John 14:23.
“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” John 14:21.
"And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it” 2 John 1:6.
“Do whatever Jesus tells you to do” John 2:5.
“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” 1 John 2:3-6.
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