John 4: 31-32
‘“Meanwhile his disciples urged him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you know nothing about.’”
So far the disciples have seen Jesus turn water into wine, and clear the temple. At this point in John’s gospel, they have yet to see Jesus feed thousands with a few loaves and fishes. Not yet understanding that Jesus operates from a very different point of view, the disciples urge Jesus to eat something.
Instead of taking the food they offer him, Jesus uses this moment to teach his disciples about why he is here on earth and who he is. “I have food to eat that you know nothing about,” Jesus says.
Imagine what that must have sounded like. You have been walking for hours needing food, and here your teacher says he has food you know nothing about! What are you to think?
Q: How is this statement Jesus just made similar to his conversation with the woman at the well where he says, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water”? (v 10)
I would imagine if they would have asked Him then He would have told them about the food they know nothing about as with the woman at the well,..she didn’t know anything about Him either,..we are all learning or should be learning about Him and what He provides for us spiritually as well as physically,..food and water are accentual to our daily physical needs just as Christ and His food ( The Word ) and His water ( Eternal Life ) are accentual to our eternal spiritual needs.
As far as being a disciple back then,..I would probably be thinking that He has been holding out,..why did we have to go into town and get food when He had food on Him this whole time,..I would of course want to see the food,..just as Thomas wanted to see and touch His hands and feet. What kind of manna does He have for me and why didn’t He stop me before I walked this long distance for the food I brought back for Him that He doesn’t need? I may have grumbled a bit in anger because of the long walk,..either way my thinking would have been more on the physical things and not of the spiritual, until He opened my eyes, ears and heart to receive the spiritual things to which He speaks of.
I thank God for those ordinary men before me that have already been through all this and have written it down,..all I can do is read, follow through with my response to His call and believe what He did for me at the cross,..I am sure there is more to it than that but that’s what I got so far,..Keep smiling!
Thank you John Willman. That is some good “food for thought.” It is amazing how both the living water and the bread of life both refer to Jesus. It is also amazing that His disciples kept missing that He was not talking about physical water or food, but spiritual. Yet I can relate to that. I can be pretty dense too. And just like them, I need what only Jesus can supply.
This flesh we walk around in is real, but is a temporary dwelling , of this world and physically sustained by food and water of this earth.
Our spirits are eternal, given life through Christ and sustained by Spiritual food and water which comes from God. In both cases, Jesus is taking an opportunity to express a spiritual truth that will hopefully be food for thought.
We think of our immediate needs, while Jesus wants us to address our eternal needs
Thank you all for sharing your thoughts! As Robster points out, Jesus wants us to get our heads around the “eternal.” What a challenge! All we know is what we have experienced in this life and what Jesus tells us about the next life. The news he has to share it truly mind-boggling!
Well in the earlier passages everyone said that he was still thirsty. But then when she left she left the jars of water and the disciples went to go get food. It’s nice how our God provided.