Pathway of Peace - Food

John 4:7 Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food…

When Jesus shared water with the woman at Jacob’s well in Samaria, he opened her up to the power of his refreshing presence, the living water that satisfies the soul instead of the pursuit of pleasure that simply gratifies the senses. As well as that mystical water there is a mystical food that nourishes and strengthens our heart and mind and even our body, as we share in the supernatural work of the doing of God’s good will to others. The powerful energy of God’s love to others feeds our soul as well as theirs. (Jesus fixes our thirst before dealing with our appetite).

John 4:34. Then Jesus said: “ My food (for strength) is to do the will of him who sent me and to make his work complete” (He didn’t say ‘My duty is to…’)

WHAT WAS ‘THE WILL OF HIM WHO SENT ME’?

The Journey of Jesus and the disciples through Samaria was not plan A for Jesus.

John 4:1 Now when it was clear to the Lord that word had come to the ears of the Pharisees that Jesus was making more disciples than John and was giving them baptism (Though, in fact, it was his disciples who gave baptism, not Jesus himself), He went out of Judaea into Galilee again. 4.And it was necessary for him to go through Samaria.

Apart from the fact that the way through Samaria was quicker, it was necessary for Jesus to go by way of hilly Samaria as a safety measure as the Pharisees had become antagonistic to him, and Jesus was not ready for a final showdown with them. This would have likely happened if they took the longer normal journey with more confrontation and provocation through the Jewish villages of the plains between Judea and Galilee. This necessary thing steered Jesus into being where he had to be for the doing of the will of his Father. And Jesus was always ready for that.

The conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well concluded with Jesus saying to her “I Am the Messiah!”

In the meantime she had taunted Jesus the thirsty Jewish man, she had argued with the Jesus the Rabbi, she was captivated by Jesus the prophet, and she surrendered her life to Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, to manage her soul. This was his food - doing the life-changing good will of his Father towards that woman.

Vs.27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?”

The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” So the people came streaming from the city to see him.

Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”

But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”

“Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.

Vs.34 Jesus said, ‘My food (for strength) is to do the will of him who sent me and to make his work complete’

Jesus partook of that ‘food’ simply by BEING with his Father and sharing life-giving water with the woman. And the woman also partook of that food when she shared her powerful revelation of truth and love in the person of Jesus to the people of that Samarian city of Sychar.

HARVEST IS A WHO NOT A WHEN

Vs.35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between seedtime and harvest ’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already white for harvest (The white robed people from Sychar streaming down the hill). The harvesters are paid good wages, and the food they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the sower and the harvester alike! You know the saying, ‘One sows and another reaps. ’ And it’s true. I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest. (NLT)

Amos 9:13 The time will come when there will be such abundance of crops that the harvest-time will scarcely end before the farmer starts again to sow another crop.(LB)

Amos 9:13 Yes indeed, it won't be long now. Things are going to happen so fast your head will swim, one thing fast on the heels of the other. You won't be able to keep up. Everything will be happening at once—and everywhere you look, blessings! Blessings like wine pouring off the mountains and hills. (Message bible)

JESUS WAS ALWAYS READY – Paul also said ‘So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also’. (Romans 1:15)

Ready (Prothymos) means ‘The heart has gone on ahead before the action happens’ - The heart appetite for the good will of God for others. A heart disposition of that kind of readiness becomes our destiny. Destiny is not something that happens to us one day but something that is happening with us at any given time. So even though it is set before us it is not just something for the future only, but something we are always arriving at now in our heart. So the life goal becomes the here and now readiness or disposition to go with Holy Spirit at any crossroad and walk with him into the doing of his good will to others. Our prayer becomes the menu. It is our ‘ready, set, go’.

If we are at one with God (peace) it is impossible to not want his good will for others because that is what he wants. That is the food for our soul. If we wish to withhold his good will to others we starve our own soul. When we feed with faith The food multiplies.