Finish the Work

Food to Eat:

“I have food to eat that you know nothing about” - John 4:32

The boys were hungry, you recall, and they all left Jesus to go to town and get something to eat. Nothing is more important to the human body than food. Without eating, we die.

• Last week one of our members got a peg line inserted into the stomach. He cannot swallow any more, so he is receiving food through that line. It is a life support. If you cannot or do not eat, you cannot live.

They were successful in their quest for food, and they brought back some food for Jesus to eat. They have done a good thing. They are taking care of him. Maybe this is typical of Jesus, forgetting to eat or delaying meals in order to accomplish other things that he considered more important.

Jesus takes this moment to teach them—and us—something important about life and about following him. It is a matter of perspective and priority that he wants to communicate.

Jesus has a food that they do not know about. They actually know nothing about it, he tells them.

• This sets off a discussion about who has brought him food or how he might have gotten something to eat.

• Our grocery stores are the wonder of the world. When dignitaries from other countries come to visit the United States, they are often in awe of our grocery stores. The mounds of food so readily available of all kinds—fresh and delicious—seems like a miracle to them.
• We cannot appreciate, really, this discussion about food in a Third World context. Food was scarce in Israel and Samaria. They were always threats of famine, crop failures, which would put them at risk of starvation. We have refrigeration and other means of food preservation. We have the greatest agricultural output in the world. We grow so much grain and produce so much other food that we export it all over the world.

• You may have read about the cheese surplus in our country right now. The dollar has gotten so strong that exports, including food exports, are dropping off. Great blocks of cheese are now being stored because the market has dried up.

 

Will to Do:

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” - John 4:34

Jesus has a priority and a perspective that feeds his soul. It is true food to him.

• He came to do the will of the Father and to finish his work.

• Jesus lives in constant awareness of being sent. Someone sent him. The One who sent him is the One to whom he is accountable. So every minute of every day he is seeking to fulfill his purpose on this planet.

The will of God must surely have been evident in the conversation with the Samaritan woman. Here Jesus is reinforcing the truth that his behavior reveals the true nature of the Creator God.

• It was the will of God for him to stay at the well and meet this stranger.

• It was the will of God for him to initiate the conversation with the woman. God wanted him to do this.

• In other words, he was fulfilling his purpose and doing the will of the One who sent him by having this amazing conversation with the woman at the well.

• There should be no doubt now about the nature and the character of God. John says that Jesus was full of grace and truth. We have seen that right here in this conversation with the woman at the well. We may certainly conclude that our Creator God is full of grace and truth.

It is the will of God, not only for Jesus, but also for his disciples to have these kinds of conversations. When we enter into dialogue with people who are seeking their place in the world, we are doing the will of God.

• We must consider these moments as divine interventions in our lives. We must see them as providential.

• When they occur we should immediately take note of them and tell ourselves, “We are experiencing God right now.”

 

Work to Finish:

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” - John 4:34

“Finish” here translates the verb form of telos. The same is true with Jesus’ final words from the cross, “It is finished.”

• This word is the clear indication that God is bringing things on this planet to their proper conclusion through Christ.

• You need not worry about the future. You cannot do anything about most of what troubles you any way. If you can do something about those troubling realities, you will have more hope and energy if you do something.

• This is the Care Effect. If you can join God in the work he is bring to completion in this world, then you will be caring for another person as Jesus with this woman. Your concern for others will feed your own soul.

The disciples got a good meal, and they were happy.

• I went to visit Myrtle Louise in the hospital. She is an elderly member of our congregation. Her husband, Max, was on the pastor search committee that called me here as pastor 20 years ago. I have always called Myrtle Louise by both her names, and she has returned the favor. I went expecting to learn something from this sweet lady who worked in our nursery for decades and cared for our children. I prepared my heart for her words. And she said, “I had the best breakfast this morning I have ever eaten. I had soupy grits, scrambled eggs, toast and jelly.” And I made a note to myself—“Be grateful for simple blessings." That is a secret to staying mentally and spiritually healthy in your old age. Myrtle also said that her physician “was such a sweet man,” and I wondered if all his patients would describe him that way. But she did, and it indicated more about her, I think, than her doctor.

• Myrtle was grateful for her food. That’s a good thing. So were the disciples. But Jesus had a superior experience. While they were feeding their bodies, Jesus was feeding his soul. While they were doing what was necessary physically, Jesus was doing what was necessary spiritually. He was pleasing the Father. There was surpassing satisfaction, grace, and joy in doing the will of the One who sent you.

You have been sent by Jesus in the harvest field. He has sent you as a lamb in the midst of wolves. He knows hard times will come. But your joy every day will be to see him at work around you, and to join him in that work.

 

Harvest to Reap:

I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” - John 4:35

Jesus was working in the harvest when he spoke to that woman. She was part of the white fields.

You are being sent into the harvest field every day.