God's Mission Fed Jesus' Heart and Soul
Daily Scripture
John 4:31-42
The Chosen gives a plausibly expanded version of the story we’ve read from John 4 this week (click here). You may enjoy comparing it with a 5-minute clip from the superb 2003 film The Gospel of John which used only the text of John from The Good News Bible. Click here for that excerpt.
31 In the meantime the disciples spoke to Jesus, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
32 Jesus said to them, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”
33 The disciples asked each other, “Has someone brought him food?”
34 Jesus said to them, “I am fed by doing the will of the one who sent me and by completing his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘Four more months and then it’s time for harvest’? Look, I tell you: open your eyes and notice that the fields are already ripe for the harvest. 36 Those who harvest are receiving their pay and gathering fruit for eternal life so that those who sow and those who harvest can celebrate together. 37 This is a true saying, that one sows and another harvests. 38 I have sent you to harvest what you didn’t work hard for; others worked hard, and you will share in their hard work.”
39 Many Samaritans in that city believed in Jesus because of the woman’s word when she testified, “He told me everything I’ve ever done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of his word, 42 and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this one is truly the savior of the world.”
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Jesus told his disciples that doing God’s will, reaping a harvest of willing followers, nourished him more deeply than any physical food could. The Samaritan woman who’d seen a request for a cup of water turn into a life-changing connection with Jesus became the first “preacher” in the Gospel of John. The Samaritans invited Jesus to stay in Sychar. He did, for two days, and many of the Samaritans there became the immediate fulfillment of his words that “the fields are already ripe for the harvest.” They, like millions of people ever since, found in Jesus the unsuspected key to a meaningful, grace-filled life.
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Scholar N. T. Wright asked, “When were you last so excited about something that you didn’t need to eat?” In an hour or less, the woman went from a social outcast trapped in a messed-up life to being the first evangelist to the Samaritan people. And Jesus had seen, firsthand, that “here, outside the boundaries of the chosen people, away from Jerusalem itself, there was a spiritual hunger which…was ready to hear what he had to say.” * What excites and “feeds” you most about the ways in which you are able to serve God? What would you like to get involved in that would deepen that joy and excitement? How can you begin to plan to make that happen?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you said your kingdom belongs to people who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Grow that appetite in me—and feed and sustain me as I join in your mission in this world. Amen.
GPS Insights
Josue Andre
We are pleased to add a new dimension to our Insights blog. During 2025 we will feature writers from our global Missions partners every few weeks. They will add depth to our understanding of Resurrection's reach around the world.
Director Josué Andre, a pastor, married and the father of four (three daughters and a son) is pastoring over 5 non-denominational churches in the mountains of Haiti. Josue is the President of the Legal Board of the Fondation Voix des Communautés de Base (FVCB). He holds several master’s degrees and a PHD (including a masters in Finance, Economics, and Management with a PHD in International Entrepreneurship ). Josue has 15-years of experience in finance and community development implementing programs in some of the most underserved communities while partnering with international organizations such as Resurrection, USAID, International Rescue Committee, Heart to Heart Intl, UNICEF, and more.
This Bible passage tells us of a food far more excellent than anything we produce or grow in our fields. It is a powerful allegory that is strongly asserting the fulfillment of the needs of the soul and spirit as a greater pleasure than the fulfillment of all our natural needs. Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 6:7 that all the labor of man is for his mouth, yet his desires are never satisfied. Jesus knew this and that is why he did not want to build a place for himself among the influential men of his time. He wanted to be seen instead as the faithful and humble servant of his father. No food, no political position, no social advantage could replace the joy that he got from touching a sick person and seeing that person’s condition change.
Jesus knew well that the fulfillment of natural things in his life could only bring him fleeting pleasure. For we eat, but are always hungry, we drink today, but will be thirsty tomorrow, we work, but we spend our wages, so we must always work. We feel free, yet we are chained by an constant reminder of the need to satisfy our natural needs. In the same chapter, Jesus told the woman to receive from himself water that could quench her thirst eternally.
The call of God to do His will and accomplish His work provides a satisfaction beyond all possible imagination. It is something that fills the heart, soul, and spirit with an abundance that transcends even natural death. By leaving our mark behind us in the fulfillment of a mission, we eternalize our ephemeral passage on this earth.
I am Haitian and I live in Haiti. I could go and live in another country for more social and economic well-being, but I do not have the courage to abandon those of my race who draw from me the hope of continuing to fight for their survival. Jesus did not want any other food, because the accomplishment of his father’s mission had fulfilled him. And what an accomplishment that day to be the first Jew to go to the Samaritans and have such a powerful impact on their lives.
So, I say to you to get started today. Hear God’s call, find yourself a mission and impact the lives of others, those who are rejected, those who are forgotten, impact them by your influence, your words, your actions, and your compassion. Amen!
© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Wright, N. T., John for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-10 (The New Testament for Everyone) (p. 50). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.
