“MASTER, EAT”
John 4:25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. 27 ¶ And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? 28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? 30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
John 4:31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. 32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. 33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? 34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
There is a vast difference between the food to nourish the physical and that which nourishes the spiritual man! Religionists seek to make God into their image. Religionists always relate to a convenient god. They would have their master to only eat of, and only be sustained by, the physical foods which they had secured in their trip into town. But he informs them that the spiritual man subsists on a meal which they know not of. Except this be so, how are the masses of redeemed souls in the heavens being sustained? For their bodies, with the teeth to chew, the throat to swallow, and the stomach to digest are buried in the ground. There are no grocery stores or restaurants in heaven!
Elijah was fed of God and allowed to rest between his two heavenly meals. 1 Kings 19:8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. Yet this was still physical food, although provided in a heavenly way.
That which our Master is referring to is the spiritual sustenance obtained by obedience to the Father. My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. For obedience to the Almighty brings spiritual benefits. John 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. 18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
For in obedience to God there is revealed God’s doctrine, and it also involves itself in His glory! And it is the glory of God that is presently ‘feeding’ all the souls in eternity, and the redeemed souls on earth!
For God is the consuming fire who needs no fuel! Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire. Exodus 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And that is the reason that the three Hebrews, cast into the Babylonian fire, did not even smell like smoke! They became children of God’s holy, spiritual fire, so the physical fire did not find them as fuel! Daniel 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. 27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
His is that fire which “enfolds itself.” Ezekiel 1:4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. That is, the fire of his glory is constantly “receiving” itself! For that Hebrew word, “infolding” is the same word translated “receive” in Ezekiel 3:10. His is the everlasting life and glory that depends on no outside fuel or force for it to be sustained. For He ‘draws life’ from Himself!
The Lord Jesus tells us of the Father’s intrinsic life, and then of his own life as the Incarnate Son. John 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; As he was speaking of his ability to raise those who were dead in trespasses and sins, (for regeneration is a resurrection), he informs us that in order to do so he has the same sovereign, eternal life as does his Father. And insomuch so, that by his very voice being heard, lost sinners are given eternal life! – Regeneration is the first resurrection! Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power …
After he had not eaten for forty days and nights, bringing his human flesh down to its weakest point, he instructs Satan concerning this matter of being sustained by the spiritual bread of God’s revealed expression. Therefore being without the kind of physical food which the disciples wanted him to eat in our context, it was the spiritual nourishment, provided by the Holy Spirit which caused him to defeat Satan’s temptations. Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
And that is the same thing of which he instructs all believers concerning the receiving of himself for their sustenance and life. John 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
The eternal Son of God does not, and has never physically eaten of the Father! Therefore he is most assuredly not speaking of the believer physically eating his human flesh. He is speaking of the hunger of righteousness being satisfied for the spirits of just man made perfect by being cast entirely upon him by faith. Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. For as the newborn infant is cast back upon the breasts of the body from which it came to receive the milk of life, so the newborn believer is cast entirely upon Christ, who alone gave them spiritual birth, for his nourishment. 1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Hebrews 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
The entire body of the true, spiritual church is enjoined to Christ, the Head of the body for its nourishment. Colossians 2:19 And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.
In order to eat, the one dining must lower his head to receive each bite. To feed from Christ by faith the hungry soul must come humbly seeking the Lord as Bread. In order to eat the diner must raise the food to his mouth. To feed from Christ the believer must appropriate Christ to himself by confessing Christ with his mouth as he has believed on him with his heart.
Romans 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
The diner must also find the foods to be accommodating to his taste, or he will not consume it. Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 63:5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
One must then swallow the foods after they have been broken down by the chewing of the teeth. So one must personally appropriate Christ to himself by faith, all the while believing that consuming Him shall sustain their spiritual life. Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread. John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
The Bride, representing the true church, seeks the Husband in order to dine with him at noon. Song 1:7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? Then he responds: Song 1:8 If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents.
And the Lord, our Great Shepherd, does not disappoint! Isaiah 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
The woman at the well has the Lord Jesus Christ reveal himself plainly to her as being Messias. This revealing of himself at this time in his earthly ministry is very rare. For he had even instructed his disciples not to disclose this information. Matthew 16:20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. He does it once here to a Samaritan woman and later to a formerly blind man who had been excommunicated. Both were socially unacceptable to the pride filled Jews.
John 9:35 ¶ Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? 36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? 37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. 38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
And the revelation of Jesus Christ is salvation to those who receive it. John 17:2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
But it was a provision of the food which the disciples, both then and even now, seem to know nothing of. For he states in verse thirty-four of our text that his meat (food) is doing the will of his Father and finishing the work given him. This work is explained in the following verses in the form of farming. (See John 4:35,36 of our context.) The field of the world (Matt 13:38), is full of lost souls who need the gospel of Christ ‘sown’ unto them in order to reveal Him to their souls. And as has already been stated, that effectual revelation of Christ as God, is salvation.
Now, even though she has known five ‘husbands’ she now focuses on only one man – the man Christ Jesus! She abandons her worldly employment, rushes back into the city telling the men, among who she has failed to find any revelation of God, Come see A man!
Those ‘husbands’ were supposed to minister Christ to her poor soul! For the husband represents Christ and the wife represents the church. Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
The sin of Adam which caused his nakedness also caused the disruption of his enablement to manifest God to Eve. And the sin of Eve which stripped her of her outward covering of God’s glory also disrupted her ability to provide the oneness for Adam in being a help fit for him. Both are recovered in Christ, giving the soul its nourishment in a godly union.
Pastor Gene Breed
May 12, 2018