34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to completely finish His work.”
John 4:34
Context: Jesus and His disciples had been travelling from city to city, preaching the Gospel and baptizing “more disciples than John” (John 4:1). They were now travelling from Judea to Galilee which saw them passing through Samaria (see map). This is where Jesus rested by a well and spoke with a Samaritan woman who came to draw water. At this time, His disciples had gone into the town for food. After her conversation with Jesus, the Samaritan woman went into the town encouraging everyone to come to see Him – He revealed Himself as the Messiah and she believed. The disciples had returned by this and were encouraging Jesus to eat something. As droves of people came towards Him, Jesus spoke the above words to His disciples.
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Word Study – Food
Food can be simply defined as any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. So what did Jesus mean when He spoke these words to His disciples?
Jesus was saying that His nourishment came from doing the will of God and completely finishing His work. Physical food is necessary as we live in physical bodies but even more important is spiritual nourishment which supports spiritual maturation. In that maturing, we are better able to align with the will of God, partnering with Him to complete He has set out before us. Where is your nourishment coming from? What are you feeding on? By feeding on the Word of God, we gain insight on the will of God. Only in knowing His will for us can we truly choose to align with it, do it and completely finish His work.
For further application of this Scripture, see the article “Seeking to Understand Self-Control”.