Let Us Do What Jesus DidShembull

Jesus did the will of God

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”

Jesus’s disciples had been walking on the road all day, and they were exhausted and famished. So, they leave Jesus at a well and go into town to buy food. When they return, they pull food out of their leather bags.

They can hardly wait to dig in. The problem is that they are waiting for Jesus, their teacher, to begin eating, and he isn’t taking a bite.

Finally, they urge him, “Rabbi, eat!” Jesus responds, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” The disciples are puzzled, thinking, You do? How? Where? Who gave you this food? They are entirely focused on the physical, not the spiritual. They are more concerned about food than God.

So Jesus clarifies: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” Jesus is saying, “This is my real food. This is the food I hunger for, the food I must have or I cannot live. I simply must please my Father and do his will. I simply must obey my Father.”

The way Jesus lived life is the way we must live life. He is our model and example.

Pleasing God, living for God, obeying God is our life. It is our joy. It is our liberation. It is more important than food and drink.