7th November, 2010
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
John 4:27-38
Main Idea: We are fed by doing God’s will.
Objectives: a. To explain the reason for the food. b. to challenge the congregation to do the father’s will in our society.
A. Introduction
- You need food to survive. Food is vitally important to us as human beings. Without food, you will die of hunger. The physical food here is not the emphasis of Jesus. Jesus uses our human need for the physical food to bring out a dying/desperate need of Christians (His disciples).
- What is this desperate need of disciples of Jesus?
B. What is Jesus’ food all about?
- It is about the spiritual food that each disciple of Jesus needs. We need to be fed spiritual food by Jesus.
- This spiritual food which Jesus emphasizes is all about doing the father’s will. Jesus uses the food, the spiritual food to inspire us and challenge us to do the father’s will. Doing the father’s will is our spiritual food.
C. Why doing the Father’s will become the food?
- Let us see the context (verses 27 to 30) to know the reason why doing the Father’s will become the food. The Samaritan woman with 5 husbands at the well had a great encounter with Jesus which transformed her life. She even urged people to come to see Jesus, whom she regarded as Christ (Messiah).
- The disciples were unhappy that Jesus talked with her as she was unclean. Jewish (God’s) people were clean and the others were not clean. The disciples question Jesus for the conversation with the woman.
- I believe Jesus remembered very much the disciples question and He was trying to use the occasion to teach them something crucial. His opportunity came when the disciples urged him to take some food in verse 31. He grasped the kairos (time) moment again to tell his disciples in verse 32, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
- The disciples still did not know what the food was all about . So, they answered in verse 33, “Could someone have brought him food?”
- Then Jesus grasped the opportunity to explain that His food is to do the will of the father in verse 34, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
- Then, from verses 35 to 38, Jesus elaborated further on the food. It is about saving souls for eternity. The disciples talked about waiting for 4 months before the harvest of the wheat but Jesus is talking about the urgency of harvesting people for eternal life. The people out there were ripe for harvest. They were ready for salvation, like the immoral Samaritan woman.
- Most probably John the Baptist had done the hard work of sowing the seeds of repentance and now Jesus and the disciples can reap the harvest. That is why Jesus said in verse 38, “I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
- So, the food is really referring to spreading the gospel of salvation and people are saved for eternity.
D. Why doing the Father’s will become the food?
- Isn’t reading bible, the word of God, listening to sermon, etc , our food? How come doing God’s will in terms of saving the lost become our food?
- Let us learn a new insight about spiritual food today. The new insight is this: by bringing people into the kingdom of God, we are spiritually satisfied; our life purpose on earth is fulfilled. We are spiritually nurtured. So, can you work hard on our Alpha project? We need to pray and do some work for the star fish on the beach before the Alpha course next year.
E. Why the need to do the Father’s will?
- The answer is found in verse 35. The fields are ripe for harvest.
- Do you see the needs of the people out there. I pray that when you see the immorality, how rebellious are the teenagers; the drug abuse; Aids; the sick and dying; corruption, you see the fields ripe for harvest.
F. Applications
- You must now learn to understand why Jesus’ food is to do the Father’s will in our society.
- If you have been reading bible and doing prayer, listen to sermon after sermon, you are still not satisfied spiritually, I put it to you that it could well be you have practiced the will of our Father yet. His will for you to bring the lost into the kingdom of God.
G. Conclusion.
- My food is to the Father’s will – can you claim that?
