John 4:31-34 31In the meanwhile, the disciples were asking him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32But he said to them, “I myself have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34Jesus said to them, “My food is that I might do the will of him who sent me and that I might accomplish his work.
The disciples missed the whole point of why Jesus stopped at Jacob’s well. They were more interested in worldly comforts than new spiritual birth. They had made the effort to go into town to buy food and thought that he stay at the well because he was hungry and exhausted. They did not realize he stayed so he could meet a lonely woman seeking meaning and purpose for her life. The disciples called Jesus the honorific title of Rabbi, or teacher. They missed his proclamation of “I am.” They seemed to be stuck in the earthly realm, which agrees with the portrait of them given in the other Gospel accounts.
Like he did with the woman, Jesus got to the deeper significance of the moment. The reader gets the sense already in the book that John did not invent the “signs” Jesus gave but simply recorded the signs that Jesus used to reveal himself. Jesus used the food the disciples brought to teach them a spiritual truth that they seemed to have missed. The food Jesus had was spiritual, and the disciples did not understand it yet. If they listened and followed, they would eventually come to know about this food and want it for themselves. This food can only be recognized by God’s revelation and not by human effort.
The disciples thought someone else had brought Jesus food. Jesus responded in verse 34 by telling them what he meant by food. The same verse from Deuteronomy 8:3 that he quoted when tempted by the devil in the desert may stand behind his response. The reference to the one who sent is repeated many times in the following chapters (5:23–24, 30, 37; 6:38–39; 7:16, 18, 28, 33; 8:16, 18, 26, 29; 9:4; 12:44–45, 49; 13:20; 14:24; 16:5).
This verse also gives the reason Jesus came to earth: to do God’s will, which is the work. This work (ergon) is not defined or described here but refers to Jesus’ mission. As we read through this Gospel, we come to realize that it is the redemptive action Jesus did by giving himself on the cross for the salvation of the world. John the Baptist already hinted at that by calling Jesus the “Lamb,” referring to the sacrifice that would solve the sin problem. The disciples, like us, needed to think more about what matters most: the condition and destiny of their souls. Following Jesus was not enough. They needed to believe, just like the woman.
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