John 4:31-35 "Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, 'Rabbi, eat something...'"

“Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Surely no one has brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting’” (John 4:31-35)

Comment:

This powerful passage touches on two important elements: the difficulty Jesus has in communicating with his disciples, and the immediacy of his message and spiritual vision. Throughout his ministry the disciples continue to assume that the “kingdom” he teaches is a tangible, mortal thing. As with their concern about food in this passage, they often don’t grasp the spiritual reality from which Jesus teaches, and to which he calls all of us. And there is no “process” involved in achieving the kingdom. In human terms we plant seeds and wait four months for them to grow. But if we “lift up our eyes”—change our inner vision from the material to the spiritual—the rich harvest is always available in the great, eternal “now” moment.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed