John 4:31-54

Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."

This makes me think about my time in Kurdistan. The Kurdish for "Rabbi, eat" is "Mamosta, bixo." Although in Kurdish it would be followed with the equivalent of "Eat! Why aren't you eating? Don't be shy! Eat."

In Kurdish, mamosta means teacher (like Rabbi in Hebrew). It helps me remember the intent of the word Rabbi whener I see it used. In Kurdish, mamosta is a common title used to show respect for someone who has knowledge (actual teachers and otherwise). Drawing the link between mamosta and Rabbi helps me remember that Jesus is being held up as someone who has knowledge to give rather than as a member of a religious institution.

But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."
So the disciples were saying to one another, "No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?"
Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.

The water that Jesus has to offer is everlasting life and the food that he eats is to follow the will of God and do His work. We seek to be as Jesus, so we must eat the same food.

"Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. "Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. "For in this case the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.'
"I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor."

The food to be eaten is the will and work of God. It is ready to be harvested and eaten. There is no waiting. It is being harvested now. We don't have to plant the seeds, someone else has already done that. We are not at the beginning of the cycle, but at the end - it's not even the beginning of the harvest, the workers are already hired and working. We are eating the labor of those that have come before.

The Samaritans from that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all the things that I have done." So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world."

The Samaritan woman becomes an early missionary. She spreads Jesus to her people and she gets a quite a reward in return: the people begin to believe of their own faith, no longer relying on her!

After the two days He went forth from there into Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast. Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.

So Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." The royal official said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies."

Jesus said to him, "Go; your son lives." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.

This is more positive fallout from the miracle of water to wine. The royal official knows that Jesus can perform miracles from either being present at the wedding or hearing the stories and he asks Jesus to save his dying son.

As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."

So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives"; and he himself believed and his whole household. This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.