Twentieth Day of Lent

Twentieth Day of Lent

Thursday, March 23, 2017

My food is to do the will of him who sent me.
John 4:34

The disciples are no different than we are! When it is time to eat, they want to eat, no matter about the task at hand! They know that Jesus has had nothing to eat, that they have seen no one bring anything to him, but he seems not to be interested in food. He is trying to teach them something very important, and their response is, “What’s for dinner?”

This little passage is really not about food at all. It’s about obedience. It is about knowing what his Father wants of him and doing what he knows! That’s the point Jesus is making. He is sustained – nourished – by doing the thing that God sent him to earth to do

Jesus understands God’s plan and has agreed to do his part. His ministry has just begun, but he knows what is out there, and he’s getting himself ready to do his job. For him, food was less important than obedience. Jesus knows that he is going to die. He is not only preparing the disciples; he is keeping his own focus.

We don’t put a lot of stress on obedience today, either in the lives of our children or in our own adult lives. We know a lot about how we are supposed to live, but we do as we please and expect God to “understand.”

Jesus surely never thought like that. He knew the plan, and he obeyed. That sustained him right up to the cross.

Prayer: Father, I have often disobeyed, and I know that that is the very thing that was poured out on Jesus on the cross. All the times I disobeyed – my sin caused him to suffer! I am so sorry. Help me to be an obedient child. Amen.

And He Set His Face toward Jerusalem. . . .

A Lenten Devotional Guide
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, Spring 2007,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator