“I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” (Jn 4:32) ‘Who brought Jesus food in this remote place?’ the disciples asked. But Jesus was talking about the sustenance he received from his Father. “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
Jesus lived in his Father… and his Father lived in him. Constant fellowship with God was the secret of his life. “I do nothing on my own but speak just what my Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” (Jn 8:28-29) “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” (Jn 7:16-17) “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” (Jn 14:10) “The Son can do nothing by himself, he can only do what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son does also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” (Jn 5:19-20)
Once Jesus spoke to a blind man, “Your faith has healed you,” and the man was healed. Another time he touched the eyes of two blind men and they were given sight. Another occasion he spit on the ground, made mud with saliva, put it on a blind man’s eyes, and told him to go wash in a certain pool. After the man followed the instructions he could see. Still another time he spit on a man’s eyes and put his hands on them. “Do you see anything?” Jesus asked. “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” So Jesus put his hands on the eyes a second time and the blind man could see clearly.
Why didn’t Jesus heal the same way on every occasion? Because the Father didn’t lead him to do it the same way every time. Jesus was led by the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit gives light and life and love and just the right thing for each situation.
And now he says to us, “‘If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.” (Jn 7:37-39) Our drink, our food, our sustenance must come from the Son of God. We must learn to drink deeply of the Spirit. “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.” (Jn 6:63)
Several of us were talking about these things over the weekend. One person asked, “Can we live on earth the way Jesus did?” Another person answered, “Yes.” A third said, “That’s a little scary.” What do you think?
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5)