John 4:31

Joh 4:31-34. In the mean while — Before the people came; his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat — They set the meat, which they had brought, before him, and requested him to partake of it, knowing how much he needed refreshment. But he said, I have meat to eat that ye know not of — Meat which yields me much more refreshment than any food which you can have brought me. He refers to the conversation which he had just had with the woman, and to the expected conversion of the Samaritans. When he sat down upon the well, he was weary, and needed sustenance; but this opportunity of saving souls made him forget his weariness and hunger. Therefore said the disciples — Not understanding his words in that spiritual sense in which he had spoken them; one to another — With some surprise, considering where he was; Hath any man brought him aught to eat? — Has any one been with him while we have been absent, and supplied him with provisions? Jesus — Who knew the loss they were at to understand his meaning; saith unto them — With a view to explain it; My meat — My most refreshing and delightful food, and that which satisfies the strongest appetite of my soul; is to do the will of him that sent me, &c. — He made his work his meat and drink; namely, the work he had done, his instructing the woman, and the work he had to do among the Samaritans; the prospect he now had of doing good to many; this was to him the greatest pleasure and satisfaction imaginable. Observe here, reader, 1st, The salvation of sinners is the will of God, and the instruction of them in order thereunto, is his work, 1Ti 2:4. 2d, Christ was sent into the world for this purpose, to bring sinners to God, to bring them to know him, and to be happy in him. 3d, He made this work his business and delight. When his body needed food, his mind was so taken up with this, that he forgot both hunger and thirst, both meat and drink. 4th, He was not only ready, upon all occasions, to enter upon his work, but he was concerned and earnest to go through it, and finish it in all its parts. He resolved never to quit it, or lay it down till he could say, It is finished. Many have zeal to carry them out at first, and induce them to undertake the Lord’s work; but not zeal to carry them on to the last, and cause them to persevere till they have accomplished it. But our Master has herein left us an example, that we may learn to do the will of God as he did — with diligence and close application, as those that make it their business — with delight and pleasure in it, as persons in their element — with constancy and perseverance, not only inclining them to begin, but aiming at finishing their work.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Chapter 11

THE SECOND SIGN IN GALILEE.

In the mean while the disciples prayed Him, saying, Rabbi, eat. But He said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not. The disciples therefore said one to another, Hath any man brought Him aught to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to accomplish His work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white already unto harvest. He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal; that he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. For herein is the saying true, One soweth and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye have not laboured: others have laboured, and ye are entered into their labour. And from that city many of the Samaritans believed on Him because of the word of the woman, who testified, He told me all things that ever I did. So when the Samaritans came unto Him, they besought Him to abide with them: and He abode there two days. And many more believed because of His word; and they said to the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy speaking: for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world. And after the two days He went forth from thence into Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. So when He came into Galilee, the Galilæans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast. He came therefore again unto Cana of Galilee, where He made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judæa into Galilee, he went unto Him, and besought Him that He would come down, and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. Jesus therefore said unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will in no wise believe. The nobleman saith unto Him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. The man believed the word that Jesus spake unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, saying, that his son lived. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to amend. They said therefore unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. This is again the second sign that Jesus did, having come out of Judæa into Galilee- Joh_4:31-54.

The disciples, when they went forward to buy provisions in Sychar, left Jesus sitting on the well wearied and faint. On their return they find Him, to their surprise, elate and full of renewed energy. Such transformations one has often had the pleasure of seeing. Success is a better stimulant than wine. Our Lord had found one who believed Him and valued His message; and this brought fresh life to His frame. The disciples go on eating, and are too busy with their meal to lift their eyes; but as they eat they talk over the prospects of the harvest in the rich fields through which they have just walked. Meanwhile our Lord sees the men of Sychar coming out of the town in obedience to the womans request, and calls His disciples attention to a harvest more worthy of their attention than the one they were discussing: Were you not saying that we must wait four months till harvest comes again [12] and cheapens the bread for which you have paid so dear in Sychar? But lift up your eyes and mark the eager crowd of Samaritans, and say if you may not expect to reap much this very day. Are not the fields white already to harvest? Here in Samaria, which you only wished quickly to pass through, where you were looking for no additions to the Kingdom, and where you might suppose sowing and long waiting were needed, you see the ripened grain. Others have laboured, the Baptist and this woman and I, and ye have entered into their labours.

All labourers in the Kingdom of God need a similar reminder. We can never certainly say in what state of preparedness the human heart is; we do not know what providences of God have ploughed it, nor what thoughts are sown in it, nor what strivings are being even now made by the springing life that seeks the light. We generally give men credit, not perhaps for less thought than they have, for that is scarcely possible, but for less capacity of thought. The disciples were good men, but they went into Sychar judging the Samaritans good enough to trade with, but never dreaming of telling them the Messiah was outside their town. They must have been ashamed to find how much more capable an apostle the woman was than they. I think they would not wonder another time that their Lord should condescend to talk with a woman. The simple, unthinking, untroubled directness of a woman will often have a matter finished while a man is meditating some ponderous and ingenious contrivance for bringing it to pass. Let us not fall into the mistake of the disciples, and judge men good enough to buy and sell with, but quite alien to the matters of the Kingdom.

There is a day in spring When under all the earth the secret germsBegin to stir and glow before they bud.The wealth and festal pomps of midsummer Lie in the heart of that inglorious hourWhich no man names with blessing, though its workIs blessd by all the world. Such days there areIn the slow story of the growth of souls.

Such days may be passing in those around us, though all unknown to us. We can never tell how many months there are till harvest. We never know who or what has been labouring before we appear on the scene.

The womans testimony was enough to excite curiosity. The men on her word came out to judge for themselves. What they saw and heard completed their conviction; And they said to the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy speaking: for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world. This growth of faith is one of the subjects John delights to exhibit. He is fond of showing how a weak and ill-founded faith may grow into a faith that is well rooted and strong.

This Samaritan episode is significant as an integral part of the Gospel, not only because it shows how readily unsophisticated minds perceive the inalienable majesty of Christ, but also because it forms so striking a foil to the reception our Lord had met with in Jerusalem, and was shortly to meet with in Galilee. In Jerusalem He did many miracles; but the people were too political and too prejudiced to own Him as a spiritual Lord. In Galilee He was known, and might have expected to be understood; but there the people longed only for physical blessings and the excitement of miracles. Here in Samaria, on the contrary, He did no miracles, and had no forerunner to herald His approach. He was found a weary wayfarer, sitting by the roadside, begging for refreshment. Yet, through this appearance of weakness, and dependence, and lowliness, there shone His native kindness, and truth, and kingliness, to such a degree, that the Samaritans, although naturally suspicious of Him as a Jew, believed in Him, delighted in Him, and proclaimed Him Saviour of the world.

After two days of happy intercourse with the Samaritans Jesus continues His journey to Galilee. The proverbial expression which our Lord used regarding His relation to Galilee-that a prophet has no honour in his own country-is one we have frequent opportunity of verifying. The man that has grown up among us, whom we have seen struggling up through the ignorance, and weakness, and folly of boyhood, whom we have had to help and to protect, can scarcely receive the same respect as one who presents himself a mature man, with already developed faculties, no longer a learner, but prepared to teach. Montaigne complained that in his own country he had to purchase publishers, whereas elsewhere publishers were anxious to purchase him. The farther off I am read from my own home, he says, the better I am esteemed. The men of Anathoth sought Jeremiahs life when he began to prophesy among them.

It is not the truth of the proverb that presents any difficulty, but its application to the present case. For the fact that a prophet has no honour in his own country would seem to be a reason for His declining to go to Galilee, whereas it is here introduced as His reason for going there. The explanation is found in the beginning of the chapter, where we are told that it was in search of retirement He was now leaving the popularity and publicity of Judæa, and repairing to His own country.

But, as frequently on other occasions, He now found that He could not be hid. His countrymen, who had thought so little of Him previously, had heard of His Judæan fame, and echoed the recognition and applause of the south. They had not discovered the greatness of this Galilean, although He had lived among them for thirty years; but no sooner do they hear that He has created a sensation in Jerusalem than they begin to be proud of Him. Every one has seen the same thing a hundred times. A lad who has been despised as almost half-witted in his native place goes up to London and makes a name for himself as poet, artist, or inventor, and when he returns to his village everybody claims him as cousin. Such a change of sentiment was not likely to escape the observation of Jesus nor to deceive Him. It is with an accent of disappointment, not unmingled with reproach, that He utters His first recorded words in Galilee: Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will in no wise believe.

This sets us in the point of view from which we can clearly see the significance of the one incident which John selects from all that happened during our Lords stay in Galilee at this time. John wishes to illustrate the difference between the Galilean and the Samaritan faith, and the possibility of the one growing into the other; and he does so by introducing the brief narrative of the courtier from Capernaum. Accounts, more or less accurate, of the miracles of Jesus in Jerusalem had found their way even into the household of Herod Antipas. For no sooner was He known to have arrived in Galilee than one of the royal household sought Him out to obtain a boon which no royal favour could grant. The supposition is not without plausibility that this nobleman was Chuza, Herods chamberlain, and that this miracle, which had so powerful an effect on the family in which it was wrought, was the origin of that devotion to our Lord which was afterwards shown by Chuzas wife.

The nobleman, whoever he was, came to Jesus with an urgent request. He had come twenty miles to appeal to Jesus, and he had been unable to trust his petition to a messenger. But instead of meeting this distracted father with words of sympathy and encouragement, Jesus merely utters a general and chilling observation. Why is this? Why does He seem to lament that this father should so urgently plead for his son? Why does He seem only to submit to the inevitable, if He grants the request at all? Might it not even seem as if He wrought the miracle of healing rather for His own sake than for the boys or for the fathers sake, since He says, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will in no wise believe-that is, will not believe in Me?

But these words did not express any reluctance on the part of Jesus to heal the noblemans son. Possibly they were intended, in the first instance, to rebuke the desire of the father that Jesus should go with him to Capernaum and pronounce over the boy words of healing. The father thought the presence of Christ was necessary. He had not attained to the faith of the centurion, who believed that an expression of will was enough. Jesus, therefore, demands a stronger faith; and in His presence that stronger faith which can trust His word is developed.

The words, however, were especially a warning that His physical gifts were not the greatest He had to bestow, and that a faith which required to be buttressed by the sight of miracles was not the best kind of faith. Our Lord was always in danger of being looked upon as a mere thaumaturge, who could dispense cures merely as a physician could within his own limits order a certain treatment. He was in danger of being considered a dispenser of blessings to persons who had no faith in Him as the Saviour of the world. It is therefore with the accent of one who submits to the inevitable that He says, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will in no wise believe.

But especially did our Lord wish to point out that the faith He approves and delights in is a faith which does not require miracles as its foundation. This higher faith He had found among the Samaritans. Many of them believed, as John is careful to note, because of His conversation. There was that in Himself and in His talk which was its own best evidence. Some men who introduce themselves to us, to win our countenance to some enterprise, carry integrity in their whole bearing; and we should feel it to be an impertinence to ask them for credentials. If they offer to prove their identity and trustworthiness we waive such proof aside, and assure them that they need no certificate. This had been our Lords experience in Samaria. There no news of His miracles had come from Jerusalem. He came among the Samaritans from nobody knew where. He came without introduction and without certificate, yet they had discernment to see that they had never met His like before. Every word He spoke seemed to identify Him as the Saviour of the world. They forgot to ask for miracles. They felt in themselves His supernatural power, lifting them into Gods presence, and filling them with light.

The Galilæan faith was of another kind. It was based on His miracles; a kind of faith He deplored, although He did not quite repudiate it. To be accepted not on His own account, not because of the truth He spoke, not because His greatness was perceived and His friendship valued, but because of the wonders He performed-this could not be a pleasant experience. We do not greatly value the visits of a person who cannot get on without our advice or assistance; we value the friendship of him who seeks our company for the pleasure he finds in it. And although we must all be ceaselessly and infinitely dependent on the good offices of Christ, our faith should be something more than a counting upon His ability and willingness to discharge these good offices. A faith which is merely selfish, which recognises that Christ can save from disaster in this life or in the life to come, and which cleaves to Him solely on that account, is scarcely the faith that Christ approves. There is a faith which responds to the glory of Christs personality, which rests on what He is, which builds itself on the truth He utters, and recognises that all spiritual life centres in Him; it is this faith He approves. They who find in Him the link they have sought with the spiritual world, the pledge they have needed to certify them of an eternal righteousness, they to whom the supernatural is revealed more patently in Himself than in His miracles, are those whom the Lord delights in.

But the lower kind of faith may be a step to the higher. The agony of the father can make nothing of general principles, but can only reiterate the one petition, Come down ere my child die. And Jesus, with His perfect knowledge of human nature, sees that it is vain trying to teach a man in this absorbed condition of mind, and that probably the very best way to clarify his faith and lead him to higher and worthier thoughts is to grant his request-a hint not to be overlooked or despised by those who seek to do good, and who are, possibly, sometimes a little prone to obtrude their teaching at most inopportune seasons-at seasons when it is impossible for the mind to admit anything but the one absorbing topic. Circumstances are, in general, much better educators of men than any verbal teaching; and that verbal teaching can only do harm which interposes between the moving events that are occurring and the person who is passing through them. The success of our Lords method was proved by the result; which was, that the slender faith of this nobleman became a genuine faith in Christ as the Lord, a faith which his whole household shared.

From the very greatness of Christ, and our consequent inability to bring Him into comparison with other men, we are apt to miss some of the significant features of His conduct. In the circumstances before us, for example, most teachers at an early stage in their career would have been in some excitement, and would probably have shown no reluctance to accede to the noblemans request, and go down to his house, and so make a favourable impression on Herods court. It was an opportunity of getting a footing in high places which a man of the world could not have overlooked. But Jesus was well aware that if the foundations of His kingdom were to be solidly laid, there must be excluded all influence of a worldly kind, all the overpowering constraint which fashion and great names exercise over the mind. His work, He saw, would be most enduringly, if most slowly, done in a more private manner. His own personal influence on individuals must first of all be the chief agency. He speaks, therefore, to this nobleman without any regard to his rank and influence; indeed, rather curtly dismisses him with the words, Go, thy son lives. The total absence of display is remarkable. He did not go to Capernaum, to stand by the sickbed, and be acknowledged as the healer. He made no bargain with the nobleman that if his son recovered he would let the cause be known. He simply did the thing, and said nothing at all about it.

Though it was only one in the afternoon when the nobleman was dismissed he did not go back to Capernaum that night-why, we do not know. A thousand things may have detained him. He may have had business for Herod in Cana or on the road as well as for himself; the beast he rode may have gone lame where he could not procure another; at any rate, it is quite uncalled for to ascribe his delay to the confidence he had in Christs word, an instance of the truth, He that believeth shall not make haste. The more certainly he believed Christs word the more anxious would he be to see his son. His servants knew how anxious he would be to hear, for they went to meet him; and were no doubt astonished to find that the sudden recovery of the boy was due to Him whom their master had visited. The cure had travelled much faster than he who had received the assurance of it.

The process by which they verified the miracle and connected the cure with the word of Jesus was simple, but perfectly satisfactory. They compared notes regarding the time, and found that the utterance of Jesus was simultaneous with the recovery of the boy. The servants who saw the boy recover did not ascribe his recovery to any miraculous agency; they would no doubt suppose that it was one of those unaccountable cases which occasionally occur, and which most of us have witnessed. Nature has secrets which the most skilful of her interpreters cannot disclose; and even so marvellous a thing as an instantaneous cure of a hopeless case may be due to some hidden law of nature. But no sooner did their master assure them that the hour in which the boy began to amend was the very hour in which Jesus said he would get better, than they all saw to what agency the cure was due.

Here lies the special significance of this miracle; it brings into prominence this distinctive peculiarity of a miracle, that it consists of a marvel which is coincident with an express announcement of it, and is therefore referrible to a personal agent.[13] It is the two things taken together that prove that there is a superhuman agency. The marvel alone, a sudden return of sight to the blind, or of vigour to the paralysed, does not prove that there is anything supernatural in the case; but if this marvel follows upon the word of one who commands it, and does so in all cases in which such a command is given, it becomes obvious that this is not the working of a hidden law of nature, nor a mere coincidence, but the intervention of a supernatural agency. That which convinced the noblemans household that a miracle had been wrought was not the recovery of the boy, but his recovery in connection with the word of Jesus. What they felt they had to account for was not merely the marvellous recovery, but his recovery at that particular time. Even though it could be shown, then,-as it can never be,-that every cure reported in the Gospels might possibly be the result of some natural law, even though it could be shown that men born blind might receive their sight without a miracle, and that persons who had consulted the best physician suddenly recovered strength-this, we are to remember, is by no means the whole of what we have to account for. We have to account not only for sudden, and certainly most extraordinary cures, but also for these cures following uniformly, and in every case the word of One who said the cure would follow. It is this coincidence which puts it beyond a doubt that the cures can be referred only to the will of Christ.

Another striking feature of this miracle is that the Agent was at a distance from the subject of it. This is, of course, quite beyond our comprehension. We cannot understand how the will of Jesus, without employing any known physical means of communication between Himself and the boy, without even appearing before him so as to seem to inspire him by look or word, should instantaneously effect his cure. The only possible link of such a kind between the boy and Jesus was that he may have been aware that his father had gone to seek help for him, from a renowned physician, and may have had his hopes greatly excited. This supposition is, however, gratuitous. The boy may quite as likely have been delirious, or too young to know anything; and even though this slender link did exist, no sensible person will build much on that. And certainly it is encouraging to find that even while on earth our Lord did not require to be in contact with the person healed. His word was as effective as His presence. And if it is credible that while on earth He could heal at the distance of twenty miles, it is difficult to disbelieve that He can from heaven exercise the same omnipotent will.

Note.-It is not apparent why John appends the remark, This is again the second sign that Jesus did, having come out of Judæa into Galilee. He may, perhaps, have only intended to call attention more distinctly to the place where the miracle was wrought. This idea is supported by the fact that John shows, on parallel lines, the manifestation of Christ in Judæa and in Galilee. It is just possible that he may have wished to warn readers of the Synoptical Gospels, that Jesus had not yet begun the Galilæan ministry with which these Gospels open.

[12] The words (Joh_4:35) have quite the ring of a proverb-a proverb peculiar to seed-time and for the encouragement of the sower. If uttered on this occasion in seed-time, this gives December as the date.

[13] This is lucidly taught in Mozleys Bampton Lectures.

William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.

Joh 4:31. Ἐν τῷ μεταξύ, meanwhile) Between the departure of the woman and the arrival of the Samaritans.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh_4:31-34. Ἐν τῷ μεταξύ] in the meantime (Xen. Symp. i. 14; Lucian, V. H. i. 22, D. D. x. 1), after the woman had gone, and before the Samaritans came.

Joh_4:32. Jesus, making the sensuous the clothing of the supersensuous (the pastus animi), speaks from a feeling of inner quickening and satisfaction, which He had just experienced from the change He had wrought in the Samaritan woman,a feeling which He was to experience still more strongly throughout His divinely appointed work onwards until its completion. This inner satisfaction now prompts Him to refuse bodily sustenance. Observe the emphatic antithesis of ἐγώ and ὑμεῖς.

As to βρῶσις, and βρῶμα, Joh_4:34, see on Col_2:16.

Joh_4:33. In the question μήτις, κ.τ.λ., prompted by a misunderstanding of His words, the emphasis is upon ἤνεγκεν, surely no one has brought Him, etc.

Joh_4:34. ἐμὸν βρῶμα] i.e. without a figure, what gives me satisfaction and enjoyment is this: I have to do what God desires of me, and to accomplish that work of redemption which He αὐτοῦ emphatically placed first) has committed to me (Joh_17:4). Observe (1) that ἵνα is not the same as ὅτι, which would express objectively the actual subject-matter of ἐμὸν βρ.; it rather indicates the nature of the βρῶμα viewed as to its end, and points to the aim and purpose which Jesus pursues,a very frequent use of it in John. (2) The present ποιῶ denotes continuous action, the Aor. τελειώσα the act of completion, the future goal of the ποιῶ. Comp. Joh_17:4.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 4:31 . But meanwhile ἐν τῷ μεταξύ , between the woman’s leaving the well and the men’s return to it, the disciples, having brought the purchased food, and observing that notwithstanding His previous fatigue Jesus does not share with them, say Ῥαββὶ φάγε . But in His conversation with the woman His fatigue and hunger had disappeared, and He replies (Joh 4:32 ) ἐγὼ βρῶσιν … οὐκ οἴδατε . John does not distinguish between βρῶσις and βρῶμα , eating and the thing eaten, cf. Joh 4:34 ; Paul uses both words in their proper sense, 1Co 8:4 ; 1Co 6:13 . Weiss and others, strangely enough, maintain that βρῶσις has here its proper meaning “an eating”. The pronouns are emphatic: I am refreshed by nourishment hidden from you . The proof of which they at once gave by asking one another Μήτις ἤνεγκεν αὐτῷ φαγεῖν ; “Surely no one can have brought Him anything to eat?” Winer, p. 642, adds “especially here in Samaria”. Perhaps evidence that Jesus had such an appearance as would not forbid any one offering Him food. But we must keep in view the easier manners of Oriental life.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vv. 31, 32. “In the mean while, the disciples prayed him, saying: Master, eat. 32. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat which ye know not.”

Joh 4:31 (after the interruption of Joh 4:28-29), is connected with Joh 4:27. The words, ἐν δε τῷ μεταξύ (in the mean while), denote the time which elapsed between the departure of the woman and the arrival of the Samaritans. ᾿Ερωτᾷν (to ask) takes here, as often in the New Testament, and as שׁאל does in the Old Testament, the sense of pray, without, however, losing altogether its strict sense of interrogate: ask whether he will eat.

Since the beginning of His ministry, Jesus had perhaps had no joy such as this which He had just experienced. This joy had revived Him, even physically. “You say to me: eat! But I am satisfied; I have had, in your absence, a feast of which you have no suspicion.” ᾿Εγώ (I), has the emphasis; this word places His person in strong contrast to theirs (ὑμεῖς, you): “You have your repast; I have mine.”— Βρῶσις, strictly the act of eating, but including the food, which is its condition. The abstract word better suits the spiritual sense of this saying, than the concrete βρῶμα, (food).

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

meantime--that is, while the woman was away.

Master, eat--Fatigue and thirst we saw He felt; here is revealed another of our common infirmities to which the Lord was subject--hunger.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 31. Master, eat.] They knew that he was greatly spent both with hunger and fatigue.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(31) Master.—The Hebrew word Rabbi has been preserved in the earlier passages (Joh_1:38; Joh_1:49; Joh_3:2; Joh_3:26), and will meet us again in Joh_6:25. It is less ambiguous than the English word, and should be restored here and in Joh_9:2; Joh_11:28.

They had left Him weary by the side of the well (Joh_4:6), and had gone to the town. They now return with the food they had obtained, and ask Him to partake of it.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31. In the mean while] Between the departure of the women and the arrival of her fellow-townsmen.

Master, eat] Better, Rabbi, eat. Here and in Joh_9:2 and Joh_11:8 our translators have rather regrettably turned ‘Rabbi’ into ‘Master,’ (comp. Mat_26:25; Mat_26:49; Mar_9:5; Mar_11:21; Mar_14:45); while ‘Rabbi’ is retained Joh_1:38; Joh_1:49, Joh_3:2; Joh_3:26, Joh_6:25 (comp. Mat_23:7-8). Apparently their principle was that wherever a disciple addresses Christ, ‘Rabbi’ is to be translated ‘Master;’ in other cases ‘Rabbi’ is to be retained; thus obscuring the view which the disciples took of their own relation to Jesus. He was their Rabbi.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In the mean while,.... Whilst the woman was gone into the city, and had acquainted the inhabitants, that such a wonderful person was at Jacob's well, and invited them to come and see him:

his disciples prayed him, saying, master, eat; for they perceived a disinclination in him to food; and they knew that he was weary with his journey, and that it was the time of day, and high time, that he had had some food; and therefore out of great respect to him, and in concern for his health and welfare, they entreated him that he would take some food: so far was Christ from indulging his sensual appetite; and so little reason had the Scribes and Pharisees to traduce him as a wine bibber and glutton.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.

Ver. 31. Master, eat] Animantis cuiusque vita in fuga est, and must be repaired by nutrition, in a natural course. Only we must eat to live, and not live to eat only, as belly gods.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Prayed him - Asked him.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver 1. This knowledge which the Pharisees had of our Saviour’s making so many disciples, and baptizing such members, could not prevail upon them to follow him for their salvation; otherwise Christ would not have departed out of Judea. Jesus knew full well that this, their knowledge, would not work their conversion, but only stir up their envy, and excite them to persecute him; and therefore he retired. He could indeed have remained amongst them in security, had he chosen to exercise his power; but he would not: that so he might leave an example to his faithful servants, teaching them to flee from the rage of their cruel persecutors. (St. Augustine)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

While the woman was fetching her citizens to come and see and hear Christ, his disciples, knowing that he must be weary and hungry with his journey, and having brought him some food out of the city, where they had been to fetch it, put him upon refreshing himself with the food they had brought.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

31. Master, eat—In this verse and in 33 there appears a reverential distance between the disciples and their Lord; arising, perhaps, from a sense of the present elevation of Jesus’s spirit.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In the mean while (cronw understood) while the men of Sychar were coming across the green corn-fields in excited and eager longing for the bread of life and the water of life eternalhis disciples besought him; rather, were entreating him the verb erwtaw is used for question and interrogation, and is generally used of one who feels on terms of equality with the person addressed on the matter in hand (cf. Joh_14:16 Joh_15:7 Joh_16:19, 23 17:15, for its distinctness from autew) saying, Rabbi, eat. Have we not gone to Sychar to find provisions for thee? Do not despise our effort.

Vers. 31-38. Jesus and his disciples.

The surprise of the disciples at our Lord"s talking with the woman at the well did not break forth into question; they rather resolved to bide their time for an explanation.

I THE SPIRITUAL MEAT OF THE SON OF GOD. "My meat is to do the will of my Father, and to finish his work.

1. The disciples were naturally anxious to supply his bodily wants; for they knew that he was both hungry and thirsty.

2. The interview with the woman had for the time put his physical wants in abeyance; for he was filled with an extraordinary elation of spiritual joy.

3. The delight of success had brought a new strength to his spirit. "I have meat to eat that ye know not of." The disciples did not then understand the true virtue or efficacy of this meat.

4. As meat is pleasant to the appetite and refreshing to the body of man, so was it to Jesus to do the will of his Father. The deeply suggestive phrase marks how natural and how easy was the obedience that Jesus rendered to the Divine will.

(1) He did his Father"s will

(a) exactly, with all faithfulness;

(b) with supreme wisdom and prudence;

(c) with constancy.

(2) He finished his Father"s work

(a) in preaching the gospel;

(b) in working miracles of healing;

(c) in giving his life at last for his sheep.

II THE RAPID RIPENING OF THE SPIRITUAL HARVEST. "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white to harvest.

1. These words fix the time of this conversation. As harvest occurred in the end of April, it must then have been about the middle of December. Jesus must, therefore, have remained eight months in Judaea.

2. The spiritual harvest, which was in our Lords mind, was obvious in the large body of Samaritans, who were at that moment crossing the fields from Sychar to profess their faith in him. The thought of Jesus was the ripeness of the people to be gathered into the kingdom.

3. This harvest is very rapid; and the seed germinates and matures in an instant.

III THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE SOWER AND THE REWARD OF THE REAPER. "And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

1. The sowers are in this case John the Baptist and our Lord himself; the reapers are the apostles, who are to receive these Samaritan disciples into the kingdom of God.

2. The worker in this field has the prospect of reward; for, besides being "a labourer worthy of his hire," he

(1) has a special delight in the conversion of souls;

(2) and will receive the crown of righteousness, and shine as the stars forever and ever.

3. The sower does not always live to see the fruit of his labour. "And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

(1) All God"s servants are not to encounter the same difficulties, nor to meet with the same success. "I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour the disciples had not laboured among the Samaritans at all men laboured" the Baptist and the Redeemer himself ye are entered into their labours." The lesson would be fruitful of comfort as well as warning in the future history of the disciples.

(2) Yet there is no room for complaint; for the work is the Lord"s, not theirs; they are responsible for work, not for results.

HOMILIES BY B. THOMAS Vers. 31-34. The physical and spiritual food of man.

Notice

I THE FOOD OF THE BODY. "Master, eat.

1. The body must have food. It is true that "man doth not live by bread alone," but it is quite as true that he cannot live without bread. Man"s physical nature requires suitable physical support. If we wish to live, we must eat eat to live, but. not live to eat.

2. The body must have food at stated times. "In due season." There is physical waste, there is a continual demand, and there must be a continual supply. There is a law of health and life, and should be observed. The prayer of the disciples, "Master, eat," was quite timely and natural. The meal time had passed, and he was hungry and fatigued, and their request was the natural language of propriety, want, and kindness.

3. The claims of the body are recognized by Christ:

(1) In the provisions of nature. In their fulness and variety he was the Provider, and there is no way so effectual to recognize the claims of the body as to provide amply for it.

(2) Under human conditions, he was thoroughly human. He knew by experience what were hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and, as such, he could sympathize with the cravings of others. He had sent his disciples unto the city to buy meat; not, perhaps, so much for his own sake as that of his disciples. In little things he was more concerned for others than for himself.

(3) He was sociable and simple in his diet. There was not one table for the Lord and another for the servants; but he shared with them, and his fare was simple and homely. And this, perhaps, was better for mental and spiritual labour. Eating and drinking were secondary matters with him. Nevertheless, by example, by actions and words, he fully recognized the claims of the body.

II THE FOOD OF THE SOUL.

1. Doing the Divine will. "My meat is to do the will," etc.

(1) This involves self-sacrificing service. A service devoted entirely to God. Self is altogether ignored. Jesus was rapt in the will of him that sent him. He lived in his Father, and fed on his will.

(2) This service involves the whole of his Divine will. "His work." Including his will in its minutest details the brief mission of Samaria; and also in its most comprehensive purposes the salvation of the human family, the great scheme of redemption.

(3) This service involves the carrying out the Divine will to its final and proper issues. "And to finish his work." The completion of the work inspires and supports the Worker all through. It is the wine of the spirit and the reviver of the soul. This was Jesus" meat. And it is ever the true food of the soul.

2. As soul food, many are ignorant of it. Even the disciples were so now. "I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

(1) There is ignorance of its nature and origin. It is spiritual and heavenly. In the disciples as yet the material was in the ascendant. They were babes in Christ, dependent on the nurse. The soul had scarcely opened its eye, was scarcely conscious of its real wants.

(2) There is ignorance of its value and effects. From the beginning the will of God is the real food of the soul; but on account of sin, materialism, animalism, and indifference, the realization of it was exceptional, and ignorance of its true value and effect was the rule. This was specially the case at the time of Christ"s earthly history. Its value and effect must be known by experience.

(3) It was the mission of Christ to reveal it, to introduce it, create a craving in humanity for it, and to supply them with the knowledge of its nature and value. This he did by precept and example. "My meat is to do the will," etc. His whole life and death were brilliant, but most familiar and telling illustrations of the Divine will as the only genuine food of the human soul.

3. As soul food, it is essential and perfectly adapted.

(1) The soul is spiritual in its essence and wants, and must be supplied with spiritual food, else it cannot thrive and grow and be useful and happy. The will of God is adapted to supply all this. It is spiritual and Divine.

(2) The soul is immortal, and must have immortal nourishment. The will of God is the imperishable meat, and calculated to satisfy the immortal cravings of the soul. Christ brought life and immortality to light. Let the soul feed. on him, and its immortal instincts will be nourished; and this is only the will of God.

(3) The soul is an emanation of the Divine will. Its parentage suggests at once its only proper food. The babe feeds and thrives on its mother"s milk. What but the will of God can feed the offspring of that will?

(4) It is essential and addicted to the well being and final perfection of the soul. What is its well being and final perfection? Growth in its original direction, holiness, perfect love, as much God-likeness and happiness as it is capable of. To do the will of God will effect all this. As a proof, look at Christ. What made his character perfect and his manhood complete? The proper answer is in his own words: "My meat is to do the wilt of him," etc.

4. As soul food, it is delightful. "My meat." To do the will of God is not a burden, but a delight; not sacrifice, but pleasure. It is like food to the hungry or water to the thirsty. It is not a mere duty, but a natural instinct and craving, a passion and the highest gratification of being. "My meat." Never a man enjoyed the daintiest dish as well as the believing soul enjoys doing the will of God. It is his meat.

5. As soul food, it is absorbingly satisfying. The claims of God and the spiritual interest of humanity are stronger than any other. They are supreme.

(1) Stronger in this case than social custom. It was customary among the Jews, as among all nations, to partake of food at stated times of the day. Jesus and his disciples generally observed and provided for this. The custom was strong; but doing the will of God, to Christ, was infinitely stronger. The custom was ignored.

(2) Stronger than the solicitations of friends. The disciples begged and even prayed him to eat. This was done out of pure kindness and sympathy, and Jesus was by no means unimpressive to this. Even human kindness had great influence on him, but could not prevail now. He had fed, and was even then feeding, (m a higher and more satisfying food.

(3) Stronger than the cravings of nature. Jesus was fatigued and hungry when the disciples left for the city to buy meat, but meanwhile he was fed with food from the city of the great King. In a higher sense the disciples were right in surmising that some one had brought him aught to eat. God had fed him with his will, and he had partaken of food by doing his will. The success of his brief and almost accidental mission in Samaria satisfied him, and the spiritual impression on the woman and the sight of Samaritan citizens already streaming to him over the plain so filled his soul with satisfaction and joy that bodily food was forgotten, and the thought of it almost distasteful. The material was lost in the spiritual, the personal in the general, and the human in the Divine. The cravings of his own bodily wants were completely neutralized by the unspeakable delight of doing the will of God in supplying the spiritual wants of others.

LESSONS.

1. The claims of the body, although important, are nothing to those of the soul. The former are represented by the disciples on this occasion, the latter by Christ. "Master, eat," they said. "Disciples, eat," he said; but pointed them to their higher nature and its true nourishment.

2. We should cultivate the spiritual appetite to feed on the will of God. For this is the proper food of the soul, adapted here and hereafter. From the altitude of spiritual satisfaction and joy earthly things appear gross, and material food becomes too distasteful for even thought, much inure for participation. This points to a state where material food will not be required, nor can it be procured. Let the soul free itself from all gross influences and from the dominion of bodily appetites and.passions, and this will discipline it for the enjoyment of the purely spiritual.

3. We should feel thankful to Christ for introducing to us the true food of the soul. He made our physical nature and provided for it; he made our spiritual nature and supplied it with proper nurture the will of God.

4. If we wish to become Christlike, we must feed on the same meat as Christ. If we wish to be God-like, we must do his will. Food has great influence on the growth of the soul. Inferior and adulterated food dwarfs it, causes it to grow downwards. Doing the will of God causes it to grow heavenwards. Holy activity whets the spiritual appetite and supplies it with nourishment. The soul feeds by doing, by activity, by the sweat of its brow. If we want to be benevolent, like Christ, we must not feed on ourselves, but the will of God on the love of Christ and the welfare of our fellow men. B.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In the meantime - Before the people came.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The harvest in the kingdom of God:

v. 31. In the mean while His disciples prayed Him, saying, Master, eat.

v. 32. But He said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

v. 33. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought Him aught to eat?

v. 34. Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.

v. 35. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

v. 36. And he that reapeth receiveth wages and gathereth fruit unto life eternal, that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

v. 37. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

v. 38. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor; other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.

In the meantime, between the woman’s leaving the well and the men’s coming from the city, a little incident took place at the well which gave Jesus an opportunity to impart to His disciples some very necessary instruction. The disciples having brought food, they begged their Master to eat, and thus to renew His strength after the exertions of the morning. As true man, Jesus not only became tired and exhausted at times, but He ordinarily was obliged to partake of food to sustain His life. But here He had apparently forgotten all about His fatigue. He tells the disciples that He has food to eat of which they know nothing. The Lord made use of every possible chance to raise the minds of the apostles to heavenly things through the medium of earthly matters. But the disciples, with the usual carnal understanding which they exhibited, thought only of earthly food and of the possibility of someone’s having brought Him something to eat in their absence. In this sense they discussed the matter among themselves. Jesus, therefore, explains to them wherein His food consists. That is food and drink, complete sustenance to Him, if He does the will of His Father that sent Him, and completes His work. Jesus is sustained by the feeling which He has concerning the world’s need of salvation. It was the Father’s, the entire Godhead’s will from eternity that this salvation should be gained for fallen mankind, and Jesus wanted to carry out the work imposed upon Him by that counsel of the God-head. Jesus tries to make His meaning clear to His disciples by an illustration taken from facts before their eyes. Jesus had gone to Judea in April for the festival of the Passover. About nine months He had spent in the southern province. It was now about December, four months before the beginning of harvest. The disciples should pay much closer attention to the spiritual harvest. Lifting up their eyes, they could see the men of the city coming to seek Jesus. Here was a field white for harvest. The Samaritans were ready for the message of the Gospel unto their salvation, the harvest of their souls could soon be gathered in. They were the firstlings out of the great mass of the heathen. That they turned to Jesus was a sign that the great harvest among the heathen of the world was at hand. And this fact was of great importance to the disciples, who were supposed to be reapers in this great harvest of souls for the kingdom of God. He that gathers the harvest, by doing so gets his reward; and in the spiritual kingdom the reaper, the messenger of salvation, gathers fruit unto life eternal. In the great harvest festival, therefore, which will be held in heaven, both the sower and the reaper will rejoice together. See 1Co 3:6-8. In the case of the Samaritans, the disciples, as reapers, almost trod on the heels of the great Sower, Jesus. In general, it is a great truth that finds its application in the kingdom of Christ: One man has the joy of sowing, another that of reaping. Jesus Himself had done the work of a sower in Judea, and the disciples had had the joy of baptizing many that were convinced by the Word of the Master. It is a truth which always holds true in the preaching of the Gospel. One pastor sows the seed of the Word, the older generation of people work to bring the Gospel to others, and, as a rule, they see but little of the results. But in later years, after the preliminary work has achieved its object, the successors reap the results in wonderful measure.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Observe here, The fit and seasonable motion which our Saviour’s disciples make to him; Master, eat.

Learn from thence, That though a person’s chief care should be for his own soul, and for improving all opportunities for doing good to the souls of others; yet the bodies of men must not be neglected, but supported by meat and drink; especially theirs, whose health and strength may be of greater use and service to God and his church. The body is the servant of the soul, the instrument whereby it worketh: and therefore to neglect the body is to disable and unfit the soul for service, to hinder the functions and operations of it. The sixth commandment, which forbids us to kill, requires us to use all means for the preservation of life, both in ourselves and others.

Observe next, Our Saviour’s answer to the disciples motion; Master, eat, say they. I have meat to eat that ye know not of, says he; for my meat is to do the will of him that sent me. Not that our Saviour did not want meat at this time, for he was both hungry and thirsty, as appears by his asking water of the woman to drink, and by his sending his disciples into the city to buy meat; but our Lord was more intent upon doing his Father’s work, than upon satisfying his own hunger. Christ hungered more after an opportunity of doing good to the souls of men, than he did after meat and drink to satisfy his hunger.

Lord! let us, thy ministers, learn of thee to prefer the spiritual welfare of our people, before any temporal advantages whatsoever.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In the meantime

"While the woman was going into town"

the disciples were urging him

"the disciples were telling Jesus" or "the disciples were encouraging Jesus"

I have food to eat that you do not know about

Here Jesus is not talking about literal "food," but is preparing his disciples for a spiritual lesson in John 4:34.

No one has brought him anything to eat, have they?

The disciples think Jesus is talking about literal "food." They begin asking each other this question, expecting a "no" response. AT: "Surely no one brought him any food while we were in town!" (See: Rhetorical Question)

translationWords

disciple

Rabbi

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

31. ἐν τῷ μετ. Between her departure and their arrival.

ἠρώτων. Were beseeching Him (Joh 4:40; Joh 4:47): they had left him exhausted with the journey (Joh 4:6), and they urge, not their own wonder (Joh 4:27), but His needs.

Ῥαββί. See on Joh 1:39. Here and in Joh 9:2 and Joh 11:8 our translators have rather regrettably turned ‘Rabbi’ into ‘Master’ (comp. Mat 26:25; Mat 26:49; Mar 9:5; Mar 11:21; Mar 14:45); while ‘Rabbi’ is retained Joh 1:38; Joh 1:49, Joh 3:2; Joh 3:26, Joh 6:25 (comp. Mat 23:7-8). Apparently their principle was that wherever a disciple addresses Christ, ‘Rabbi’ is to be translated ‘Master;’ in other cases ‘Rabbi’ is to be retained; thus obscuring the view which the disciples took of their own relation to Jesus. He was their Rabbi.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31. ἐν τῷ μεταξύ (subaud. χρόνῳ), “in the meanwhile,” sc. before the Samaritan villagers arrived. There is no exact parallel to this use of μεταξύ in the Greek Bible; but cf. Act 13:42 and Luk 8:1.

ἠρώτων αὐτόν κτλ., “the disciples begged Him, saying, Rabbi, eat.” For of οἱ μαθηταί used absolutely of the disciples who were present, see on 2:2. For ἐρωτᾶν, “to beseech,” cf. vv. 40, 47. The disciples (see vv. 8, 31) were apprehensive lest He should be overcome by hunger and fatigue (cf. v. 6).

See on 1:38 for “Rabbi” as a title of address.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.