Church Fathers Commentary John 4:31-34

"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." — John 4:31-34 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: His disciples had gone to buy food and had returned. They offered Christ some, at which point, as the Scripture says, His disciples prayed Him, saying, Master, eat.

St. John Chrysostom: They all ask Him at once, even though He was so fatigued from the journey and the heat. This was not impatience on their part, but simply love and tenderness for their Master.

Origen of Alexandria: They think the present time is convenient for dining, since it was after the woman’s departure to the city and before the arrival of the Samaritans, allowing them to eat by themselves. This explains the phrase, In the mean while.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Our Lord, knowing that the woman of Samaria was bringing the whole town out to Him, tells His disciples: I have meat that you know not of.

St. John Chrysostom: He calls the salvation of humanity His food, showing His great desire for us to be saved. Just as food is an object of desire for us, so was the salvation of humanity for Him. Notice, He does not express Himself directly, but figuratively. This requires some effort from His hearers to comprehend His meaning, which gives greater importance to that meaning once it is understood.

Theophylact of Ohrid: That you know not of means that they did not know He calls the salvation of humanity food, or that they did not know the Samaritans were about to believe and be saved. The disciples, however, were perplexed: Therefore said the disciples one to another, Has any man brought Him ought to eat?

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is no wonder that the woman did not understand about the water. Now, the disciples do not understand about the food.

St. John Chrysostom: They show, as usual, the honor and reverence they have for their Master by talking among themselves and not presuming to question Him directly.

Theophylact of Ohrid: From the disciples' question, Has any man brought Him ought to eat?, we may infer that our Lord was accustomed to receiving food from others when it was offered to Him. It was not that He who gives food to all flesh needed any assistance, but He received it so that those who gave it might obtain their reward, and so that poverty from then on might not be a source of shame, nor the support of others be considered a disgrace.

It is proper and necessary for teachers to depend on others to provide them with food, so that, being free from other cares, they may attend more closely to the ministry of the word.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Our Lord heard His doubting disciples and answered them as disciples—that is, plainly and directly, not indirectly as He had answered the woman. Jesus said to them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me.

Origen of Alexandria: This is fitting food for the Son of God, who was so obedient to the Father that in Him was the same will that was in the Father—not two wills, but one will in both. The Son is capable of first accomplishing the whole will of the Father. Other saints do nothing against the Father’s will; He does that will. That is His food in a special sense.

And what does it mean, to finish His work? It might seem easy to say that a work is whatever was ordered by the one who assigned it, as when people are assigned to build or dig. But some who go deeper ask whether a finished work implies that it was previously incomplete, and whether God could have originally made an incomplete work. The completion of the work is the completion of a rational creature, for it was to complete this work, which was still imperfect, that the Word made flesh came.

Theophylact of Ohrid: He finished the work of God—that is, humanity. He, the Son of God, finished it by presenting our nature in Himself without sin, perfect and uncorrupted. He also finished the work of God—that is, the Law (for Christ is the end of the law)—by abolishing it when everything in it had been fulfilled, and by changing carnal worship into spiritual worship.

Origen of Alexandria: Now that the matter of spiritual drink and living water has been explained, the subject of food follows. Jesus had sought nourishment from the woman of Samaria, but she could give Him nothing suitable. Then the disciples came, having procured some humble food from the people of the country, and offered it to Him, urging Him to eat. They fear, perhaps, that the Word of God, deprived of His own proper nourishment, might fail within them. Therefore, with what they have found, they immediately propose to feed Him, so that, being confirmed and strengthened, He may remain with those who nourish Him.

Souls require food just as bodies do. And as bodies require different kinds and quantities of food, so it is with things that are above the body. Souls differ in capacity; one needs more nourishment, another less. Likewise, in terms of quality, the same nourishment of words and thoughts does not suit everyone. Newborn infants need the milk of the word; the mature need solid food. Our Lord says, I have meat to eat. For one who is teaching the weak, who cannot grasp the same things as the stronger, can always speak this way.