John Calvin Commentary John 4:32

"But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not." — John 4:32 (ASV)

I have food to eat which you know not. It is wonderful that, when He is fatigued and hungry, He refuses to eat; for if it is said that He does this for the purpose of instructing us by His example to endure hunger, why then did He not do so always?

But He had another objective than to say that we should simply refuse food; for we must consider this circumstance: His anxiety about the present business urges Him so strongly and absorbs His whole mind, so that He feels no unease in disregarding food. And yet He does not say that He is so eager to obey the commands of His Father that He neither eats nor drinks.

He only points out what He must do first and what must be done afterward; and thus He shows by His example that the kingdom of God should be preferred to all the comforts of the body. God indeed allows us to eat and drink, provided that we are not withdrawn from what is of the highest importance; that is, that each person attend to their own calling.

It will perhaps be said that eating and drinking cannot but be avocations that withdraw some portion of our time that might be better employed. This I acknowledge to be true, but as the Lord kindly permits us to take care of our body, as far as necessity requires, he who endeavors to nourish his body with sobriety and moderation does not fail to give that preference which he should give to obedience to God.

But we must also take care not to adhere so firmly to our fixed hours that we are not prepared to deprive ourselves of food when God presents us with any opportunity and, as it were, designates the present hour. Christ, having now in His hands such an opportunity that might pass away, embraces it with open arms and holds it fast.

When the present duty enjoined on Him by the Father presses Him so hard that He finds it necessary to lay aside everything else, He does not hesitate to delay taking food. Indeed, it would have been unreasonable that, when the woman left her pitcher and ran to call the people, Christ should display less zeal.

In short, if we make it our aim not to lose the very purpose of life for the sake of life itself, it will not be difficult to maintain the proper balance. For he who places it before himself as the purpose of life to serve the Lord—from which we are not free to turn aside even in the face of immediate danger of death—will certainly consider it to be of more value than eating and drinking.

The metaphor of eating and drinking is all the more graceful on this occasion because it was drawn appropriately from the present discourse.