Why look for what he’s offering instead of what we say we want

By Dean Collins

The Samaritans had heard the testimony of the woman who came telling them about living water. They were drawn to Jesus and came to him seeking what he had offered her. But Jesus hadn’t turned rocks or sand into water. There was no miracle of fish and bread in this story. It was an offering Jesus made to the woman at the well that she and anyone who believed could drink of this living water.

Greater . . . and grumbling

But in Capernaum it was not the Samaritans who came to Jesus. It was the Jews. The Samaritans came sincerely drawn by the good news Jesus offered the woman. The Jews came first for another meal like the one they’d enjoyed on the other side of the sea.

This time Jesus offered something greater than the 40-year supply of manna their forbears had received for sustenance in the wilderness. When Jesus didn’t offer what God had provided in the time of Moses, they responded as their ancestors had off and on for 40 years. They grumbled.

A promise . . . and their problem

This offer didn’t fit with their religious education. And besides, they knew Mary and Joseph. They knew where Jesus had been raised. Some might have known him as a child or teenager. How could he claim to be bread from Heaven? He was a Jew, maybe a rabbi from Nazareth, but bread from heaven? They had spent several hours of travel to get nothing more than a promise rather than the bread they wanted for that day’s meal?

The grumbling Jews in John 6 had an understanding of history and an awareness of Jesus from his youth. Their knowing kept them from seeing and receiving the bread of life come down from Heaven. They were seeking another free lunch.

Jesus met them at the limitations of their historical understanding. He offered to take them to a place of unlimited understanding and eternal life: to eat and drink and to be spiritually and eternally satisfied. It wasn’t what they were looking for, so they grumbled a bit more.

Now . . . and eternity

I would not want anyone to know how many times we followers of Jesus grumble because Jesus offered us something other than what we were seeking. How many times does our pursuit of Jesus really translate to our pursuit of what we think we need to make our lives here better and more enjoyable?

Jesus does care for his children and like a caring father doesn’t offer scorpions when we ask for an egg (Luke 11:11-12). Jesus does care for us now, but the life he offers is for more than now. He offers life that takes us from now to eternity and along the way draws others to him as he lives in and through us.

Our desire . . . his offer

Jesus’ words as he ended this teaching indicate that what he offered would be paid for with his flesh and blood on a cross. It was a costly meal for Jesus. But when we are drawn to his love and accept his offer, he will use us as salt and light to those around us. And one day because we have tasted and consumed the bread of life, we will sit at a banquet table with brothers and sisters from all over the world.

We must be careful not to cheapen the offer of Jesus to simply make things the way we want them to be here and now. With eyes of faith, may we open ourselves to the wonders of his love and to a life far greater than the one we are trying to manage today.

Your time with God’s Word
John 4:40, 42; 6:32-35, 41-51 ESV

Photo by Geetanjal Khanna at pexels.com

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