MYSTERIOUS MEAT – Charles Spurgeon
MYSTERIOUS MEAT
“In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, Master, eat. But He said to them, I have meat to eat that you know not of. Therefore the disciples said to one another, Has anyone brought Him anything to eat? Jesus said to them, My meat is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work. Do you not say, There are yet four months, and then comes harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look at the fields, for they are already ripe for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true, One sows, and another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.” John 4:31-38.
Introduction:
THE disciples had gone away into the city to buy meat and for this they cannot be censured. It was necessary that food should be provided and it naturally fell to their lot to perform that duty. Do not say that they were carnal or unspiritual because of this, for the most spiritual people must eat to live. When they came back from making their purchases, they found their Master sitting by the well, as they had left Him. They naturally expected that He would be as ready to partake of the provision as they were to offer it to Him, but He made no movement in that direction. His mind was evidently far away from the idea of food. He was absorbed in something else and, therefore, His disciples sought to call Him back to a sense of His need. I do not suppose that they had, themselves, eaten. It was hardly like them to do so while their Lord was not with them. They, therefore, wished to eat and they were all the more struck with the fact that He had no care for refreshment. Knowing how weary He had been when they left Him—so weary that He bade them go alone into the city—they were perplexed at His indifference to food and, perhaps, judged that He was over-fatigued and, therefore, they urged Him to eat. Importunately, one after another said, “Good Master, it is long since You have eaten; the way has been weary, the day is hot, You seem very faint. We pray You, eat a little that You may be revived. The woman to whom You spoke has gone. Your good work, for a while, is over, let us eat together.”
Again I confess that I do not agree with those who blame these disciples. If it is true that there is nothing very elevated in providing food, there is certainly nothing unworthy in the act. I admire their care for their Master. I praise them for so lovingly pressing upon Him the supply of His necessities. It is right for the spiritual man to forget his hunger, but it is equally right for his true friends to remind him that he ought to eat for his health’s sake. It is commendable for the worker to forget his weakness and press forward in holy service, but it is proper for the humane and thoughtful to interpose with a word of caution and to remind the ardent spirit that his frame is but dust. I think the disciples did well to say, “Master, eat.” What is more, I will hold them up to your imitation! Jesus has gone from you, now, in actual Person, but His mystical body is still with you and, if you meet with any part of His body in need, make it your earnest care. Still pray to Him, saying, “Master, eat.” If you know any of His people in poverty, ask them to partake of your abundance, lest your Lord should say to you at the last, “I was hungry and you gave Me no meat. I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink.” Our Lord’s spirituality is not of that visionary sort which despises the feeding of hungry bodies! Look after His poor and needy ones. How can you be truly spiritual if you do not? “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” There is much in the commonplace attentions of charity—Jesus commands our consideration of the weaknesses and needs of others—therefore, I say again, I commend the disciples that they urged Him saying, “Master, eat.”
I. REFRESHMENTS THAT ARE LITTLE KNOWN
Having done this justice to the 12, let us do higher honor to the Divine One about whom they gathered. His mind was, at that time, absorbed in spiritual matters and, being so, He wished to lead them into that higher field wherein He was so much at home and, therefore, He transfigured their common words by giving them a higher meaning. “You pray Me to eat,” He said, but, “I have meat to eat that you know not of.” They did not comprehend what He meant. As the Samaritan woman did not understand Him, when He spoke of water, neither did His disciples when He spoke of meat. But you see, the Lord endeavored to use the lower expression as a ladder to something higher and more spiritual. This was the Master’s way from the beginning to the end—always to be making similitudes of things seen to set forth the things unseen—always to take the thing which men had grasped and use it as the means of helping them to lay hold on some great Truth of God which, as yet, was out of their reach. Inasmuch as refreshments were spoken of and His disciples saw the need of those refreshments, the Master turns that thought into a deeper channel and tells them of other refreshments which He, Himself, enjoyed and wished them to share with Him. In effect our Lord’s reply to the request, “Master, eat,” is this—“I have eaten, in the best sense, and I wish you, also, to eat with Me.” He would have them enter into that service which had yielded so intense a satisfaction to Himself—He would have them know His joy in it! This morning the run of my subject will be just this—first, there are refreshments for our hearts which are but little known—“I have meat to eat that you know not of.” Secondly, these refreshments satisfied our Lord—so satisfied Him that He forgot to eat! And thirdly, and a very practical thirdly, I hope it will be, let us seek these refreshments at once, that we, too, may forget our earthly needs in a heavenly enthusiasm. O blessed Spirit of all Grace, give us secret, sacred food this morning while meditating upon this theme!
II. THESE REFRESHMENTS SATISFIED OUR LORD
First, there are refreshments which are little known. Generally men know enough about refreshments of the body. Those questions—What shall we eat, and what shall we drink?—have been long and carefully studied. It seems obvious to all men that if we are to be restored and lifted above fatigue or weakness, it must be by corporeal food. Yet there is, in the Word of God, an intimation of another principle. As we read, “Man shall not live by bread, alone, but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God shall man live.” The Lord has been pleased to make it generally necessary that the body should be sustained with food, but that is only because the body is to be destroyed, for it is written, “Meats for the body, and the body for meats, but God shall destroy both it and them.” That new body, which will never be destroyed, will probably need no meats. If God so willed it, this frame might be sustained without visible food. There is no absolute necessity that the order of Nature or of Providence should be just as it is. Even now we know that there are many ways by which waste can be suspended and the need of food greatly lessened. And there are conditions under which life has been sustained upon an almost incredibly small portion of food. If God willed it, He could secretly infuse strength into the system, keeping the lamp of life burning by means of a subtle, invisible oil. We are not so absolutely dependent upon the bread we eat as, at first sight, seems—food is but the vehicle of sustenance—God could sustain us without it.
Now, Brothers and Sisters, our Lord Jesus Christ found for Himself a sustenance other than that of food—a food superior to the ordinary meat of men. But these refreshments were not known to His disciples. The common throng of mankind have no idea of spiritual food, but the disciples were not of the common throng—they were chosen out of the world and they had been with their Lord for some little time! And yet they had not grasped the idea of a man being fed and strengthened by an influence upon his spiritual nature which could raise him above the dragging down of his bodily needs. They could not yet enter into their Lord’s secret—He had a meat to eat which even they knew not of. The reason for His knowing what they knew not was, in part, the fact that this nourishment was enjoyed upon a higher plane than these servants of Christ had yet reached. They were spiritual men in some degree, but they were not highly spiritual—they were mere babes in Grace, though men in physical development. They had not yet reached to the height of letting their spirits rule the rest of their nature, nor had they yet learned the proper occupation of their spirits. They could not yet enjoy spiritual meat to the fullest because they were so little spiritual. Our Savior was full of the Holy Spirit and, in His inmost Nature, He was deeply and intensely spiritual. He lived in constant communion with invisible things and, therefore, it was that He perceived that “meat to eat” which they knew not of. Oh, that we may not miss the delicacies of Heaven from lack of a purified taste! It is a sad ignorance which comes of lack of spirituality. The Lord lift us out of it!
Further, these refreshments were unknown to the Apostles, as yet, because they implied a greater sinking of self than they as yet knew. “My meat,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him that sent Me.” How condescendingly does our Lord sink Himself in this expression! He does not even say, “My meat is to do My Father’s will.” He takes a lower position than that of sonship and dwells chiefly upon His mission, its service and the absorption in the will of God which it involved. He finds His refreshment in being the commissioned officer of God and in carrying out that commission. In being a Servant obeying the will and doing the work of Another, He feels Himself so much at home that it revives Him to think of it! Others have been refreshed by gaining honor for themselves—our Lord is refreshed by laying that honor aside! The carnal mind finds its meat and drink in self-will, but Christ, in doing the will of God! Doing his own work and carrying out his own purpose is the meat and drink of the natural man—the very opposite was the joy of our Lord Jesus! Is it so with you, my Hearer, that you will have your own way and be your own lord and master? You feed upon wind! You seek after emptiness and, in the end, your hunger shall devour you! But oh, Believer, have you ever tried your Lord’s plan? Have you taken your Lord’s yoke upon you and learned of Him? Thus it is that you shall find rest unto your soul! Not in self, but in self-surrender, is there fullness for the heart! You are no longer to live unto yourself, for you are not your own, but you are the servant of Him who has bought you with a price—you will find peace in taking up your proper place. Your lifework is, from this day on, not to be one of your own selecting, but the work which your great Lord and Master has chosen for you. Servants lay their wills aside and do what they are bid. When a man gets fully into this condition, I bear witness that he will be refreshed by it! If I felt that my calling were of my own choosing and that my message were of my own inventing, I should have no rest—the responsibility would crush me! But now that I feel that I am doing the will of Him who sent me and know that I am committed wholly to the work of the Lord, I pluck up courage and put my shoulder to the wheel without misgiving! In the name of Him who has sent me to do this work, I find a fountain of fresh strength! But, Brothers, we must get low down. We must come right away from the idea of being original and inventing something and carrying out a novel purpose of our own—we must act only upon commission—we must say only our Lord’s Words and do only His work! And then we shall eat of that same loaf on which Jesus fed when He had food to eat which even the 12 knew not of.
III. LET US AT ONCE SEEK THIS REFRESHMENT
That is our practical business. If there is meat to eat that we know not of, let us try to know of it at once. I am speaking, of course, only to you who are converted and are thus saved by faith in Jesus Christ. You who are not yet Believers cannot eat of this secret meat, for you are not alive unto God—you need to be quickened by the Spirit of our God—you must be born again before you can eat the Bread of Heaven. May the Lord lead you to saving faith in Jesus Christ at once! But I speak to you that know the Lord, you who labor for Him and need to be refreshed this day. Look you to the right place for nourishment. Are we weary? Then let us seek refreshment by following out the directions of our Lord in the text before us. First, let us remember that we are sent of God. Do not forget that. Say with your Lord, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me.” Each redeemed one is sent forth by his Redeemer. I do not know what the Lord has sent you to do. I hope you know that, each man for himself, but when you know what work you are called to do, do not be held back by anyone! Wait for no man’s consent, patronage, or help. Strengthen your soul upon the persuasion that God has sent you and then go forward. If God has sent you, who can stand against you? A Queen’s messenger insists that we clear the road for him. An officer who bears the Queen’s authority is authorized to lay all persons under orders to help him. He who rides on royal business has precedence over all others. Get to feel, Christian Friend, that Jesus has sent you and herein will lie food for your courage! Know that you have a mission and go for it—and let it be unsafe for anyone to stand in your way! Do not make a noise. Forbear all blustering, but quietly set yourself to work. If God has sent you, you will be like the greater Sent One, of whom we read, “He shall not strive, nor cry, nor cause His voice to be heard in the streets,” but at the same time, “He shall not fail, nor be discouraged.” Next, if we desire to be refreshed, let us find joy at once in God’s work and will. You have been trying to find joy and refreshment in your own work and your own will—and you have failed. Come, then, and sail in another direction. But upon this I have already spoken. If all the work you and I have to do can be made to be God’s work. If we will do all things for His Glory, whether it be mending of shoes, or making garments, or preaching sermons, or plowing of fields, then shall we be happy in God and our souls shall be fed upon the finest of the wheat! No drudgery remains when the lowliest labor is seen to be part of a priestly service. When the meanest work glows with the Glory of a Divine call, there is refreshment in it! I am sure I am directing you in the right way to find sweet morsels for your heart when I urge you to have joy in God’s work rather than in your own. Next, let us get to work. The Master says to His Apostles, “Do you not say, There are yet four months and then comes harvest”? This was a common saying among the lazy. The time for work was never come—they always found reason for delay—the harvest was always four months off. Many are going to do a lot of work one of these days. Just now they take things easy, but in four months they will let you see how they can labor! We have too many Christian people around us who find no joyful satisfaction in Divine things because they do not, at once, spend themselves for Christ. One enquires, What is the best way to do good? Our answer is, do it! I cannot give you any better recommendation. The best way to serve Christ is to serve Him! A man who was hungry, when he was asked what was the best way to dine, said, “Give me a knife and fork. Give me a chance and I will soon show you.” When asked how you can serve God, reply by seizing the first opportunity and doing it! For our joy and comfort, be it remembered that opportunities are many and present. “Do you not say, There are yet four months and then comes harvest? Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already ripe for harvest!” Further, if we want to have joy and refreshment in our own Christian life, let us leap into our place at once. These disciples were not to be sowers, but reapers. Many others are not to be reapers, but sowers. You must get to work in the place into which the Lord puts you—there must be no picking of positions—you must jump into the saddle and be off! It may be that you say, “I should like to begin an altogether new work,” but if the Lord appoints you to go on with the work that someone else has carried on for years, do not hesitate. Perhaps you say, “I would like to labor where the first rough work is done,” but if your Lord directs you to commence on the uncleared forest, do not raise an objection. It may be you wish to carry up the last load of bricks to put on the chimney, but if the house has not reached that condition yet, be quite as willing to dig out the cellar. We must be willing to hook on anywhere. Be leader or shaft-horse! Be first or last. Be sower or reaper, as the Lord ordains! Dear Friends, you will never get refreshment in Christ’s service if you bring a dainty self-will into the field and set it to make a selection, for this is contrary to the true spirit of service. Have no choice and then you will find satisfaction. If we are to get refreshment for our souls we may also anticipate the wages. There is to be a time when workers together with Christ are to receive wages. The text says, “He that reaps, receives wages.” In our own country agricultural laborers have been paid so little that we could hardly call it receiving wages. But when harvest time comes, then the reaper is paid and truly receives wages. The hardest-fisted churl must pay for reaping, must he not? Even the most grudging miser must pay his reapers. There must be special money for mower and reaper. Let us work on, for our Master speaks to us of wages and He always pays liberally. Your reward is not what you get at present—it lies in the glorious future! When the Lord Jesus comes, He will reward all His stewards and servants. No Truth of God is more plain in the four Gospels than this fact, that when Jesus returns to this earth, He will distribute recompense in proportion to work done. Herein is meat for us to eat which may well sustain us under the burden and heat of the day. Then comes the end. If any of you wish to be refreshed, remember the end. What is the end of sowing and the end of reaping? Is it not the completed harvest? See you not the last wagon loaded with grain? See the children on the top there! Listen how the servants shout their joy as they bring in the precious fruits of the earth! And there is a supper at night. The master has been killing his fatlings and he invites all his laborers to supper. How they feast with him! Sow on! Work on! Reap on, for there will come a day when Heaven and earth shall be moved with joyous acclamations because the Lord’s purpose is accomplished and His work is finished! Then shall we sit down at the supper of the Lamb and rejoice together, as many of us as have had a hand in the blessed work and service in which our Master laid down His life! Therefore gird up the loins of your mind. Be sober and hope to the end. Be encouraged and refreshed this morning. Feed upon the eternal dainties which are provided for you by your Lord and be glad in His name!