Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.
- KJV Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
- NKJV Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.
- NASB Jesus *said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.
- NLT Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus declares that doing and finishing the Father's will is His true food. His whole life is devoted obedience to God's saving purpose.
Overview
Jesus defines His sustenance as accomplishing the work the Father sent Him to do. This single-minded obedience characterizes His entire ministry and points ahead to the cross, where He will say 'It is finished' (John 19:30). His example calls believers to find life in submission to God's will.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- John 6:38For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
- John 5:30I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
- Job 23:12I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.
- John 17:4I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.
- Matt 26:39Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
- John 4:32But He told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
- John 19:30When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.
- John 5:36But I have testimony more substantial than that of John. For the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works I am doing—testify about Me that the Father has sent Me.
- Luke 19:10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
- Ps 40:8I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”
- Luke 15:10In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
- Heb 12:2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- Isa 61:1–3The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
- John 6:33For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
- Acts 20:35In everything, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Himself: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
- Luke 15:4–6“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 4:34 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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