Jesus in Conversation

It often strikes me that the saying “there’s nothing new under the sun” rings true. We might pay lip service to the idea, but sometimes, it hits us with surprising force.

Today, I’m grappling with the question: “Where do I find my satisfaction?”

In 1965, the Rolling Stones released “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.” The song decries the materialism of the world, highlighting how everything we encounter entices us to desire something more. The result? “I can’t get no satisfaction.” Sixty years later, that song resonates deeply with me. Satisfaction and contentment often seem beyond my reach.

Consider this passage from John 4:27-38:

"Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, 'What do you want?' or 'Why are you talking with her?'

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?'

They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

Meanwhile his disciples urged him, 'Rabbi, eat something.'

But he said to them, 'I have food to eat that you know nothing about.'

Then his disciples said to each other, 'Could someone have brought him food?'

'My food,' said Jesus, 'is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.'"

I’ve been reflecting on this interaction between Jesus and his disciples, comparing it to his earlier conversation with the woman at the well. When the woman arrived, Jesus had just sent his disciples to get food. It’s reasonable to assume he was hungry. He also asked her for a drink, suggesting he was thirsty.

Yet, in neither interaction does he actually eat or drink.

I’m struck by the disciples' urging. Their “urging” carried a sense of “begging,” a plea. They were concerned for Jesus' well-being.

We don’t know if he ultimately ate. He surely needed food, being human. However, like the woman at the well, the disciples and Jesus were communicating on different levels. They focused on physical food, while Jesus addressed spiritual realities.

We experience fleeting satisfaction from a good meal. But Jesus spoke of a deeper sense of satisfaction and contentment that comes from doing God’s will. He had just engaged in a transformative conversation, introducing a woman to the depths of grace. This conversation broke the cultural and religious barriers of the day, ultimately leading to a remarkable moment in his ministry: an entire Samaritan town coming to learn from him.

This was Jesus doing the will of the Father.

This was Jesus finding satisfaction.

The Rolling Stones and I could likely find satisfaction and contentment by looking beyond the material world and seeking to live out a deeper sense of calling. When we do something that, in a sense, only we can do, we can finally experience true satisfaction.

What is that thing for you? Where do you believe you might ultimately find satisfaction? What does it mean for you to do the will of the Father?