The Same Bringeth Forth Much Fruit

Interestingly, it seems that one of the themes of the book of John—the most deeply theological and spiritual of the four gospels—is food and drink. These references to physical nourishment were symbolic and taught powerful lessons. In John 2, we have the story of Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding feast. The ruler of the feast declared, when he tasted the wine made by Jesus, “Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now” (John 2:10). The Savior Himself was that red wine, come to earth to bring salvation through the shedding of his red blood. Early in His ministry the Savior went through Samaria and we have this account: “There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.” A conversation about water ensued, and He taught her that there was water more important than what she was drawing from the well: “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). Soon thereafter His disciples returned to the well with food: “His disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:31-34). For Him, the greatest nourishment, more important than food, was to do His Father’s will.

               Later Jesus performed the miracle of feeding the multitude. John recorded, “When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” But Jesus wasn’t planning to buy bread, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to get that much, and after the disciples gathered what they had, “Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.” This story served as a backdrop to his sermon the next day when He taught them at the synagogue at Capernaum what the bread really meant: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven…. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:5, 11, 32, 48-51). He wasn’t as concerned with them getting physical bread as He was with them receiving the spiritual sustenance He had to offer, even eternal life. He again used water as a symbol when He went to the feast of tabernacles in Jerusalem. On the last day of the feast, He stood up and declared in the midst of them, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38). The scripture help for these verses describes what was happening that day of the feast: “One of the most anticipated ceremonies of the Feast of Tabernacles was the daily procession. An appointed priest would draw water from the Pool of Siloam with a golden pitcher. He then poured the water on or around the temple altar. This water was considered ‘living water’ because the Pool of Siloam was fed by a natural spring.” So, as the people watched physical water being carried to the temple altar, He declared to them that He was the true living water.  

               On at least two other instances recorded by John, the Savior used food to teach His disciples. At the Last Supper He said to them, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing…. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples…. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (John 15:5, 8, 16). He wanted them to bring forth fruit by abiding in Him, and of course that fruit they would produce was not physical food but righteousness and the salvation of Israel. And then after His resurrection, in the final chapter of John’s gospel, the Savior again taught them with food. After they had toiled all night without bringing in any fish, He appeared and called to them, “Children, have ye any meat?” He instructed them to cast their net on the right side of the ship, and they brought in an enormous quantity of fish. Peter, realizing it was Him, came quickly to shore to find that Jesus had prepared a meal for them: “As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.” He fed them literally and then used this to teach Peter with this invitation: “Feed my sheep” (John 21:5, 9, 17). Of course, by that point He was speaking figuratively as He invited Peter to care for His disciples. So, as we today partake of bread, meat, fruit, and water, we can be reminded that He is the living water and the bread of life, that He gave His life so that we could live, and that we will bring forth fruit as we strive to likewise feed His sheep.