Matthew talks a lot about money in his report on Jesus. Mark is actioned packed and straight to the point. Luke highlights the outcasts. As I read through John, I am discovering that John’s thing seems to more be hunger and thirst, food and drink.
Only in John’s Gospel do we read about the risen Jesus serving breakfast—fish cooked on the coals, and bread—to seven of His disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (chapter 21).
The woman at the well (4.13-14) had the opportunity to drink and never thirst again.
At the Feast of Tabernacles (6.37-38), Jesus invited people to come to Him and drink, and they would get rivers flowing out of them! Rivers of living water!
We’ve seen in John 6 that bread and fish got fed to the crowd, as is also recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but only John tells us (6.35) that Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.”
And only John recorded, “whoever comes to Me [Jesus] shall not hunger.”
And only the food and drink disciple tells us that Jesus is not like Moses’ manna, He is the true bread (6.32).
And true-bread eaters will not only never hunger again, they will also never die! (6.50).
All of this gives acute depth to Jesus’ instructions to Peter (and Marcos, and you) “Feed my sheep.” (21.17) People of this world hunger and thirst down in the depths of their soul. Jesus meets this need and He calls us to tell the world.