Admittedly, I’ve watched a lot of basketball over the past couple of weeks. After each game, the commentators choose the most outstanding player, sometimes from each team. Often, the award goes to the player with the most points, rebounds, assists, or the best combination of these statistics. In other words, the player whose effort exceeds his or her teammates receives the award.
As I thought about this, I couldn’t help thinking about how often Jesus’ effort exceeded His teammates’ (the disciples). This is very apparent in the verse cited above, where the disciples are shocked when they see Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman. His disciples didn’t want to minister to this woman, but Jesus did. He was so involved in this interaction that He didn’t want to eat the food the disciples brought Him. He was already full from His effort to win a soul for the Kingdom.
Aren’t you glad that Jesus will go farther than others? The reason we enjoy salvation, joy, and peace is because of His unparalleled effort – He did what others wouldn’t. For that reason, He gets my vote for MVP of the world!