and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
[tag]Isaiah 55[/tag]:1b (ESV)

This part of the verse is tough. How can someone with no money “but and eat”? And, how can you buy a drink “without money and without price”? These relationships are a paradox, so, let’s go slow and take this piece by piece.

First Isaiah asks the person with no money to “come, buy and eat!” We aren’t talking about regular food here, but spiritual food. This is not the food that gives us energy to run a marathon, it’s the kind of food that gives us the strength to run the race that is life. The food is of great value and comes at a high price. But, we cannot pay for it, it must be paid for by someone greater, by someone richer, by someone with everything to offer, by [tag]Jesus[/tag]. We were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:20), paid for by the death of [tag]Christ[/tag] on the [tag]cross[/tag]. Our purchase is the free gift given to us, which is [tag]salvation[/tag] through [tag]faith[/tag].

At this point we have come to the water thirsty, we have bought spiritual food (paying what we cannot afford), and now we find not only water that quenches our thirst, but we find wine and milk too! We come to Christ initially because because we thirst for the deep satisfaction that only He can give, then we find that satisfaction and so much more than we ever dreamed. The milk and wine are the icing on the cake. Milk nourishes the body¹ especially for those that are new to the [tag]living water[/tag], and wine lifts the spirits² for those fighting the good fight of faith.

All of this is done “without money and without price”, because the living water we find is of infinite value. There is no price for the priceless and no amount of money can match what Jesus paid on the cross.

This reminds me of the parable of the King that threw a wedding feast for his son (Matthew 22). The elite crowd had been invited and then flaked out when it was time to come to the feast. So, he sent his servants out into the streets to invite as many as would come. From the rest of the story it is clear that the people came somewhat prepared (because most were wearing the proper wedding attire), but I’m sure none of them would have had the ability to pay for the quality of food they were given. Imagine that crowd? The best of the best had been invited originally and now that elite crowd is replaced by a group of [tag]ragamuffins[/tag] (see definition). That’s like expecting a room full people like Elvis Presley and getting a room of Napoleon Dynamites instead. These people only sat at the kings table because of his gracious invitation and gift.

In the same way, we come to the water like ragamuffins, and to our astonishment we are given the most amazing living water, food that sustains life, milk to nourish our body, and wine to lift our spirit. All of this (a priceless gift) paid for by the King and offered to us as a free gift.

1. Thought gleaned from Matthew Henry’s Commentary

2. Thought gleaned from Matthew Henry’s Commentary