Key Verse: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me
and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the scripture has said, streams of living
water will flow from within him."
John 7:37B-38
While Jesus began His teaching near the middle of the feast,
the passage for today is focused on the last day. In other words, while Jesus’
words are recorded in less than 30 verses, He probably said a lot more over the
four final days of the feast and John is only giving us the highlights.
Remember that, according to the passage in Leviticus, the first and last days
of the feast were to be solemn days of worship. This day would have been the
apex or culmination of communal worship before the people would head home for
the winter. They would not be together again, as a complete community, until
Passover, in the spring. Jesus, knowing all things, knew what their next
gathering for Passover would bring, so He made this one strong appeal for the
people to consider as they sat out the rainy season in their homes.
The main topic of discussion among the attendees to the
feast seems to be, is Jesus the Christ, God's anointed King over Israel, or
not? In fact, there was enough of a "whispering," (John 7:34) about
Him that the Pharisees grew concerned. They would be very interested in not
having any trouble among such a huge gathering of the people. After all, it was
safest not to attract the attention of Rome, not to mention that, if trouble
broke out, their own power and control could be brought into question.
The Feast of Tabernacles took place after the harvest. The
harvest was usually a dry time of the year, which was good for gathering crops,
yet it would not be good if the water supply got too low. On the last day of
the feast, prayers would be offered that the Lord would now send rain and also,
that the Lord would restore the light in the spring. Remember, they were
approaching the time of winter when the sunlight diminishes until after the
winter Solstice, at which time it begins to increase again. It was probably
during this time of the prayers for water that Jesus stood up and made His
dramatic plea to the people: "If anyone is thirsty, let Him come to Me and
drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the scripture has said, streams of living
water will flow from within him." (John 7:38-39)
One can't help but be reminded of Jesus’ encounter with the
woman at the well in John
4, and His discussion with her about having living water that is
so satisfying that she would never thirst again. Then, as now, Jesus is
referring to the Holy Spirit from whom all blessings flow. Just as the woman
could not understand what Jesus was promising, the crowd here is also confused.
Jesus' words, however, only seemed to bring out the fun
house mirrors again. Some thought He was a prophet. Others thought He was the
Christ. Still others thought He couldn't possibly be the Christ because He had
come from Galilee, not Bethlehem. Jesus was speaking the truth, but most did
not understand. Even if Jesus had spoken very plainly and said, "Yes, I am
the Christ and if you believe in Me, I will give you my Holy Spirit and eternal
life," it wouldn't have helped. It is only after the Holy Spirit came,
following the resurrection, that any of us have been able to somewhat
understand the depth of the meaning of what Jesus is offering here. There is
still much mystery involved in our walk with Him. It's okay that we do not
understand all things now. In His time we will gain understanding if we
continue to trust and seek to grow closer to Him.
Hymn: "Holy Spirit Reign Down"
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