We are continuing in our sermon series from the book of John and today we have come to the passage in John 7:37-41. Jesus was at the Feast of Booths - a joyful annual celebration where God’s people came together to thank Him for providing them with the current harvest and also to commemorate God’s presence, provision and protection during their ancestor’s 40-year journey through the wilderness. For these seven days of the feast of booths, thousands upon thousands of people would come from far and wide and build temporary structures around the Temple or tabernacle like their ancestors did in the wilderness.
On each of the seven days of the feast a priest would draw water from the pool of Siloam in a golden vessel and bring it in a joyful procession while trumpeters played in the Temple. This water, along with a flask of wine, was poured into a bowl beside the altar from which a tube took it to the base of the altar and it poured out on the ground.” This was done each day of the feast and on the 7th day the water and wine was poured out 7 times. This ceremony reminded everyone how God powerfully delivered Israel from Egypt, supplied their need for water and food and how His Spirit (symbolized by the wine) led them miraculously through a dry, desert land.
The feast of booths speaks about a present hope that God would continue to meet their needs for their current harvest. It foreshadowed the future hope of when the Messiah would gather all those who had been scattered back to their homeland. At that time, God will dwell in the midst of His people and living waters will flow from beneath His throne, bringing life and healing to the whole world. Please open your Bibles to:
John 7:37-41
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (SL3) 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. On hearing these words, some of the people said, “This is truly the Prophet.”Others declared, “This is the Christ.”
During the Feasts of booths, Jesus:
Makes a universal declaration!
Gives an open invitation
Shows an outward manifestation of where Life can be found
A Universal Declaration
John was recording the last day of the final feast of the Jewish calendar year, and as the priest is carrying the water to the temple probably for the last time, Jesus stands up and yells out, (SL6) “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”
This must have been a shocking declaration for everyone who heard it. Everyone was looking to and trusting God to meet their natural need for water - to refill their empty reservoirs after the end of the harvest season but Jesus used this occasion to appeal to their deeper thirst, making a universal declaration. In reality He was asking:
Is there anyone here in this place who is not satisfied with their life, anyone here disappointed in the way things have turned out, anyone here still yearning for more?
What are you thirsting for?
Everyone was so focused on the commemoration and festivities but not on the One it pointed to as the Source of living water who was dwelling among them. They were hoping for rain to quench their natural thirst, the thirst of the ground, but Jesus was talking about the true significance of this feast of booths. It pointed to Him as the only One who could quench the deep need of the soul.
Just like at that feast 2,000 years ago, Jesus is asking, what are you really thirsting for right now? What drives you? We can be driven by our thirst for justice, peace, a secure future, significance, honor, affirmation, acceptance, or love. And these thirsts manifest themselves in many forms - they can drive us to be greedy, lustful and envious or else generous, loving and selfless. Some seek to satisfy their thirst through asceticism, others through pleasure, and yet others through philanthropy.
When Elon Musk was asked about what his incentive was to build the Tesla car and Space X he said: “The thing that drives me is that I want to be able to think about the future and feel good.” In other words, he is driven by the desire to build a secure future for humankind.(There are many noble pursuits and we are thankful for those who want to benefit humankind). Whatever your thirst may be, it will drive you in many directions just to be satisfied - just as water quenches our thirst.
Pascal made a true observation:
All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man… (Pensées, Loc. 2049)
Some are driven to suicide because they believe death will alleviate their pain and sorrow but this is dangerous lie with devastating eternal consequences.
To be clear, God created human beings for happiness. That’s why God originally put Adam and Eve in Paradise and encouraged them to freely eat from every tree in the Garden and enjoy it. The only prohibition given to them was not to eat of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 2:16) because God knew this negative choice would destroy their happiness. But it was through the devil’s deception, promising that greater happiness can be found outside of God’s perfect will, that enticed them to choose to do what they would always regret (Gen 3:4-6). This was the saddest day in their life.
There are some here today or listening online that are always unhappy with themselves and with their lives. You need to ask yourself this question, what are you thirsting for? What are the things you think will quench your thirst? Everyone is thirsty, everyone has an awareness that there is more to life than what we experience with our physical senses. Jesus knows that each one of us thirsts for more and extends an...
Open Invitation
Let him come to me. This invitation is for everyone. Jesus is inviting us to come. Come as you are, come with empty hands and your broken hearts. He said, “Come to me all you who are tired and carrying heavy burdens (through religious rituals that provide no peace), and I will give you rest (refreshing your souls with salvation, renewal - blessed quiet) for your soul” (Matt 11:28).
This invitation to “come” requires a choice, an action. No one can choose for you, the choice is yours and you have to take that step. You have to decide to what or to whom you will go to satisfy your thirst. We all have a conscious awareness of what we thirst for and Jesus is inviting us to come to Him and drink. Drink speaks of continually receiving from Jesus what serves to refresh, strengthen and nourish our inner being, our parched soul. God asked the same question and gave the same invitation back in the OT in Isa 55: He asked, “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink - even if you have no money! Why spend your money on food that doesn’t give you strength? Why spend your money on what doesn’t satisfy? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good, And let your soul delight in abundance. You will enjoy the finest food…Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen and you will find life (Isa 55:1-3). God was speaking of the living water that He offered and Jesus was offering this same living water in John 7.
This is not a one time invitation but a daily invitation to come as often as you like and to drink as much of this living water as you want. What are you thirsting for? Is it assurance, is it forgiveness, is it peace, hope? The religious, the moral and self righteous saw no need for this water. But the marginalized, the ones who failed over and over again, the weak, the hopeless were thirsting for this water. They longed for this water and had nothing to give in return for it. Jesus was calling out to all to come to Him, the source of Living Water (cf. vv. 37 – 39 with 4:10 – 15). We answer the call and invitation by faith - and when we do He says that rivers of living water will flow from your innermost being. If you believe he’s God, if you believe he’s the only source of life, if you believe he’s gracious and merciful, if you believe he’s the fulfillment of all God’s promises, then you’ll come to him. If you come to Him, He will give you the ability to become children of God. Jesus is calling us to receive Him, embrace Him for who He is. When you do, Jesus promises:
Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his innermost being. ’”
Which brings me to my third point…
The Outward Manifestation
Because we are finite beings, we can only pour out what has been poured into us. We can only give to others what has been given to us. There is no way that you can keep loving, serving, or generously giving without coming and drinking freely from the Fountain of Life. How else will you make it in life with all its demands without drying up and burning out? I feel like many Christians’ spiritual lives are like the tangible, material challenges we are facing today. We are in the midst of a fuel crisis so we start to tighten the belt, ration food and fuel consumption. And for some of us, when life gets hectic and out of control, the first thing we ration is our time spent with Jesus. We do the minimum just to get by spiritually but eventually this wears us out physically, emotionally and mentally.
We begin to dread our obligations and responsibilities, wondering how long we can make it and fake it. Neglecting your relationship with the Lord slowly begins to create a void, a vacuum that will drive you to fill it with other things which will only be a quick fix, a temporary solution. If you do not come and drink, your love will dry up, your patience will run thin, your joy will turn to sorrow, your hope to despair and your heart will grow cold and hard. What is being manifested in your life?
John 10:10 Jesus said:
I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
If you come, and come often, you will have a fountain flowing from within the depth of your being. Not only will your own thirst be met, you will live from an overflow. You are not made to be a stagnant pond, a bucket or a reservoir, you are a fountain.
It’s interesting that during the time of Jesus, a very pious group called the Qumran community had withdrawn into the wilderness to become “the people of the Lord.” They had focused on themselves, became ingrown and exclusive. They made no attempt to leave their little world, to reach out or influence others. Just as the Dead Sea receives the Jordan, but gives nothing out and becomes lifeless and arid, so the Dead Sea sect sought to receive the blessing of the word of God only to keep it for themselves. A church, a Bible study, or a life group that is inward focused, living only for themselves is not fulfilling the purpose for fellowship and knowing God.
Christ’s life is meant to flow out of you to others. Your life matters and can make an impact on this world! When God is filling the void, satisfying your thirst, His life in you will undoubtedly be manifested to others. When God’s Spirit fills and overflows in us, we could be physically and emotionally exhausted but at the same time be spiritually refreshed, encouraged, and happy. Why? because life does not come from you, it is not dependent on you, your only responsibility is to come, come as often as you can and drink as much as you want and pour it out so that your life will manifest God’s living water. Your life will have eternal significance.
Here is my question.
Is this what our lives are like? Do fresh springs that flow from God, flow out of us day in and day out? Are we pouring this life out to others? If not, what are we manifesting? The answer is simple—whatever our intake will determine our outflow through focusing on the Lord, instead of reacting to people and circumstances.
This is the rhythm of the Holy Spirit—intake and outflow. If we have not been transformed by God, receiving all that He offers as we grow in our relationship with Him, how can we ever give, serve and love others in a way that God desires us to? If we have never experienced God’s free gift of forgiveness, how can we extend the forgiveness to others that God desires us to show? If we never reflect on and thank God for all that He has given us, how can we be generous in our giving?
This is what Jesus was teaching His disciples, and this was the universal declaration that Jesus was making as an invitation at the festival.
In verses 40-41.
Listening to these words, some of the people said, “This is certainly the Prophet!”Others said, “This is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)!”
When those around Jesus heard His words they believed it, recognized that this is the Messiah, the prophet who would come. These were the ones who were thirsty and they came and believed. 6 months later, after Christ's resurrection and ascension to heaven, on the day of Pentecost they were filled with His Spirit and they turned the known world upside down. There was another group that had already found reasons not to believe in Him and no amount of evidence would change it. Bottom line is they didn’t believe in Jesus because they didn’t want to believe in Jesus.”
The choice is yours, if you want to know the truth, then you need to investigate what the Bible says about Jesus and what He says about Himself. When you search the Scriptures and you search for Him and the truth with all your heart, you will discover that He is who He says He is, the Son of God, the One true God.
Jesus knows every person is thirsty, that every human being has an emptiness in their life that can only be satisfied by the life that God offers. If you choose to believe His declaration, accept His invitation to come, not only will the emptiness in your heart be filled but this life will overflow to everyone around you. Jesus loved us enough to die for us, how much more will He give us abundant life if we will only come.
