"Spiritual Thirst, Quenched By Jesus ”

In Jesus Holy Name May 28, 2023

Text: John 7:37-39 Pentecost Redeemer

“Spiritual Thirst, Quenched by Jesus ”

We rightly celebrate Easter as the day that changed history, the essential foundation of faith for two billion Christians is the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Walter Wink wrote: When the Pharisees decided to kill Jesus, they did not understand that their decision was like trying to destroy a dandelion seed-head by blowing on it.

Jesus proved by His miracles, by His resurrection from death that He was the visible presence of the invisible God. (Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3-4) Jesus walked the earth for more than three decades, ushering-in the Kingdom of God. He upended the norm, cured the sick, challenged the religious hierarchy, hung out with sinners, and did all sorts of things that both fulfilled prophecy and offended or shocked people.

After His resurrection Jesus spent 40 days visiting His disciples. He showed up in the most ordinary circumstances: a private dinner, two disciples walking along a road, a woman weeping in a garden, some fishermen working on a lake. He told them to remain in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit.

They saw Jesus ascend to Heaven where he received the glory He had with the Father before the world was created. (John 17:5) From His heavenly throne He passed the baton of ministry and His Holy Spirit, to His disciples. (Galatians 4:6)

Let’s review the timeframe:

John 7 Feast of Tabernacles October

John 10 Feast of the Dedication December

(In 4 months Jesus will celebrate the Passover and be arrested)

John 11-18 Passover, Arrest, Crucifixion

Acts 2 50 days after Passover is the Feast of Pentecost

On the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit that dwelt in Jesus filled the disciples and every Christians since that day. In the apostle Paul’s words, “….. if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”

2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ, God's Son, put Himself between death and humanity in an action which had never been done before, which could never be done again. Jesus took upon Himself the condemnation and the destructive force of sin (II Corinthians 5:21) and died so the rest of humanity might be redeemed from the wrath of God against our broken commandments.

John 7 tells us that Jesus is in the temple in Jerusalem for the Jewish feast of Tabernacles. It took place in early October, at the time of the final harvest. (Sort of like our Thanksgiving.) It was a great celebration. For seven days the Jews lived in lean-to tents or booths made of palm branches, leaves and tree limbs. This was their way of remembering the 40 years that their ancestors spent wandering in the wilderness.

The wilderness days were long and hard, 40 years. A whole generation died while waiting to enter the Promised Land. Why create a feast to remember and celebrate that difficult period? Because every day, even in the wilderness, God provided manna and quail. They lived in the desert with the sand and heat and desolation. God never failed them.

In the wilderness God gave them water. When the people became thirsty and had no water, they accused Moses of bringing them into the desert so they would die of thirst. The Lord told Moses to take the same staff he used to part the Red Sea and hit the rock at Horeb. When he did, water gushed out. Clean, fresh, pure water, more than enough for all the people. God provided food and water in the wilderness. For 40 years their shoes never wore out. So, for seven days each year the Jews came to Jerusalem, made their lean-tos, and celebrated God’s goodness.

During the Feast of Tabernacles, every day for 7 days, the priest would lead a procession from the Temple to the Pool of Siloam. There he filled a golden urn with water and brought it back to the Temple. While he poured the water on the western side of the massive altar, the choir of 4,000 singers accompanied by 287 instrumentalists began to sing. The people cheered and sang Psalm 118, which ends with these words: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (The words of the common Lutheran table prayer at the end of a meal.)

When the eighth day came, things were different. This was the final feast day. It was truly the greatest day. On that day the priest did not go to the Pool of Siloam to draw water but it was the high point of their worship week.

On that day—the greatest day of the final feast—the day with no water— that is when Jesus stood up and spoke to the throngs of people crowding the Temple precincts. The impact of his words on this particular day was enormous.