The Call of Jesus
John 7:37-39-On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
The Feast of Tabernacles began with a holy convocation on the first day, and ended with one on the eighth day. It was on the eighth day that Jesus cried out.
What Jesus had said privately to the woman of Samaria, He now declared openly to the multitude in the Temple in Jerusalem. And he did so on a significant occasion.
Daily. during the first seven days of the feast, priests went to the Pool of Siloam. In a golden pitcher and in solemn procession, they brought back water to the Temple.
As they did so chanters sang the words of Isaiah 12:3: "With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
Arriving at the Temple, a trumpet or ram’s horn was blown, and the worshipers accompanied by flutes sang (Psalms. 113-118). Then the water was poured into a silver bowl on the altar.
The immediate meaning of this ceremony `was twofold: It was a symbolic prayer for rain it was a remembrance of God’s gift of water to the Israelites in the wilderness.
Ezekiel had promised that a river would flow out God’s Temple (Ezek. 47).
Some interpreters hold that this ceremony was not held on the eighth
Others hold that they went through the form, but that the pitcher empty on this day.
This was to symbolize that the promises of God not yet been fulfilled, In either of these cases the lack of fulfillment is expressed.
This situation formed a perfect background for Jesus’ invitation.
Thirst is the most demanding appetite of the body. But, of course, Jesus used it in the spiritual sense. Psalm 42:1-2-As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
What the people longed for they could find in him. He offered water not from a cloud or a rock, which eventually left people thirsty again.
It was the spiritual, living water out of himself which satisfied the deepest long of the soul.
All that the water symbolized in the Temple ritual could found in him.
As the source of natural life was in the early and latter rains in Palestine, so Jesus was the source of eternal life.
There is no one specific verse of Old Testament Scripture to which Jesus referred in verse 38. His reference was to the repeated use of thirst water in the Old Testament
Isaiah 55:1-“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.
Isaiah 58:11-The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
He issues the call, “Are you thirsty? Come and drink!”
Do you desire satisfaction? Come and Drink!
Are you burdened by the bad things you’ve done?
Come and Drink! Are you weighed down by the struggles of life?
Come and Drink!
"Rivers" suggests the abundance of this life (John 10:10).
This water will not only be sufficient for one’s personal spiritual needs, but it overflow to bless others.
Holy Spirit gives us understanding.
Holy Spirit enables us to be a blessing to others. (Sensitive to the needs of others!)
