Today is the 365th day of 2023; the last day of the year. In asking the Holy Spirit for a message, He laid on my heart the words, “in the last day…” “In the last day, the great day of the feast,” the Lord Jesus cried to the crowds in the temple, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me.” With the last day of the feast, and in the last day of the year, I’d like to urge you once again to go to the Saviour before you come to the last day of your earthly life.
The feast about which this scripture is speaking was the joyful “Feast of Tabernacles.” We are given that fact in verse 2 of this chapter. The whole chapter is related to this feast. When His earthly brothers said they were going up to Jerusalem for the feast, Jesus said that He wasn’t ready, and so they might have assumed He wasn’t going at all. But He did – just a bit later. He and His disciples may have taken the short cut through Samaria. Down in Jerusalem there was a lot of interest in Christ, and people were looking for Him for various reasons. After His arrival, as He usually did, He went into the Temple grounds and began teaching. Verse 25 – “Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he whom they seek to kill?” This let’s us know the atmosphere in Israel at the time.
As I just said this was “the Feast of Tabernacles.” Many of the Jewish holy days were very serious, such as “Yom Kippur,” the “Day of Atonement,” which was only eleven days prior to this. But “the Feast of Tabernacles” was one of Israel’s more festive and happy national celebrations. For the Jews it was like our “Thanksgiving” – which many people tell me is their favorite day of the year. 4 days after “Yom Kippur,” began 8 days of “sukkot” or as we know it “the feast of Tabernacles” or “Booths.” Some of the events surround this day are given to us in the Old Testament. But by the time of Christ, the practices and ceremonies had evolved. And they have done so even more today, now that most Jews aren’t in Israel and there is no Temple.
I have about a dozen books in my library describing Jewish life during Bible days, and some of them go on to talk about the modern practices of the Jews. But it is like the old adage from the days prior to digital clocks: “The man who has one watch, knows what time it is, but the man with three can’t be sure.” Some of my references about Jewish life disagree with the others, causing me to place a caveat around anything that I might say about the ancient customs of those people – including what I am about to tell you.
But I bring this up, because to understand the full impact of our text, we need to know what was going on around the Lord that day. So please turn to the third book of the Bible – Leviticus 23: In verse 33 we read, “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, speak unto the children of Israel, saying, the fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord.” Skip down to verse 40 – “And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”
Numbers 29 adds a lot more detail about the sacrifices and worship during this particular feast. And it tells us that added to the seven days of the feast was an eighth day – Numbers 29:35. It appears that it was on this eighth day that the events of John 7 took place.
During the “Feast of Tabernacles,” all Israel was to gather at Jerusalem. On the day after Yom Kippur, the people began to build temporary dwellings – tents and lean-tos. With a so many visitors from around the country, every yard, every park, every empty lot was occupied. Those temporary dwellings are called “sukkots.” I have read that the roofs were to be of natural materials – like leaves from palms, myrtle, citron and willow. And then as things developed over the years, those booths were decorated with grape vines and other natural materials. The people did this to remind themselves of God’s grace – the gracious blessing of redemption from Egypt. Those booths were to take the hearts of Israel back to Israel’s forty years in the wilderness, when they lived in tents, and when their every need was met directly by the Lord. But again, over time things changed, and since this was the fall of the year, added to the blessing of national salvation, was a celebration of the blessings of a good harvest – thanksgiving and joy.
Another added aspect of the worship, during the “Feast of Tabernacles,” involved the drawing of water. We remember that twice during their forty years in the wilderness, when Israel was complaining about thirst, God miraculously supplied water. This took place when Israel was living in their family booths, so it became a part of this particular feast. Every day for each of the seven days of the feast there was a water ritual, but it was far more joyful and exciting on the very last day.
Standing at the southwest corner of the Temple Mount, a priest blew the “shofar” with all his might. Then a specially selected priest passed through the Water Gate on the south side of the Temple grounds. Carrying a golden pitcher, he led a joyous musical procession to the Pool of Siloam, where he plunged in the pitcher, reciting Isaiah 12:3 – “Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” That priest then returned to the Temple with the golden pitcher of water and joined another priest who was carrying a drink offering of wine. Again, the shofar was blown, but at this point it was three times. Together the two priests ascended the ramp to the Great Altar and poured out their liquid offerings. During this ritual, the people who were gathered in the Court the Women sang the praises called the “Hallel” – Psalms 113-118. At the appropriate time, more priests holding willow branches marched once around the Great Altar, reciting Psalm 118:25 – “Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD! O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity!” Following the singing and chanting, a great silence descended on the sanctuary. The people were to meditate and reflect on the significance of the water ritual. They were supposed to be expressing a desire for personal, spiritual refreshment. “Save now, LORD!” Only God’s Spirit, symbolized by the water, could satisfy their thirsty souls. Finally, a benediction closed the celebration, and everyone left to gather under their personal sukkots once again.
In John 7 the Lord Jesus was somewhere in the crowd watching the drama of the water ritual. And then, most likely at the moment when the customary hush came over the crowd… Jesus “stood and cried out, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto ME, and drink.” There could not have been a more dramatic pause and a more climactic announcement. In some minds Jesus destroyed the sanctity of the ceremony, but in truth it was the capstone and fulfillment of day, because as Paul tells us, so much of the Jewish worship pointed to the Saviour.
In the Lord’s statement that day, He reminded the nation, and us, of OUR TRUE SPIRITUAL CONDITION.
When God led Israel out of Egypt, it was into the wilderness – to teach some important lessons. Israel lived in tabernacles, and when they ate up the food they had taken from Egypt they had nothing. One of God’s lessons is that this world is a miserable place. It is a desert place, a wilderness, a wasteland. This world is filled with burning fiery serpents, scorpions, enemy armies, locust plagues and disastrous storms that have the ability to blow down every booth and every life. Sure the desert has its own special beauty as do the mountains and the seas. But each one of these places have the potential of killing us. This world is an arid desert, and without water from God’s rock, we will die a slow and painful death. Or perhaps more theologically correct – we are already dead – dead men walking through the desert.
We all know our need of water, but not everyone knows that we need spiritual water as well as physical. Everyone knows that we need water, but rather than looking to the Lord for our supply, we look elsewhere. This subject of need and supply is found throughout the Bible, only beginning with Israel in the wilderness. Isaiah liked that illustration of need and supply. In chapter 55, he said, as God’s prophet: “Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; come, buy wine and milk without money and with price.” I am told that Isaiah 12 was a part of the water ceremony – “And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” The poets refer to this thirst, as in Psalm 42:2 – “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God…” And, “I stretch forth my hands unto thee; my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land.” And what did the Lord Jesus use to speak to the heart of the woman of Samaria? It all began with water and thirst. “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water” – John 4:10. There is nothing more sad than humanity’s misunderstanding of its greatest needs. As Solomon said, “The misery of man is great upon him.” And as every six-year-old knows, there is no greater misery than thirst.
But what is that Israel had done over the years, and what is it that we usually do to meet the thirst of our souls? Jeremiah puts it into words: “Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water” – Jeremiah 2:11-13.
Christ Jesus, the Son of God, the one who knew every heart that was there in the Temple that day, and who knows your heart better than you do… Jesus knew that all the ceremonies and rituals of Israel, or Catholicism, or the rituals of the Baptists – are not sufficient to quench the spiritual thirst of the dying. At about the time the priest was pouring out the ceremonial water, Christ created a scene, standing up and then lifting up His voice, pointing out the waste of their empty religion. “If any man thirst, and in truth you all thirst, whether you know it or not…” “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” Even before this festival the Lord said to the Jews, “I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
In addition to pointing to the true condition of humanity, the Lord Jesus revealed who HE IS.
First, He is not any ordinary man, and certainly there is no thirst in His soul. While being truly man through His virgin birth, His father was uniquely God. This makes Christ Jesus above all ordinary men. He is the God-man; as the theologians say, He is the “theanthropic person” through the hypostatic union. Biblically as the angel said to Mary, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” When Jesus said, “he that cometh to ME,” and “he that believeth on ME,” He set himself infinitely apart from all of us. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” – Acts 4:12.
Also in this statement, the infinite Son of God declared that He was over and above the rituals of the Jews. If the people had just witnessed and chanted scriptures declaring their need of the water of God what audacity did Jesus exhibit when raised His voice and said, “If you are STILL thirsty after all of this, come to ME to be quenched, filled and satisfied.” The Lord Jesus was saying, “I am the source of what you truly need. I will meet your every need.” Elsewhere He said, “I am the way the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the father but by me.” “Therefore come unto me and drink.”
Several times during His life, Christ was accused of blasphemy – he was accuse of putting himself into the place of God. In John 10, Jesus said, “I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” What Jesus said at the Feast of Tabernacles was essentially the same thing. And at His “trial” – the kangaroo court when He was condemned – the High Priest said to his minions, “Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death” – Mark 14:64. There were many times during his life, when people might have accused Jesus of blasphemy. And this was one of those occasions.
Consider once again Jesus’ words, “He that BELIEVETH on me.” It means “whosoever will TRUST me.” Over and over again, the Lord said this sort of thing, and it means far more than “believe what I am saying.” It means put your trust IN me. “Believe ON me, and I will fill you with the water of eternal life.” Again in John 6 the Lord said, “ I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall NEVER thirst.. And “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me HATH everlasting life.” These are the words of a lunatic – or else this is the infinite Son of God, the Saviour.
Next please consider Jesus’ INVITATION.
“If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” – “ANY man.” I know that you ladies sometimes feel left out when it comes to the scriptures, but be assured that it isn’t so. This is an invitation to everyone, and it means “if ANYONE thirst, let him or her come unto me and drink.”
And when I say, “everyone,” I mean everyone. Jesus was speaking to a vast crowd of people – perhaps thousands – without any hint of restriction. There were Pharisees in that crowd and Sadducees; there were Hebrew-speaking people, Aramaic-speakers as well as Greek and Roman proselytes. There were probably children there and grandmothers – this took place in the Court of the Women. It didn’t matter if there were publicans who heard him, or harlots, or even Samaritans or Palestinians. The gospel should be extended into Gaza as well as Jerusalem.
Jesus said, “COME unto me, if you are thirsty,” just as elsewhere He said, “COME unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.” And, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” Speaking of children, usually they aren’t the least bit shy to tell someone they are thirsty. But their parents often don’t know exactly how dehydrated they are – especially spiritually. Everyone, without Christ is utterly dehydrated – empty – but very few are willing to admit it. “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” – if any man realizes his need; if any man will admit it. The truth is – (Christ might have said) – the truth is you all are dying of thirst, so come unto me and drink. Leave your water bottles at the broken cisterns; walk away from those dry wells, and come to the Lord to have your need quenched.
“Come” is one of the most important and most potent of all Biblical words. Come to the Saviour. Come as you are. Come where you are. You don’t need to go forward in a church. Jesus says, “come,” but as the Lord’s spokesman, I say “GO to the Saviour.” You don’t need to come to me, unless you have questions, and problems. “Come every soul by sin oppressed, there’s mercy with the Lord.”
Then finally, the Lord appends a PROMISE to His invitation.
“If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” John who was there at the time, and knowing a lot more than all the rest of those Jews, went on to explain… “But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive…”
Perhaps this is taking us a beyond what is essential at this point, but the Spirit obviously wanted us to have it. When dying souls – when souls nearing eternity without the Saviour – come to Christ for life, they become new creatures. They aren’t reshaped and cleaned up in order to spend their lives in any way they see fit. They are new creatures in Christ – they are a new kind of being – they are children of God. And whereas they had been empty, void and utterly useless, in Christ they become much like Him. The child of God, becomes a conduit of water himself – a means of sharing the gift of God’s spiritual life. The grace of God is a gift more blessed than nearly anything else, because this is a gift which truly keeps on giving. We might look at John or Peter or Philip as examples. When they turned to the fountain of life, they became filled with life and soon began to share Christ with others. That is what salvation does.
And we might use that to test whether or not our personal thirst has been quenched. Do you love the Saviour and do you love those who love the Saviour? Do you long to share the blessings of Christ with others? Was there a day when you were excited about being baptized as a testimony of the Lord’s blessing to you? Do you yearn for the Lord’s glory in your life? Such things indicate the presence of the Spirit of God in your belly – your soul.
Have you heard the invitation the Lord Jesus shared on that last day – that special day? Are you a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus?