Come All You Thirsty

So, John chapter 7, and we left off last Sunday in about verse 32.

John 7 · chapter mention

I'm just going to...

So, we made it down to verse 32, and as we got there, we saw that things were starting

to really heat up between Jesus and the crowd that was gathered.

Jesus is in the temple courts, and he's teaching the many who have come to gather for the Jewish

Festival of Tabernacles, and we saw last Sunday how there was quite a combination of responses

within the crowd to Jesus.

Verse 30, at this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his

hour had not yet come.

Still many in the crowd believed in him.

They said, when the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?

The implied answer, I don't think so.

He must be the one.

So, some are looking to get Jesus arrested, while others are expressing confidence and

faith that he's the Messiah.

Verse 32, the Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him.

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

So, the Pharisees, some of them are here in the crowd, listening to all that Jesus is saying.

They're hearing all the whisperings of the people in the crowd.

They're hearing some of those people who are saying, look, here he is, and the religious

leaders aren't saying a word to him.

Maybe they've concluded that he is the Messiah.

And the Pharisees who are here listening to this, they go back to the chief priests, the leaders

of the Pharisees.

And in turn, the temple guards are sent out to arrest Jesus.

The word for guards, in the original language, it's kind of like our word for attendance.

From what we know, these men were descended from Levi, just like the priests and everyone

else who served in and around the temple were supposed to be.

So, when you hear guards or temple police, as some translations say, it's probably best

not to think of them as thugs with shields and spears or as rent-a-cops or as, you know,

the British royal guard with those big black fair-fur caps just standing motionless at the entrance

all day long.

Exactly what these guards did, we don't know all the details.

But they seem to take direction from the chief priests and religious leaders, and they seem

to be mainly employed in matters related to the Jewish law, enforcing that, and keeping

order at the temple.

So, the religious leaders, they're thinking, all right, this has gone far enough, this is

getting out of hand.

Jesus is beginning to sway some of the people here.

We've got to put a stop to this.

We've got to bring Jesus in.

So, they send the temple guards out to arrest Jesus.

So, what happens next?

Well, John, the one who is telling the story here, decides to hold us in suspense for just

a little bit.

Instead of telling us right away, he flips back to what's, back to Jesus and what's going

on in the temple courts, I think probably while all this is happening.

Jesus said,

It's kind of a mysterious thing to say, isn't it?

Almost like something out of a movie that gets said before the main character goes into hiding.

Jesus says,

My time with you is short, and then I'm going to the one who sent me.

Of course, because we've been listening closely and following along with the story, we know

what Jesus means.

We know he means, I'm going to my Father, to God.

He says,

You will look for me, but you will not find me.

Where I am going, you cannot come.

And of course, the big question on everyone's mind is, well, where is that?

Where are you talking about?

Verse 35,

So the crowd is perplexed by this.

They can't seem to imagine that there's anywhere Jesus could go or hide where somebody wouldn't

be able to find him or follow him.

Some of them are speculating that maybe he even has plans to get out of the country, go

traveling abroad, though even this idea seems unlikely.

I mean, surely he wouldn't go and teach the Greeks, would he?

What else could he possibly mean?

Where I am, you cannot come.

You will not find me.

So Jesus tells him that he's soon to leave, to go away, and the crowd is kind of baffled

by his words.

Verse 37,

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice,

Now before I read it, let's just notice that there does seem to be a shift in the narrative

here.

And we're kind of left to wonder, is this a different day than the day that the guards

were sent to arrest Jesus?

Or is this the same day?

Is it that they went and Jesus was already gone for the day and they came back the next

day, the last day of the festival?

Or is this all happening on the same day and John's kind of shuffling things around, trying

to bring it all together, things that are all in motion at once and help us see how this

all came to a head on the last day?

Again, is Jesus in the temple courts still?

Or has he moved to another spot?

It's not clearly spelled out in detail.

But whatever the case, the guards are still there.

They're on their mission to arrest Jesus, to bring him to the religious leaders.

And John wants us to know that this is happening on the final day of the festival.

So on the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice,

Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.

Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within

them.

Can you feel this moment?

Can you feel the impact of these words on the crowd that has gathered?

These are quite the words.

They remind us of his conversation with the woman at the well.

He talks about being thirsty, about getting a drink from him, about living water.

And of course, if we've been listening carefully, we know Jesus is not just talking about physical,

tangible water.

His words obviously have a deeper meaning.

Rivers of living water will flow from within the person who believes in me, he says.

What does Jesus mean by that?

Thankfully, John, the one who has written all this down for us, the one telling the story,

he knows that there's some of us reading who probably need a little help here to understand

what Jesus is talking about.

So he explains it in verse 39.

By this, he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

Up to that time, the Spirit had not yet been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

So Jesus is talking in metaphor, maybe about something that none of us would have really guessed,

unless we had John's help or had been there to ask Jesus about it.

So what's all this about?

Well, D.A. Carson, a Bible commentator, had some helpful thoughts here for me this week.

He reminded me in his commentary that this was the festival of tabernacles, the festival of booths.

Now, there's lots that we could dig into about the festival, but one of the things that Carson pointed out to me is that

it was a time in which they remembered their journeys through the wilderness.

During that festival, they were actually supposed to set up tents, little tabernacles, and live in them for several days.

It was kind of a way for them to reflect back on how God had led their forefathers through the desert from Egypt into the Promised Land.

And so part of the focus of the festival was on how God provided for the Israelites long ago in the wilderness.

He provided manna for them to eat when they were hungry, and he provided water for them to drink when they were thirsty.

Water was scarce in the desert, and thirst was felt pretty intensely by the people at many of the places they camped,

because some of the places had very little water or even no water.

I just read this past week how God led them to a place where there was no water at all,

and then miraculously provided a flow of water to quench the thirst of the whole nation from a rock.

And not only this, but apparently there were also some traditions, I didn't know about this before,

that the Jewish people had at this festival pertaining to water.

According to Carson, on the last day of the festival, they would fill a golden flagon, like a golden jug,

with water from the Pool of Siloam, and then they would have this procession up to the temple

with the high priest kind of leading them.

And when they entered in through the water gate, there would be a sound of three blasts from the shofar, the trumpet.

And then while everybody who was gathered there watched,

the priests would kind of do a little procession with this water around the altar,

and the temple choir would be there, they'd be singing the Hillel Psalms,

the last psalms of the Book of Psalms,

and then at the end everybody would shout out,

give thanks to the Lord,

and the water would be offered along with the morning sacrifice.

Now this whole water in the jar thing was not prescribed in the Old Testament law,

but it was apparently something that they did to commemorate and to celebrate,

to give thanks for God's provision of water long ago in the wilderness.

We could add to that understanding that there are also many places in the Old Testament scriptures

where God uses the language of water as a symbol of cleansing,

of giving renewal and life to his people,

and even of the coming of the Spirit.

The prophet Joel spoke of the day when the Spirit would be poured out

in the last days upon the people.

And so taking all these things together,

suddenly we can get a bit of a sense as to why Jesus is suddenly talking about water.

Why might he have said what he did?

This is a time in which traditionally thirst and water is very much on the minds of the people.

Many of them have traveled from far ways.

They're not currently enjoying the convenience of their own well back home.

The festival marks a time in which their ancestors experienced thirst

and had their thirst quenched by God's gracious provision.

And for those faithful few, there is a longing for God to fulfill that promise

and to pour out his Spirit as he said he would long ago.

Whether Jesus had already said some of these things or taught about these things, we don't know.

But this loud cry that he makes to the people didn't just come out of nowhere.

It's not totally without context.

Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.

Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said,

rivers of living water will flow from within them.

Jesus is calling anyone who feels that deep thirst within them,

anyone who has that longing for God to meet their deepest needs,

he's calling them to come to him and drink.

To take his words into themselves to the deepest levels,

to believe them, to trust him.

Whoever believes in me, says Jesus,

rivers of living water will flow from within them.

I love this.

Not just a river, but rivers, plural.

Not just any water, but living water.

The water which gives life.

Not that stagnant stuff in the puddle over there.

But the clear, cool, refreshing, revitalizing water that comes from the mountains in the river.

And not just that these waters in the river will flow to them,

but that they will flow forth from within them.

Just as God's provision of water burst forth from the rock

to quench the thirst of the whole nation,

in the same way, rivers of living water will burst forth from inside you,

from the depths, and flow forth.

This is a pretty extravagant promise that Jesus is making.

Perhaps you remember the words of David long ago in Psalm 23.

He said, you anoint my head with oil.

My cup overflows.

The cup is full,

and yet you continue to pour more blessing in until it runs over.

Jesus kind of blows that metaphor out of the water.

River, rivers will flow forth from within you.

How is this possible?

What does this mean?

We're not the only ones wondering.

John tells us that by this,

Jesus means the Spirit.

The Spirit of God.

God will give His Spirit

to dwell in you.

And it's God's own Spirit in us

who will be the source of these rivers

of living water,

which are flowing forth

from the depths of our beings.

But John tells us

that the giving of this gift of the Spirit

to those who thirst

and come to believe in Him

did not happen until

later when Jesus was glorified.

And we'll hear more about that later

when we get to that in John.

But now,

John tells us about what the crowd is thinking

as they hear these words.

Verse 40.

On hearing His words,

some of the people said,

surely this man is the prophet.

Others said,

he is the Messiah.

Still others asked,

how can the Messiah come from Galilee?

Does not Scripture say

that the Messiah will come

from David's descendants

and from Bethlehem,

the town where David lived?

Thus the people were divided

because of Jesus.

Some wanted to seize Him,

but no one laid a hand on Him.

So again,

we see further division within the crowd.

Jesus cries out

with these wonderful words of invitation,

these wonderful words of life,

come to me,

all you who are thirsty

and drink.

Believe in me.

And the response is quite mixed.

Some who hear this

seem convinced

that He is the prophet,

like the ultimate prophet

promised long ago

through Moses.

They're thinking,

He does speak

the very words of God,

just like the prophets of old did.

Others seem convinced

that He's the Messiah.

They're thinking more

in terms of the ultimate king

that God promised long ago.

But then still others

are disagreeing with that.

He can't be the Messiah.

The scriptures say clearly

that the Messiah

will be descended from David,

will come from the village

of Bethlehem,

but this man is from Galilee.

And I can't help but think,

what the irony of this objection.

Again, it just goes to show

that this crowd

does not know Jesus

as well as they think they do.

As the other gospel writers

make very clear,

He is in fact

a blood descendant of David.

His whole genealogy

is listed out

in other gospels.

And He was in fact

born in Bethlehem,

a true history

which can be corroborated

by a whole bunch

of different witnesses.

Even though He now resides

in the north,

in Galilee,

the scripture will be fulfilled.

The scepter will not

depart from Judah

because Jesus is

of the line of Judah,

the tribe of Judah.

He is a son of David,

the son of David,

just as the angel said to Mary.

So it was a mixed response

from the crowd.

And again,

Jesus tells us,

John tells us,

that they wanted to seize Jesus,

but no one laid a hand on Him.

Well finally,

let's find out

what happened

with the temple guards

who were also there that day.

Verse 45,

finally the temple guards

went back to the chief priests

and the Pharisees

who asked them,

why didn't you bring Him in?

No one ever spoke

the way this man does,

the guards replied.

I love that.

These guards

also heard

what Jesus said that day

when He cried out.

I got thinking,

you know,

they could have given

a different reason here.

They could have said,

well, we didn't arrest Him

because we thought

it might start a riot

and it looked like

many in the crowd

were believing Him.

They could have said that.

But no,

instead they chose

to say,

we didn't arrest Him

because no man

has ever spoken

the way this man does.

They chose not to arrest

Jesus that day

because they were listening

to what He was saying.

And maybe,

just maybe,

they had come

to believe in Him too

or were on their way.

I don't want to speculate

too much,

but they seemed

to regard Jesus

well enough

that they chose

to defy

the orders

of the ones

who sent them.

Perhaps even knowing

that there could be

consequences.

The response

of the leaders

to this

is very telling.

Verse 47,

You mean

He has deceived you also?

The Pharisees retorted.

You can just hear

the frustration

leaking through.

Blast you

good for nothing

temple guards.

You're useless.

So you've been brainwashed

by this guy's teaching too,

haven't you?

It's almost like

they're trying to shame them.

They go on.

Have any of the rulers

of the Pharisees

believed in Him?

No.

But this mob

that knows nothing

of the law,

there's a curse

on them.

You can just feel

the animosity,

the frustration

oozing out of them.

You can hear

the pride swelling.

We're the rulers.

We're the Pharisees.

We're the religious leaders,

the experts

in the law.

None of us

has believed in Him.

You're just like

all those idiots

in the crowd

who are completely

ignorant of the law.

they're accursed.

But perhaps

unbeknownst to them,

there is one ruler

who might be getting close

or perhaps already

believe in Jesus.

And at just the right moment

he steps forward

just to show

actually there might be

somebody here

among us

who does

believe Him.

verse 50.

Nicodemus,

who had gone

to Jesus earlier

and who was one

of their own number,

asked,

does our law

condemn a man

without first hearing him

to find out

what he has been doing?

Very wise reply.

Not only does he

let the guards know

that, yeah,

there actually might be

someone from

among the leaders

who is not sure

that Jesus

is the bad guy,

but he also

calls the Pharisees

out on their

scheming here.

I mean,

you guys are thinking

here and acting

and treating him

as if he's already

been condemned,

as if the trial's

already been

taking place,

the verdict

is already decided.

When are we going

to have a proper

trial here?

And it's here

that the Pharisees

show their true colors

because

the crowd's not here,

this is just

an internal

meeting here,

the leaders

and the guards,

if they only

intended to bring

Jesus in

for a fair trial,

this was their

opportunity to say so.

They could have

just said,

Nicodemus,

that's the very

reason we sent

the guards

to arrest him.

We wanted to

bring him in

so that we could

have a proper

hearing and get

to the bottom

of this.

But that's not

how they respond

or what they stay.

Instead,

they bark back

at Nicodemus

and shut him

down.

Verse 52,

Are you from

Galilee too?

Look into it

and you will find

that a prophet

does not come

out of Galilee.

We've got a little

bit of regional

tension going on

here.

Like,

what?

Are you a

Galilean too?

Another one of

those inferior

Galileans,

second-class

northerners,

do your homework,

bub.

Get your

scriptures out

and read them.

You'll see

there's no prophet

coming out of

Galilee,

spoken of there.

Just shut down.

It happens today.

We hear about it

in the news

and it happened

back then too.

Nicodemus was

just stereotyped,

insulted,

and cancelled.

Why?

Why?

I think because

his comment

hit a little

too close to

home.

He knew that

what they were

planning was

not a proper

hearing or

trial for

Jesus.

In their

minds,

Jesus was

already on

death row.

So the plot

thickens.

Just like in

the days long

before,

the corrupt

and wicked

rulers sent

in the

enforcers to

go after

God's man.

And again,

just like in

the days

before,

God delivers

his anointed,

his chosen

one,

by turning

the very

hearts of

the men

sent to

arrest him.

As hard

as the

religious leaders

try,

they so far

are unsuccessful

in keeping

Jesus from

speaking the

words which

God has

sent him

to speak.

And the

message of

God is

ringing out.

And while

there's

opposition to

it,

and some

do not

believe it,

some are

angry and

want Jesus

arrested,

some are

truly hearing

and they

are coming

to believe

that Jesus

truly is

who he

says he

is.

Well,

what's here

in all of

this for

us this

morning?

I want to

point us

back to

these words

moments as

Jesus stood

and cried

out.

I want

you to

imagine

yourself

there in

the crowd

that moment

as he

stood up

and cried

out,

let anyone

who is

thirsty

come to

me and

drink.

Whoever

believes in

me, as

scripture has

said,

rivers of

living water

will flow

from within

them.

what kind

of response

is Jesus

looking for

from them

in this

moment?

It's the

same response

that he's

looking for

from you

and me.

Are you

thirsty?

Does your

soul thirst?

The truth

is that we

all thirst.

We all

have deep

longings in

our souls.

we were

made to

thirst and

be quenched,

both in

the outward

physical way

and also

in the

inward way.

And so

in some

ways the

question is

not so

much do

you thirst,

but how

do you

quench

your thirst?

What do

you thirst

for?

Long

ago through

the prophet

Jeremiah,

God said

this,

he said,

this is

Jeremiah

2.13,

my people

have committed

two sins,

they have

forsaken

me,

the spring

of living

water,

and have

dug their

own

cisterns,

broken

cisterns

that cannot

hold

water.

This is

what the

wilderness

wanderings

were meant

to teach

them long

ago.

God led

them on

purpose

into places

where there

was no

water,

so that

they would

come to

see that

he is

the one

who can

quench

our thirst,

and not

just our

bodily

thirst,

but the

thirst of

our souls,

the deeper

thirst,

that deep

longing and

need that

we have

for life

in here.

water.

God

himself is

the spring

of living

water,

but we

have this

bent

called sin

where we

tend to

turn away

from him

and seek

our own

alternative

sources

which cannot

even compare

to him.

which would

you rather

drink?

The fresh

clear flow

of a

spring

near the

base of

a mountain

or that

water that's

been sitting

there in a

cistern in

the ground,

that broken

cistern that's

cracked where

the water

leaks out and

the dirt

seeps in?

What do

you thirst

for?

What have

you been

trying to

quench the

thirst of

your soul

with?

the

pleasures of

this world?

Stuff?

Money?

Netflix?

Facebook?

Food?

We were

made to

thirst for

God himself

just as our

bodies were

made to

thirst for

water.

We were

made to

cry out

like David

did in

the desert

O God,

you are

my God.

Earnestly I

seek you.

I thirst

for you.

My whole

being longs

for you

in a dry

and parched

land where

there is no

water.

The good

news of

Jesus is

not just

something for

our heads

to believe

in.

It's not

just a

ticket to

hold on

to for

a later

time.

The good

news of

Jesus is

this.

God wants

to quench

the thirst

of your

soul.

He wants

to provide

you with

that drink

that will

truly satisfy

and refresh

you and

give life

to you.

And not

just a

drop or

two or

a little

cup that

will leave

you longing

for more.

No,

he wants

to put

the fountain

of all

life itself

inside you.

He wants

to put his

own spirit,

the source

of life,

in you

and cause

his rivers

of living

water to

flow

forth

from inside

you.

Are you

thirsty for

that?

Do you

want that?

Then leave

your broken

cisterns

behind

and come

to Jesus

and drink

what he is

holding out

to you.

Believe in

him.

Listen to

his words.

Take them

into your

heart.

Follow

him.

Surrender

to him.

And this

extravagant

gift of

life is

yours.

This is

the good

news of

Jesus.

I pray

that we'll

believe it.

Father in

heaven,

we thank

you

that you

sent Jesus

into our

world

to quench

our thirsts,

to give

us the

ultimate

gift,

the

ultimate

drink.

I pray

that our

hearts would

embrace

that.

Lord, I

know in

my own

heart this

week, I've

found myself

distracted and

looking at

all kinds of

different things

going on around

me, longing,

looking for

relief and

refreshment in

these trying

times, but

it's you.

You're the

one that we

need.

You're the

one who

quenches our

thirst so

that we

never thirst

again.

Help us to

see that.

Help us to

cling to that

truth in

these days

ahead and

to share it

with others.

In Jesus'

name, amen.