Thirst no More

“And in the last day of the great feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” (John 7:37)

This was the feast of the Tabernacles which is also known as Sukkot. It begins on the fifteenth day of Tishri which may fall on September or October depending on the count of the days of the Jewish calendar. It comes five days after the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur which is 10 days after Rosh Hashanah. It celebrates the journey of the Israelites from Egypt through the wilderness and God’s provision for their every need. Traditionally they erect little booths to commemorate the shelters their ancestors lived in and eat and sleep in the booths or shelters for the seven days of the feast. The last day, the seventh day is called the Great Day of the Feast. This is when Jesus proclaims that if they thirst to go to Him and drink.

This was quite a proclamation. The priests had a tradition of getting what they considered living water from the pool of Siloam which was fed by the Gihon Spring. They then poured it on the altar of sacrifice for those seven days. Since they considered the water living water, it was used for purifying and so the living water on the altar of sacrifice purified the altar.

When Jesus tells the people on the Great Day of the Feast, that if they are thirsty to go to Him and drink, He is making a profound proclamation. Then He further proclaims, “He who believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." (John 7:38) By these proclamations He is revealing that He is God, the one Who purifies and gives life and that He is the source of the living waters which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit which had not been given yet. We know from the Scriptures the reactions of those who heard Him. Some believed Him to be the Prophet. Some said He was the Christ. Other didn’t believe because they erroneously didn’t know Jesus was born in Bethlehem. And the soldiers wanted to seize Him. 

With these proclamations, Jesus was revealing His divinity. Jesus is God. John reveals this in the first verse of his Gospel. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.” (John 1:1-3) He is the Creator. Paul and Timothy collaborate and write: “For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:16) The writer of Hebrews also acknowledges that Jesus is God. “For to which of the angels did He say at any time, "You are My Son, this day I have begotten You?" And again, "I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?" And again, when He brings in the First-born into the world, He says, "And let all the angels of God worship Him." And of the angels He says, "Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire." But to the Son He says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.” (Hebrews 1:5-8) He quotes prophecy from Psalms 2:7; Revelation 5:11,12 and Psalms 45:6,7.

Jesus is the One Who gives us life. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4) When Lazarus died, Jesus waited days before going to see him. Lazarus had been in the tomb three days already. Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters tell Jesus that their brother is dead and already stinks. In speaking to Martha... “Jesus said to her, I am the Resurrection and the Life! He who believes in Me, though he die, yet he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) And He resurrects Lazarus. And in his epistle, John writes, “ He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1John 5:12)

Jeus is the source of living water. Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman and reveals it to her. “Jesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14) Jesus reveals to her that not only is He the source of living water, but He is the life giver.

Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit Who makes rivers of God’s life-giving anointing to flow out of us. “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.” (1John 2:20) Then later John adds, “But the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true and no lie, and as He has taught you, abide in Him.” (1John 2:27) That anointing is for the same purposes for which Jesus was anointed. “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me; because of this He has anointed Me to proclaim the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and new sight to the blind, to set at liberty those having been crushed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19) While we don’t heal, we are the conduit through which Jesus heals when we lay hands on the sick and pray for them. “And miraculous signs will follow to those believing these things: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will be well.” (Mark 16:17-18) We are to carry on the mission of Jesus. “Therefore, go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20) This is the Great Commission.

In short, our Scripture of study was just one of the times that Jesus revealed Himself and His purpose. He’s gone to be with the Father where He intercedes for us as our high priest, countering the lies of the devil’s accusations against us. “And I heard a great voice saying in Heaven, Now has come the salvation and power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers is cast down, who accused them before our God, day and night.” (Revelation 12:10) And although He is not with us in body, He is with us in Spirit. He sent the Holy Spirit to abide in us. Jesus said, “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, so that He may be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him nor know Him. But you know Him, for He dwells with you and shall be in you.” (John 14:16-17) And it’s through the Holy Spirit that Jesus is with us. Not only Jesus but the Father also. The Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are One, three persons in One God. I will not try to explain the Holy Trinity or the Godhead because even if I could explain it, we still don’t understand how that can be because it’s a divine Truth and principal we cannot understand in earthly terms.

Let us pray:

Father God, thank You for Your eternal plan for me. From the beginning of creation, You knew me and my need for a Savior, a life-giving Lord Who could pay the debt I incurred with my sins. It was a debt I couldn’t pay in any way. Even my death would not have been able to cleanse me. You do not accept a sacrifice tainted with the scent of sin. Thank You Jesus that You are God, righteous in every way, holy and an acceptable sacrifice to pay my debt with Your wounds and death, to cleanse me and to keep me for eternity. I submit today to Your Lordship. You are my King and Lord. I cede my life to You, Your authority and Your Will. Help me by the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill my part of the covenant that we have. You have never failed Your promises and will ever be faithful. Forgive me my unfaithfulness. I need Your supernatural living water to heal those parts of me that hinder me. Only through the Holy Spirit am I able to obey. Help me to suppress the flesh and to abandon the world which impede me here on earth. Help me to always pray for Your Word and the Holy Spirit to lead and guide me. In the Name of Jesus I pray, amen.