1 Samuel 14:1-52
John 7:31-53
Psalm 109:1-31
Proverbs 15:5-7
John 7:37 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. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
Jesus is the living water and those of us who come to Him will have rivers of living water flowing from within us. That is why this blog is called Living Water. Being in the word every day is like diving into Jesus and His word. Writing this blog keeps me accountable and gives me a thirst to dive in every day so that I might make Jesus first in my life and that living water might flow from within me like a river also.
I picked this scripture out when I read it but did not write on it till now which is the night I got home from a very exhausting and challenging youth group retreat. As I re-read these scriptures I have some strong feelings and ideas but in my exhausted state I am not making enough sense of them to type it out. So, I decided to read some cometary on it. I like the Enduring Word commentary because it pulls from various commentators and breaks them down verse by verse.
This is the link for the commentary on the full chapter for your enjoyment.
Here are the commentaries on this verse in particular. If you would rather listen than read, below the quote is a video sermon that is really good.
a. On the last day, that great day of the feast: The Feast of Tabernacles lasted eight days. All through the first seven days water from the Pool of Siloam was carried in a golden pitcher and poured out at the altar to remind everyone of the water God miraculously provided for a thirsty Israel in the wilderness. It seems that on the eighth day there was no pouring of water – only prayers for water – to remind them that they came into the Promised Land.
i. “But the eighth day was not properly one of the feast days; the people ceased to dwell in the tabernacles on the seventh day. Philo says of it that it was the solemn conclusion, not of that feast alone, but of all the feasts in the year.” (Alford)
ii. This was the last feast-time Jesus would spend in Jerusalem before the Passover of His death. This was the last day of the last feast; the last time He would speak to many of them before His crucifixion.
b. Jesus stood and cried out: What Jesus was about to say was of great importance.
· Important because of where He said it (standing in the temple courts, right outside the temple itself).
· Important because of when He said it (at the last day of Tabernacles, after water had been poured out on the previous days).
· Important because of how He said it (crying out, even shouting – in contrast to the general tone of His ministry, according to Isaiah 42:2: He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street).
c. If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink: The celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles emphasized how God provided water to Israel in the wilderness on their way to Canaan. Jesus boldly called people to Himself to drink and satisfy their deepest thirst, their spiritual thirst.
i. The invitation was broad because it said, if anyone. Intelligence, race, class, nationality, or political party don’t limit it. The invitation was narrow because it said, if anyone thirsts. One must see their need. Thirst is not anything in itself; it is a lack of something. It is an emptiness, a crying need.
ii. There is dispute among commentators as to if Jesus said this as water was being poured out, or if He did it on the day when no water was poured out. It is perhaps impossible to be certain, but John’s emphasis on the last day probably indicates that Jesus meant to show a contrast. “There’s no more water at the temple and in the rituals we love. I have the water you’re looking for.”
iii. “On the eighth day no water was poured, and this would make Jesus’ claim all the more impressive.” (Morris)
iv. “On the eighth day, which commemorated their entrance into ‘a land of springs of water,’ this ceremony was discontinued. But the deeper spirits must have viewed with some misgiving all this ritual, feeling still in themselves a thirst which none of these symbolic forms quenched.” (Dods)
d. He who believes in Me: Jesus explained what He meant by the metaphor of drinking. To come to Jesus and to drink was essentially to put one’s faith into Him; to trust in, rely on, and cling to Jesus for both time and eternity.
i. “Then thou art told to drink. That is not a difficult action. Any fool can drink: in fact, many are great fools because they drink too much of poisonous liquors. Drinking is peculiarly the common-place act of sinners.” (Spurgeon)
e. Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water: For the one who does believe in Him, Jesus offered a perpetual river of living water out of His innermost being. Tabernacles also looked forward to the prophecies of water flowing from the throne and from Jerusalem where Messiah would be enthroned. Essentially Jesus said, “Put your loving trust in Me, enthrone Me in your heart, and life and abundance will flow out.”
i. “The Greek is, ‘out of his belly’, i.e. ‘from his innermost being’.” (Morris)
ii. Jesus did not only speak of something coming into a person, but something flowing out of them as well. It was not only a blessing received, but also becoming a source of blessing to others.
iii. “He was able to satisfy thirst, and, moreover, that those who received such satisfaction from Him should become channels through whom the overflowing rivers should pass.” (Morgan)
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