The Gospel of John | If Anyone Is Thirsty Let Him Come to Me and Drink – John 7:1-52
Jesus is the promised provision of God and all who come to Him will be filled.
The Feast of Booths was a time of great celebration for the Jewish people. This feast celebrating the provision of God in the lives of the people, giving glory to God for the harvest and for their own personal safety. It coincides with the harvest where people bring the fruits of the labor, celebrating that God has provided. But it also looks at the Israelites wandering through the desert and God’s continued and miraculous provision for the people during this time. All throughout Jerusalem, tents would spring up as people from all over came for this seven day festival as the tents allowed the light to shine in and could see the stars at night, reminding the people of their historical time wanderings where God provided. At the end, the Priest would bring the water to pour over the altar as a sign of celebration. Largely, this event was considered a time of great celebration and joy.
For Jesus and the disciples, this time, the Feast of Booths came at a trying and difficult time. From the teachings of Jesus Christ in chapter 6, with their biting message of those who would only seek after Jesus for their own gain, the Jewish leaders of the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin felt personally attacked. To be fair, this is largely a fair assessment as well. Yet, their response was they sought a way to silence and kill this rogue teacher who taught doctrine that contradicted the system they had set in place. After all, Jesus claimed to be the promised Messiah and the only access to eternity. Yet, many who had followed Jesus, not receiving the miracle they felt entitled to, fell away. While it was customary for everyone who could attend the Feast of Booths to attend, Jesus moved cautiously as He knew the plot to kill Him had been stirring.
Throughout chapter 7, you see a range of belief about who Jesus is and about His purpose. Even at the start, you have the brothers of Jesus, in true brotherly fashion, mocking Jesus for not attending saying if He wanted to be known, He would go. In truth, they felt that His public ministry would prove Him to be a fraud hence why He had been seeking to not attend. Furthermore, later on in the chapter, you see people questioning who this man who taught this so authoritatively was and asked if this could be the Christ. Yet, the message of Jesus remained steadfast throughout His life. Jesus is the Christ, the promised and prophesied Messiah that comes to save and redeem His people from their sins. Nothing else would be able to provide as fully or as holistically as Jesus would. Now, during the Festival of Booths, which would celebrate the provision of God, Jesus would attend in secret and, at the right time, reveal Himself as the only means of provision. Out of Him and Him alone flows the life that conquers and defeats death.
The Provision of God in Jesus Christ
As Jesus arrives at the festival, already half over, Jesus begins to teach. This public stance asserted His authority and position as someone able to teach during this special time during the rhythm of the Israelites. For a person to stand up and teach presented itself as an act act authority rather than a time for people to try to teach or develop skills. Jesus taught during this time. And He taught with a clear authority, greater than anything the Pharisees and Sanhedrin presented in their teaching. Understandably, the religious leaders felt threatened and challenged Jesus publicly. Jesus’ message always came at the description of Himself as the hope of all humanity for all of time. Furthermore, though, He called out the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of the day placing them underneath the authority of Jesus Christ. As Jesus taught, though, He taught during the Feasts of Booths, which celebrating God’s deliverance of His people out of the desert and God’s provision. As the people questioned how Jesus could teach without having studied the scriptures like the Pharisees of the that day, the answer reinforced the idea of the provision of God.
Jesus Christ could have justifiable leaned on His own authority as being God incarnate and made flesh. Yet, being at the Feast of Booths, the focus would be on God’s ability to provide. Hence Jesus’ answer, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.” (John 7:16-18, ESV) Once again, Jesus asserts His unity with the Father, speaking only what the Father has sent Him to preach. The life people look for can only be found in Jesus Christ who is the provision for the salvation of the people. The life everyone looks for can only be found in Jesus Christ. To truly celebrate the provision of God to rescue people from the desert of their lives, we must be willing to submit fully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and fully put our hope in Him. Where the Pharisees purported to know scripture, they lacked the true understanding of the one scripture pointed to.
- How does Jesus’ answer to the question of His authority relate to the idea of provision in the Feast of Booths?
Are You Thirsty?
At the height of the festival on the final day, the priest would bring a lulav of water to pour over the altar. This celebrated the bringing of the water from the rocks by Moses. First, Moses had been commanded to strike the rock and water burst forth for the people to slake their thirst. The second time, God commanded Moses to speak to the rock that water would come out. Instead, Moses struck the rock and would forever pay the price for the disobedience by only being able to look on the prime land rather than enter into it. Commentators have suggested that the rock, representing Jesus would only need to be struck (crucified) once before we could approach and speak to the rock. As the priest brought the water to the altar, at this moment, Jesus proclaimed that everyone who would be thirsty could find their thirst quenched in Him. No other source of water would be able to satisfy and the water of the past pointed directly to Him. This dramatic moment points to the sufficiency of Jesus Christ as our provision. At the highest point of celebration for the Festival of Booths, we find Jesus at the center pointing to Himself for the glory of God.
In truth, everyone is thirsty whether we acknowledge it or even understand it ourselves. Deep down, we feel a deep longer for something that goes beyond ourselves and beyond this world to something to truly sustain and fill our thirst. Yet, many of us look to many different things to fill this thirst. We chase after sex, money, power, and anything else that acts as counterfeits to the authentic fulfillment that comes from Jesus Christ. Then, when we have had a taste and found nothing but salt and gaul we long for something else. It is only when we come to Jesus that we will find our thirsty truly satisfied. For Jesus to proclaim “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” (John 7:37, ESV) during the feast of booths communicates loudly that the fulfillment of provision the people search and long for can only come from Him. God will provide for the needs and blessing of the people but only through the works of Jesus Christ and for the glory of God.
- What does it mean that Jesus satisfies our thirst and how does this compare with the Israelites walking through the desert?
Christ Satisfying Our Thirst
Not everyone, though, met the words of Christ with the same fanfare and relief as they arguably should have, though. After all, Jesus had made it clear time and time again that the world hated Him because of His relentless and persistent calling out of the hypocrisy of the world. Those who chase after sex, money, and power, with no ambition to change, found themselves deeply offended by Christ’s exclusive language. The Pharisees plotted the death of Jesus and during this festival, sent the guards after Him to arrest Him. While they had studied the scriptures diligently, they had not yet drank from the abundance of their thirst. Conversely the guards who had been sent to arrest Jesus could not do so. In their humility the guards heard the teachings of Jesus, witnessed the impact of authentic truth and submitted to Him. While they partially feared a riot would break out for arresting this polarizing teacher, their response for not fulfilling their duties shocked the religious leaders of the day. “The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” (John 7:46-49, ESV) The deep thirst of the guards had been met by the word of God, resonating deep within the soul of those who hear and receive.
The power of Jesus Christ is transformative for those who bow before Him as hope and provision of eternity. As Jesus spoke on the last day, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37-38 ESV) Nicodemus, who once challenged Jesus late in the night, now stands before the religious leaders challenging their hypocrisy. Nicodemus once behaved like the people at the festival; intrigued at the teachings but scared to openly discuss Jesus. Now, Nicodemus stands in the strength of one who has found his provision in Jesus Christ. There is a transformation that occurs in coming to Jesus Christ. His presence inhabits us and overflows out of us. The water that satisfies our thirst consumes us until the point of overflowing and we bear witness to its source: Jesus Christ, our provision of life who rescues us from the desert of our sin. When Jesus become all we need, our hope and provision, the things of this world will no longer satisfy or sustain us. Acknowledge your thirst for something greater than what this world offers. Submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And find a sustaining that will last for all eternity.
Discussion Questions
- Where are you thirsty for God in our life? Where do you need to acknowledge your thirst?
- What are some of the ways that people find provision in other things?
- What does it mean to come to Jesus and have our thirst quenched? How does Jesus provide for our every need?
- How does the presence of God transform a person to be more bold of a witness for Christ?
- What have you experienced with God’s provision in the past?
- Where do we struggle with coming to God and drinking from the water He offers?
- What fears do we have about whether God will provide in the future? How does understanding our past help us to navigate through the unknown of our future?
