John 7:37-39 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. [38] He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. [39] (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Opening: Every time there is a “assault weapon” killing at a school or public event, the news media is quick to jump on the band wagon and “ban guns”. Yet we are not told about other terrible incidents that occurred as long as it doesn’t fit the liberal narrative. For instance, did you hear about the China Kindergarten Massacre in southeastern China’s Guangdong province Monday, July 10, 2023? A 25 year old man named Wu attacked a kindergarten killing three children, a teacher and two parents with a knife. The attack occurred as parents were dropping their children off for summer classes. The news article noted:

“Firearms are banned in China but the country has seen a spate of knife attacks in recent years, although there was also one incident where the attacker used a chemical spray to injure a classroom of 50 children. The BBC has counted at least 17 knife attacks in schools, colleges and universities since 2010. Ten of those have happened between 2018 and 2023. In August last year, a knife-wielding assailant stormed a kindergarten in south-eastern Jiangxi province, killing three people and wounding six others. In April 2021, two children died while 16 others were injured during a mass stabbing in Beiliu City, in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. In October 2018, 14 children were injured in a knife attack at a kindergarten in Chongqing, south-west China. In most of these cases, the perpetrators are male and have expressed a grudge against society. ”

Banning guns, perpetrators turn to knives or chemicals. If knives were banned, people would turn to sticks and stones. When Cain killed Abel, it was not with a gun nor a knife, but more likely a handy rock.

What makes people do evil? It is misdirected desires, sins, ignorance of where true satisfaction is. I remember in 1982 when suspect James Lewis spiked bottles of Extra Strength Tylenol® with cyanide poison, killing seven people. Though Lewis was never convicted of the actual tampering, he was imprisoned 12 years for extortion charges related to the incident. No one has ever found the culprit. Lewis recently died, and stands before his Maker to be righteously judged – just as the actual murderer will be one day.

What causes these things? It is not guns, knives, cyanide, poisons, sticks or stones. It is a soul seeking satisfaction outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Feast Of Booths – A Time Of Celebration!

John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.

The “FEAST” that Jesus is at is the Feast of Booths – also called Tabernacles or Sukkot. Tabernacles was an important and joyous time for the Jews. The Feast was when Solomon’s Temple was dedicated to the Lord (1 Kings 8:2). That Temple was destroyed during the Babylonian Captivity. When Israel was allowed to return to their land under King Cyrus of Medo-Persia, Ezra and Zerubbabel, followed by Nehemiah led a crew back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem.

The Word of God was spoken at Booths when Israel restored the Temple (Nehemiah 8). The Living Word of God now speaks at Booths (John 1:1-3)

Booths was a time of celebration! It reminded Israel that God went before them when they came out of the slavery of Egypt, and that as a Pillar of Fire and Pillar of Cloud (Exodus 13:21). The Bible tells us that God gave them water out of the Rock (Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:8-10)

Deuteronomy 8:15-16 {it is God Who} led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, Who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.

In the Apostolic Text we are told “The ROCK WAS CHRIST” (1 Corinthians 10:4). During first seven days of the Feast of Booths the Priest would carry water from the Pool of Siloam in a golden pitcher to the altar of God. This was a graphic reminder to the people that it was God Who satisfied their thirst in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 16:13). On the eighth day (Leviticus 23:36; Nehemiah 8:17) the people ceased dwelling in booths, and NO WATER was taken from Siloam to the altar, though the Priests would say:

Isaiah 12:3 … With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation …

On that last day there was no drawing of water, but remembrance of the water.

The site Bible-History.com notes:

“On the Eighth day, the last day, called “the great day of the feast” the priests made no procession and poured no water onto the pavement … this too was very significant, because it symbolized the fact that God had fulfilled the promise to their fathers … He had now brought them into this land that was well watered, flowing with milk and honey, they no longer needed the miraculous supply out of the Rock. … It was on this day the last day that Jesus stood and cried out..”

John 7:37 .. Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 

Word Study: We read that “Jesus stood”, the Greek histēmi, which means “to make oneself VISIBLE, a point of focus”. When the Wise Men came to see the young Jesus, we are told “the star STOOD (histēmi) over where the young Child was” (Matthew 2:9). When the devil wanted to entice Jesus to sin, he “STOOD (histēmi) Jesus on the pinnacle of the Temple” (Matthew 4:5). When Jesus chastised the Pharisees for their self righteousness, He said “they love to pray STANDING (histēmi) in the synagogues … that they may be seen of men” (Matthew 6:5). Jesus on purpose and very visibly DREW ATTENTION to Himself.

Word Study: Jesus also “cried”, the Greek krazō. The word means “to CROAK like a raven, or SCREAM so as to draw attention”. Jesus did not quietly say, “Excuse Me, may I make a point here”. He LOUDLY and DELIBERATELY interrupted the Hallel Ceremony, possibly after the Priest read:

Psalm 118:22 .. and You {O God} have become my salvation, the Stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone .. and blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

Jesus has come in the Name of the Lord. He is the Representative of the Godhead Who comes offering those who are thirsty satisfaction in their lives. Israel was thirsty in the desert, and God the Father met their need. Jesus interrupts the proceeding in a manner many would consider RUDE. What does our Lord shout?

John 7:37 .. If any man thirst

Jesus offers Himself to ANYONE. If you are THIRSTY, if life is not satisfying to you, if you feel less than or left out, Jesus bids you COME. What is the requirement to come to Jesus? It is that you are THIRSTY. God promised to satisfy Israel’s thirst through the Messiah in the Old Testament. He said:

Isaiah 55:1-4 (NIV) Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. 3 Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. 4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples.

When the Messiah came, it would be to WITNESS salvation to the people, and to RULE His Kingdom. Jesus says, “I am the One the Scripture promised. I am the Messiah. I am the One Who provides Living Water. Come to Me and Me alone”.

John 7:37 … let him come unto Me, and drink.

When Jesus preached His very first sermon, the “Sermon on the Mount”, He preached:

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

We all feel broken, deficient. We all know that we fall short of the glory of God. As the Messiah, Jesus is not just the Provider of our salvation, but He is the Sender of that which satisfies our thirst. Jesus told the Woman of Samaria:

John 4:14 whosoever drinketh 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.

Jesus told us:

John 6:35 … I am the Bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

When you receive the Savior, you receive Satisfaction.
When you receive the Savior, you gain eternal Salvation.
When you receive the Savior, you receive the Holy Spirit.

Faith In Christ Brings Salvation And The Spirit

Jesus said:

John 7:38 (KJV) He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

To those who are saved, God promised the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament the Spirit often came to visit individuals, but never came to stay. When God looked forward to the New Covenant He promised:

Isaiah 44:3 (KJV) For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:

In the Feast of Booths the people lived in tents, receiving sustenance from the Lord. Jesus promised something greater: believers would become tabernacles indwelt of the Spirit.

John 7:38 (KJV) He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

To those who give themselves to Christ there is the satisfied life. He meets our needs. He slakes our thirst. He gives us RIVERS. What causes rivers? Rivers come from a source called the headwater. The headwater can come from runoff, like rainfall or melted snow. Steady rivers come from underground springs or water sources that continually feed them. When you give your life to Jesus, He sends the Holy Spirit to live inside our lives. The Holy Spirit works in us to make us more like Jesus. We are “predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29; Galatians 4:19; Ephesians 4:13).

John 7:39 (KJV) (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy {Spirit} was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)***

Charles Ryrie notes:

“The Spirit “came upon” such Old Testament people as Joshua (Numbers 27:18), David (1 Samuel 16:12-13) and even Saul (1 Samuel 10:10). In the book of Judges, we see the Spirit “coming upon” the various judges whom God raised up to deliver Israel from their oppressors. The Holy Spirit came upon these individuals for specific tasks. The indwelling was a sign of God’s favor upon that individual (in the case of David), and if God’s favor left an individual, the Spirit would depart (e.g., in Saul’s case in 1 Samuel 16:14). Finally, the Spirit “coming upon” an individual doesn’t always indicate that person’s spiritual condition (e.g., Saul, Samson, and many of the judges). So, while in the New Testament the Spirit only indwells believers and that indwelling is permanent, the Spirit came upon certain Old Testament individuals for a specific task, irrespective of their spiritual condition. Once the task was completed, the Spirit presumably departed from that person.”

With the death and resurrection of Jesus – His glorification – the Spirit would take on a new role for every believer. He would come to stay in us. He would flow through us. He would live in us. We are told in …

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (KJV) Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? [17] If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (KJV) … What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? [20] For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

We are to glorify God in our body – and in our spirit – which belong to God. We are not our own. We are His, and He is ours. The Spirit of God indwells the Christian (Ephesians 1:13-14). We are to let God the Holy Spirit have control of our lives – not sin!

Jesus Is More Than A Prophet – He Is THE Messiah

Following Jesus’ proclamation, the people were divided in what they thought of Christ:

John 7:40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

Some of the people who heard Jesus speak at Booths knew part of the Scripture. When Moses was about to leave this earth, he told Israel:

Deuteronomy 18:15 (ESV) The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to Him you shall listen…

God Himself confirmed what Moses said, telling him:

Deuteronomy 18:18 (ESV) I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

This was indeed a promise of a New Covenant “Moses”. The Bible says,

John 1:17 …. the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Jesus is “that Prophet” that God would send to confirm His New Covenant. Others saw Jesus as:

John 7:41-42 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? 42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?*

Others said, “No, He’s not “That Prophet”, but The Christ, the Messiah”. They did not realize that the Prophet and the Christ were one and the same. Why? Because

Those who should have been teaching them the Bible – the Pharisees and Priests – were instead glorifying themselves!

Yet others pointed out that Jesus had grown up in Nazareth, not Bethlehem. They had no idea that our Lord was born in Bethlehem according to Prophecy (see Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1-12).

John 7:43-49 So there was a division among the people because of him. 44 And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him. 45 Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? 46 The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. 47 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? 48 Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? 49 But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.

The irony of this text is that when the soldiers of the Temple returned empty handed, they were ridiculed by the Pharisees and Priests for not taking the Lord. But it was not Christ’s time to go to Calvary. Booths would be the last Feast Jesus would attend before He returned at Passover to be crucified for your sins and mine. Jesus satisfies our thirst!

May God lead you to Him Who is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. As the Temple Police said, “Never man spake like this man”. Our Lord Jesus offers you the blessed life, a life filled with and led by God’s Holy Spirit. Come and receive Him today.

Amen and Amen.