Lesson 17. THIRST QUENCHED!

On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flowing from

within (John 7:37?38),

In order to appreciate the value of these words, you need to recall the place, the occasion and the time when they were spoken. For it was all of these factors together which drew these words from the Lord.

   The place was Jerusalem, the centre of Judaism and the stronghold of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The occasion was the feast of the Tabernacles, one of the great annual feasts for the Jews, who made every effort to be present in Jerusalem at that time. The time was the last day of the feast, when, according to tradition, water was drawn from the pool of Siloam and poured on the temple altar.'
   Perhaps Jesus sensed the feeling of anticlimax among the crowds, as the people prepared to return to their homes. He certainly knew that all the ceremonies which had been performed in the temple were just empty rituals. He saw, and pitied the crowds, calling out in a loud voice, If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink!
   Notice the language of Jesus: Come to me. Let me remind you that no other great religious leader has ever used such direct language as this! It is a very positive statement, indicating that Jesus himself knew that he was the promised Messiah, the Saviour of the world. There are three points in this great saying of the Lord which we should examine:
   
   

1. The problem                        If anyone is thirsty    2. The solution                        Come to me and drink    3. The promised result           Whoever believes in me, streams of living water will flow from within

   

1. The problem If anyone is thirsty

   
   Everyone hearing Jesus would have known something of the pain of bodily thirst. But how much more painful is thirst of the soul! Physical pain is one thing; but suffering of the mind is more. To have a troubled conscience, to know that we are not ready to meet God, to be aware of our guilt and sinfulness; this is the highest degree of pain. This, no doubt, is the thirst which Jesus is speaking of. It is a thirst for pardon, forgiveness of sins and peace with God. This is the thirst which the Jews felt after Peter preached to them on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:37). It is the thirst the Philippian jailor felt, when he awoke to his spiritual danger (Acts 16:30).
   This is the thirst which many of God's greatest servants have felt, when the light of spiritual understanding dawned upon them. And surely it is not too much to say that all of us ought to know something of this thirst. Lack of feeling in any part of our physical bodies is a sure sign of the presence of death in that part. Nothing proves so conclusively the spiritual death of the minds of men and women than their lack of thirst for peace with God. So Scripture describes unbelieving men and women as spiritually dead having no feeling towards God. What a terrible thing it is when Jesus has to say to a soul, You do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked (Revelation 3:17).
   

A sense of sin, guilt and poverty of soul is something to thank God for! It is the first sign of the work of the Holy Spirit in a life. It is not when we begin to feel good, but when we begin to feel bad that we are taking the first steps towards heaven; that is the A B C of true Christianity.

   

2. The solution ? Come to me and drink

   
   The simplicity of this sentence has to be admired. Here is everyone's answer to the problem of how to have peace with God. This sentence should be kept in mind, along with six other sayings of Jesus: I am the bread of life; Whoever comes to me I will never drive away; I am the light of the world; I am the gate; I am the way acid the truth arid the life; Come to me all you who are weary (John 6:35; 6:37; 8:12; 10:9; 14:6; Matthew 11:28). Learn by heart these six sayings, together with the one above. Fix all seven in your mind and never let them go! In any time of need you will find them priceless words of comfort!
   What is the meaning of all these words? It is that Christ is the source of that spiritual `living water' which God has provided for thirsty souls. In Christ, as our Redeemer and Substitute crucified for our sins and raised again for our justification, there is an endless supply of every spiritual blessing that we need pardon, forgiveness, mercy, peace, rest, comfort and hope. So if anyone feels a soul thirst, let them go to Christ and drink!
   Whether a doctor's medicine will help us, or not, depends upon whether we obey the correct instructions for using it. Let me show you the right way to drink from Christ.
   
   a) Those who long for spiritual thirst to be quenched must come to Christ himself. They must not be content with just going to a Christian meeting, or attending a communion service, or completing some other religious ceremony. If that is all that is done, such people will thirst again. We must deal directly with Christ.

   b) Those who are thirsty and want to come to Christ must actually come to him. It is not enough to wish, to talk, to intend, to resolve or to hope. We must actually commit ourselves to Christ.
   

c) Those who thirst must remember that simple faith alone is required, in coming to Christ. By all means come in sorrow and repentance for sins committed ? but it is not enough to rely merely upon our sorrow for our acceptance with him. We must also commit ourselves to him in faith. To drink from him is to trust in him, to depend upon him, to rely upon nothing else but him for our salvation. Yet, simple as this remedy for spiritual thirst is, how hard it is to persuade people of it! Thank God if you have found it for yourself!

   
   3. The promised result: streams of living water will flow from within
   
   Few Christians realise the number and variety of those prom?ises which are to be found in the Bible, for the benefit of those who will use them. Just as promises are the basis of nearly all our human transactions, so promises are the lovely way in which God approaches men and women. Yet there is one big difference between human promises and the promises of God. Human promises may not be kept; the promises of God are always fulfilled.

Many of our human promises are for the benefit of the person to whom they are made. But the promise quoted above seems to refer to many others as well as those to whom the Lord speaks. By speaking of living water flowing from within I believe our Lord means us to understand that we shall not only ourselves have an abundant supply of every spiritual bless?ing that we need, but also that we shall be a source of spiritual blessing to others around us.

   

a) Some believers are a source of blessing to others while they live. Their words, their example, their teaching are all means whereby spiritual benefit flows to others. Such were the many great preachers and teachers who were a blessing to thousands while they lived.

   

b) Some believers are rivers of living water to many when they die! Such are the martyrs of whom we read in the history of the Christian church. The work they did by being faithful unto death was more than they did in their lives!

   

c) Some believers are a source of blessing to others long after they have died. They still do good by their books and other writings which remain. And again, the good that they do by their writings may be more now than while they were alive.

   
   None of us is converted for our benefit alone; the conversion of a man or a woman often leads on, in God's purposes, to the conversion of others. I doubt if there will be any believers who will not have been to someone or other, a river of living water. And I believe that the resurrection morning will reveal the full meaning of this promise to the astonishment of many who may not be aware that they have been a means of blessing to any!
   
   ' Bible scholars are divided in their opinion concerning the meaning of the last and greatest day of the feast. Some argue that it was the seventh, the climax of the festival; others that it was the eighth, the last festival day of the Jewish year. On each of the seven days water from Siloam was poured out at the altar of burnt offering, symbolizing water from the rock at Meribah (Exodus 17). On the eighth day no water was poured, symbolizing the fact that the Messiah had not yet come. Perhaps in that silence Jesus shouted his words of invita?tion, but this is not certain. (Editor)