Focus: The Spirit of Christ makes life to abound.
Function: To move the people to believe in Christ and
obtain by faith the gift of his Holy Spirit.
Text: John 7:37-39
All throughout the month of May I have been watering our garden on a regular basis. I’ve done some seeding of grass; and in order to get the grass going and growing, you have to water it every day for a number of weeks. Also, new plants and transplanted plants need lots of water to establish their roots. Watering the garden is lots of work. But oh, the rewards! Water makes life abound!
This is true, of course, especially for human beings. What would we do without water? We could not live! That’s why long periods of drought can be so devastating for people and wild-life alike. Getting lost in a desert, not being able to find any water, means a certain death for anyone. Surely, water makes life to abound. Water is essential for life.
For years now, scientist are exploring the surfaces of the moon and planet Mars; they hope to find water or forms of water. The availability of water on the moon and Mars would make it possible for a colony of people to sustain themselves living in space for a very long time. So we think. We can’t live without water.
Water makes life to abound. That’s why Jesus says: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me…streams of living water will flow from within him.” Here is the good news for today: Water—that is, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, makes life to abound!
The apostle John introduces the Lord Jesus making this claim by referring to a Feast. John says: “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.’” We must understand Jesus’ saying in the context of that Feast.
Well, what do we know about this feast? The Jews in Jesus’ days would celebrate a number of feasts; three of the most important feasts are (1) the Passover (celebrating God’s rescue and deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt’s bondage); (2) Pentecost (celebrating the giving of God’s Law on Mount Sinai); and (3) the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Feast of Tabernacles helps the people in Jesus’ days to actively remember the wanderings of Israel in the desert for forty years. For all those years, the Israelites lived in tents or booths or tabernacles. Celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles reminds the people of God’s dealings with them in the past, and helps them to live within God’s expectations for them in the present.
Now the Feast of Tabernacles takes place at harvest time. As the Israelites brought in the harvest and celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, they would also thank God for the rains that made it possible for them to have a harvest.
In fact, as they celebrated the Feast for seven days, they would perform a water ceremony
at the temple altar in Jerusalem. For seven days, the priests would lead a procession, going to the Pool of Siloam, filling a golden pitcher with water. They would take the pitcher to the temple and offer their morning sacrifices. They poured the water into a funnel at the west side of the altar, and the temple choir would sing Psalms 113-118.
The water ceremony, then, is an important part of the Feast of Tabernacles; it’s a ceremony that tied in beautifully with the words of the Prophet Isaiah (55:1) “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat….”
On the last and eighth day, however, there would be no procession or water ceremony. There would be a great, general closing service of prayer. And it’s at that precise moment, “on the last and greatest day of the Feast” (when there is no longer a water procession and outpouring at the temple), that the Lord Jesus steps in and says to the people “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink… Whoever believes in me, streams of living water will flow from within him.” Talk about an opportune moment! Jesus knows the right time to draw the people’s attention to himself and to make a symbolic connection that drives home a point: water makes life to abound. And that water is found in the Lord Jesus Christ!
When the Lord Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, Jesus drew attention to himself by saying to the woman, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Now, later in his ministry, as the time is coming for Jesus to fulfill all the words of Scriptures spoken about him, Jesus again speaks of living water.
In the text for today, however, the apostle John gives us a further explanation of what Jesus means: “By this (Jesus) meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.” The Spirit, like water, makes life to abound!
Jesus’ reference to the Holy Spirit as “water” or as “rivers or streams of living water” is very powerful. The people who hear him speak are familiar with the Scriptures; they know that the Scriptures connect the symbol of water with the work of the Spirit of God. Water, as a symbol rich of meaning and power, speaks of God’s work in the midst of his people. But as we consider that work of the Holy Spirit, we must first note that Jesus invites people to come to him: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” Here we must take note that
The Spirit of Christ rushes forth, bringing refreshing gifts that enable us to carry on and complete the journey of faith, so that on the last day, when Jesus comes again, we shall inherit eternal life in all its fullness and riches.
Let me hold before you, in a quick fashion, the Bible’s teaching on the refreshing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit
· Seals believers: That is, God seals believers with the Holy Spirit, thus claiming us as his own, and guaranteeing us of eternal, final redemption or salvation. As the Spirit is given to us today, so his presence seals God’s promise that we shall live with him forevermore on the (re)newed heavens and earth. (II Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30; Rom. 8:16)
· Fill believers: God commands believers to “be filled with the Spirit.” We are to seek the Spirit and yield to him so that he can work in us unhindered, cooperative, and instill within us gifts or abilities to serve God. “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” (Eph. 5:18).
· Guides and empowers and teaches believers: By coming to Jesus in faith, and by receiving thus his Holy Spirit, each believer receives spiritual guidance to live a life that is pleasing to God; and each believer receives spiritual understanding as he or she studies and meditates on God’s Word and prays for strength to live out of that Word of God. As Jesus has said: “…the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).
Thank God for the Holy Spirit today! Thank God for Jesus’ invitation today. Drink of Him! Drink of the Holy Spirit every day! For the Spirit of Christ makes life (spiritual and physical) to abound!
In this, as in all things, glory be to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, both now and forever more. Amen!