So, John chapter 7, and we left off last Sunday in about verse 32.
I'm just going to...
So, we made it down to verse 32, and as we got there, we saw that things were starting
to really heat up between Jesus and the crowd that was gathered.
Jesus is in the temple courts, and he's teaching the many who have come to gather for the Jewish
Festival of Tabernacles, and we saw last Sunday how there was quite a combination of responses
within the crowd to Jesus.
Verse 30, at this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his
hour had not yet come.
Still many in the crowd believed in him.
They said, when the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?
The implied answer, I don't think so.
He must be the one.
So, some are looking to get Jesus arrested, while others are expressing confidence and
faith that he's the Messiah.
Verse 32, the Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him.
Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
So, the Pharisees, some of them are here in the crowd, listening to all that Jesus is saying.
They're hearing all the whisperings of the people in the crowd.
They're hearing some of those people who are saying, look, here he is, and the religious
leaders aren't saying a word to him.
Maybe they've concluded that he is the Messiah.
And the Pharisees who are here listening to this, they go back to the chief priests, the leaders
of the Pharisees.
And in turn, the temple guards are sent out to arrest Jesus.
The word for guards, in the original language, it's kind of like our word for attendance.
From what we know, these men were descended from Levi, just like the priests and everyone
else who served in and around the temple were supposed to be.
So, when you hear guards or temple police, as some translations say, it's probably best
not to think of them as thugs with shields and spears or as rent-a-cops or as, you know,
the British royal guard with those big black fair-fur caps just standing motionless at the entrance
all day long.
Exactly what these guards did, we don't know all the details.
But they seem to take direction from the chief priests and religious leaders, and they seem
to be mainly employed in matters related to the Jewish law, enforcing that, and keeping
order at the temple.
So, the religious leaders, they're thinking, all right, this has gone far enough, this is
getting out of hand.
Jesus is beginning to sway some of the people here.
We've got to put a stop to this.
We've got to bring Jesus in.
So, they send the temple guards out to arrest Jesus.
So, what happens next?
Well, John, the one who is telling the story here, decides to hold us in suspense for just
a little bit.
Instead of telling us right away, he flips back to what's, back to Jesus and what's going
on in the temple courts, I think probably while all this is happening.
Jesus said,
It's kind of a mysterious thing to say, isn't it?
Almost like something out of a movie that gets said before the main character goes into hiding.
Jesus says,
My time with you is short, and then I'm going to the one who sent me.
Of course, because we've been listening closely and following along with the story, we know
what Jesus means.
We know he means, I'm going to my Father, to God.
He says,
You will look for me, but you will not find me.
Where I am going, you cannot come.
And of course, the big question on everyone's mind is, well, where is that?
Where are you talking about?
Verse 35,
So the crowd is perplexed by this.
They can't seem to imagine that there's anywhere Jesus could go or hide where somebody wouldn't
be able to find him or follow him.
Some of them are speculating that maybe he even has plans to get out of the country, go
traveling abroad, though even this idea seems unlikely.
I mean, surely he wouldn't go and teach the Greeks, would he?
What else could he possibly mean?
Where I am, you cannot come.
You will not find me.
So Jesus tells him that he's soon to leave, to go away, and the crowd is kind of baffled
by his words.
Verse 37,
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice,
Now before I read it, let's just notice that there does seem to be a shift in the narrative
here.
And we're kind of left to wonder, is this a different day than the day that the guards
were sent to arrest Jesus?
Or is this the same day?
Is it that they went and Jesus was already gone for the day and they came back the next
day, the last day of the festival?
Or is this all happening on the same day and John's kind of shuffling things around, trying
to bring it all together, things that are all in motion at once and help us see how this
all came to a head on the last day?
Again, is Jesus in the temple courts still?
Or has he moved to another spot?
It's not clearly spelled out in detail.
But whatever the case, the guards are still there.
They're on their mission to arrest Jesus, to bring him to the religious leaders.
And John wants us to know that this is happening on the final day of the festival.
So 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.
Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within
them.
Can you feel this moment?
Can you feel the impact of these words on the crowd that has gathered?
These are quite the words.
They remind us of his conversation with the woman at the well.
He talks about being thirsty, about getting a drink from him, about living water.
And of course, if we've been listening carefully, we know Jesus is not just talking about physical,
tangible water.
His words obviously have a deeper meaning.
Rivers of living water will flow from within the person who believes in me, he says.
What does Jesus mean by that?
Thankfully, John, the one who has written all this down for us, the one telling the story,
he knows that there's some of us reading who probably need a little help here to understand
what Jesus is talking about.
So he explains it in verse 39.
By this, he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.
Up to that time, the Spirit had not yet been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
So Jesus is talking in metaphor, maybe about something that none of us would have really guessed,
unless we had John's help or had been there to ask Jesus about it.
So what's all this about?
Well, D.A. Carson, a Bible commentator, had some helpful thoughts here for me this week.
He reminded me in his commentary that this was the festival of tabernacles, the festival of booths.
Now, there's lots that we could dig into about the festival, but one of the things that Carson pointed out to me is that
it was a time in which they remembered their journeys through the wilderness.
During that festival, they were actually supposed to set up tents, little tabernacles, and live in them for several days.
It was kind of a way for them to reflect back on how God had led their forefathers through the desert from Egypt into the Promised Land.
And so part of the focus of the festival was on how God provided for the Israelites long ago in the wilderness.
He provided manna for them to eat when they were hungry, and he provided water for them to drink when they were thirsty.
Water was scarce in the desert, and thirst was felt pretty intensely by the people at many of the places they camped,
because some of the places had very little water or even no water.
I just read this past week how God led them to a place where there was no water at all,
and then miraculously provided a flow of water to quench the thirst of the whole nation from a rock.
And not only this, but apparently there were also some traditions, I didn't know about this before,
that the Jewish people had at this festival pertaining to water.
According to Carson, on the last day of the festival, they would fill a golden flagon, like a golden jug,
with water from the Pool of Siloam, and then they would have this procession up to the temple
with the high priest kind of leading them.
And when they entered in through the water gate, there would be a sound of three blasts from the shofar, the trumpet.
And then while everybody who was gathered there watched,
the priests would kind of do a little procession with this water around the altar,
and the temple choir would be there, they'd be singing the Hillel Psalms,
the last psalms of the Book of Psalms,
and then at the end everybody would shout out,
give thanks to the Lord,
and the water would be offered along with the morning sacrifice.
Now this whole water in the jar thing was not prescribed in the Old Testament law,
but it was apparently something that they did to commemorate and to celebrate,
to give thanks for God's provision of water long ago in the wilderness.
We could add to that understanding that there are also many places in the Old Testament scriptures
where God uses the language of water as a symbol of cleansing,
of giving renewal and life to his people,
and even of the coming of the Spirit.
The prophet Joel spoke of the day when the Spirit would be poured out
in the last days upon the people.
And so taking all these things together,
suddenly we can get a bit of a sense as to why Jesus is suddenly talking about water.
Why might he have said what he did?
This is a time in which traditionally thirst and water is very much on the minds of the people.
Many of them have traveled from far ways.
They're not currently enjoying the convenience of their own well back home.
The festival marks a time in which their ancestors experienced thirst
and had their thirst quenched by God's gracious provision.
And for those faithful few, there is a longing for God to fulfill that promise
and to pour out his Spirit as he said he would long ago.
Whether Jesus had already said some of these things or taught about these things, we don't know.
But this loud cry that he makes to the people didn't just come out of nowhere.
It's not totally without context.
Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said,
rivers of living water will flow from within them.
Jesus is calling anyone who feels that deep thirst within them,
anyone who has that longing for God to meet their deepest needs,
he's calling them to come to him and drink.
To take his words into themselves to the deepest levels,
to believe them, to trust him.
Whoever believes in me, says Jesus,
rivers of living water will flow from within them.
I love this.
Not just a river, but rivers, plural.
Not just any water, but living water.
The water which gives life.
Not that stagnant stuff in the puddle over there.
But the clear, cool, refreshing, revitalizing water that comes from the mountains in the river.
And not just that these waters in the river will flow to them,
but that they will flow forth from within them.
Just as God's provision of water burst forth from the rock
to quench the thirst of the whole nation,
in the same way, rivers of living water will burst forth from inside you,
from the depths, and flow forth.
This is a pretty extravagant promise that Jesus is making.
Perhaps you remember the words of David long ago in Psalm 23.
He said, you anoint my head with oil.
My cup overflows.
The cup is full,
and yet you continue to pour more blessing in until it runs over.
Jesus kind of blows that metaphor out of the water.
River, rivers will flow forth from within you.
How is this possible?
What does this mean?
We're not the only ones wondering.
John tells us that by this,
Jesus means the Spirit.
The Spirit of God.
God will give His Spirit
to dwell in you.
And it's God's own Spirit in us
who will be the source of these rivers
of living water,
which are flowing forth
from the depths of our beings.
But John tells us
that the giving of this gift of the Spirit
to those who thirst
and come to believe in Him
did not happen until
later when Jesus was glorified.
And we'll hear more about that later
when we get to that in John.
But now,
John tells us about what the crowd is thinking
as they hear these words.
Verse 40.
On hearing His words,
some of the people said,
surely this man is the prophet.
Others said,
he is the Messiah.
Still others asked,
how can the Messiah come from Galilee?
Does not Scripture say
that the Messiah will come
from David's descendants
and from Bethlehem,
the town where David lived?
Thus the people were divided
because of Jesus.
Some wanted to seize Him,
but no one laid a hand on Him.
So again,
we see further division within the crowd.
Jesus cries out
with these wonderful words of invitation,
these wonderful words of life,
come to me,
all you who are thirsty
and drink.
Believe in me.
And the response is quite mixed.
Some who hear this
seem convinced
that He is the prophet,
like the ultimate prophet
promised long ago
through Moses.
They're thinking,
He does speak
the very words of God,
just like the prophets of old did.
Others seem convinced
that He's the Messiah.
They're thinking more
in terms of the ultimate king
that God promised long ago.
But then still others
are disagreeing with that.
He can't be the Messiah.
The scriptures say clearly
that the Messiah
will be descended from David,
will come from the village
of Bethlehem,
but this man is from Galilee.
And I can't help but think,
what the irony of this objection.
Again, it just goes to show
that this crowd
does not know Jesus
as well as they think they do.
As the other gospel writers
make very clear,
He is in fact
a blood descendant of David.
His whole genealogy
is listed out
in other gospels.
And He was in fact
born in Bethlehem,
a true history
which can be corroborated
by a whole bunch
of different witnesses.
Even though He now resides
in the north,
in Galilee,
the scripture will be fulfilled.
The scepter will not
depart from Judah
because Jesus is
of the line of Judah,
the tribe of Judah.
He is a son of David,
the son of David,
just as the angel said to Mary.
So it was a mixed response
from the crowd.
And again,
Jesus tells us,
John tells us,
that they wanted to seize Jesus,
but no one laid a hand on Him.
Well finally,
let's find out
what happened
with the temple guards
who were also there that day.
Verse 45,
finally the temple guards
went back to the chief priests
and the Pharisees
who asked them,
why didn't you bring Him in?
No one ever spoke
the way this man does,
the guards replied.
I love that.
These guards
also heard
what Jesus said that day
when He cried out.
I got thinking,
you know,
they could have given
a different reason here.
They could have said,
well, we didn't arrest Him
because we thought
it might start a riot
and it looked like
many in the crowd
were believing Him.
They could have said that.
But no,
instead they chose
to say,
we didn't arrest Him
because no man
has ever spoken
the way this man does.
They chose not to arrest
Jesus that day
because they were listening
to what He was saying.
And maybe,
just maybe,
they had come
to believe in Him too
or were on their way.
I don't want to speculate
too much,
but they seemed
to regard Jesus
well enough
that they chose
to defy
the orders
of the ones
who sent them.
Perhaps even knowing
that there could be
consequences.
The response
of the leaders
to this
is very telling.
Verse 47,
You mean
He has deceived you also?
The Pharisees retorted.
You can just hear
the frustration
leaking through.
Blast you
good for nothing
temple guards.
You're useless.
So you've been brainwashed
by this guy's teaching too,
haven't you?
It's almost like
they're trying to shame them.
They go on.
Have any of the rulers
of the Pharisees
believed in Him?
No.
But this mob
that knows nothing
of the law,
there's a curse
on them.
You can just feel
the animosity,
the frustration
oozing out of them.
You can hear
the pride swelling.
We're the rulers.
We're the Pharisees.
We're the religious leaders,
the experts
in the law.
None of us
has believed in Him.
You're just like
all those idiots
in the crowd
who are completely
ignorant of the law.
they're accursed.
But perhaps
unbeknownst to them,
there is one ruler
who might be getting close
or perhaps already
believe in Jesus.
And at just the right moment
he steps forward
just to show
actually there might be
somebody here
among us
who does
believe Him.
verse 50.
Nicodemus,
who had gone
to Jesus earlier
and who was one
of their own number,
asked,
does our law
condemn a man
without first hearing him
to find out
what he has been doing?
Very wise reply.
Not only does he
let the guards know
that, yeah,
there actually might be
someone from
among the leaders
who is not sure
that Jesus
is the bad guy,
but he also
calls the Pharisees
out on their
scheming here.
I mean,
you guys are thinking
here and acting
and treating him
as if he's already
been condemned,
as if the trial's
already been
taking place,
the verdict
is already decided.
When are we going
to have a proper
trial here?
And it's here
that the Pharisees
show their true colors
because
the crowd's not here,
this is just
an internal
meeting here,
the leaders
and the guards,
if they only
intended to bring
Jesus in
for a fair trial,
this was their
opportunity to say so.
They could have
just said,
Nicodemus,
that's the very
reason we sent
the guards
to arrest him.
We wanted to
bring him in
so that we could
have a proper
hearing and get
to the bottom
of this.
But that's not
how they respond
or what they stay.
Instead,
they bark back
at Nicodemus
and shut him
down.
Verse 52,
Are you from
Galilee too?
Look into it
and you will find
that a prophet
does not come
out of Galilee.
We've got a little
bit of regional
tension going on
here.
Like,
what?
Are you a
Galilean too?
Another one of
those inferior
Galileans,
second-class
northerners,
do your homework,
bub.
Get your
scriptures out
and read them.
You'll see
there's no prophet
coming out of
Galilee,
spoken of there.
Just shut down.
It happens today.
We hear about it
in the news
and it happened
back then too.
Nicodemus was
just stereotyped,
insulted,
and cancelled.
Why?
I think because
his comment
hit a little
too close to
home.
He knew that
what they were
planning was
not a proper
hearing or
trial for
Jesus.
In their
minds,
Jesus was
already on
death row.
So the plot
thickens.
Just like in
the days long
before,
the corrupt
and wicked
rulers sent
in the
enforcers to
go after
God's man.
And again,
just like in
the days
before,
God delivers
his anointed,
his chosen
one,
by turning
the very
hearts of
the men
sent to
arrest him.
As hard
as the
religious leaders
try,
they so far
are unsuccessful
in keeping
Jesus from
speaking the
words which
God has
sent him
to speak.
And the
message of
God is
ringing out.
And while
there's
opposition to
it,
and some
do not
believe it,
some are
angry and
want Jesus
arrested,
some are
truly hearing
and they
are coming
to believe
that Jesus
truly is
who he
says he
is.
Well,
what's here
in all of
this for
us this
morning?
I want to
point us
back to
these words
moments as
Jesus stood
and cried
out.
I want
you to
imagine
yourself
there in
the crowd
that moment
as he
stood up
and cried
out,
let anyone
who is
thirsty
come to
me and
drink.
Whoever
believes in
me, as
scripture has
said,
rivers of
living water
will flow
from within
them.
what kind
of response
is Jesus
looking for
from them
in this
moment?
It's the
same response
that he's
looking for
from you
and me.
Are you
thirsty?
Does your
soul thirst?
The truth
is that we
all thirst.
We all
have deep
longings in
our souls.
we were
made to
thirst and
be quenched,
both in
the outward
physical way
and also
in the
inward way.
And so
in some
ways the
question is
not so
much do
you thirst,
but how
do you
quench
your thirst?
What do
you thirst
for?
Long
ago through
the prophet
Jeremiah,
God said
this,
he said,
this is
Jeremiah
2.13,
my people
have committed
two sins,
they have
forsaken
me,
the spring
of living
water,
and have
dug their
own
cisterns,
broken
cisterns
that cannot
hold
water.
This is
what the
wilderness
wanderings
were meant
to teach
them long
ago.
God led
them on
purpose
into places
where there
was no
water,
so that
they would
come to
see that
he is
the one
who can
quench
our thirst,
and not
just our
bodily
thirst,
but the
thirst of
our souls,
the deeper
thirst,
that deep
longing and
need that
we have
for life
in here.
water.
God
himself is
the spring
of living
water,
but we
have this
bent
called sin
where we
tend to
turn away
from him
and seek
our own
alternative
sources
which cannot
even compare
to him.
which would
you rather
drink?
The fresh
clear flow
of a
spring
near the
base of
a mountain
or that
water that's
been sitting
there in a
cistern in
the ground,
that broken
cistern that's
cracked where
the water
leaks out and
the dirt
seeps in?
What do
you thirst
for?
What have
you been
trying to
quench the
thirst of
your soul
with?
the
pleasures of
this world?
Stuff?
Money?
Netflix?
Facebook?
Food?
We were
made to
thirst for
God himself
just as our
bodies were
made to
thirst for
water.
We were
made to
cry out
like David
did in
the desert
O God,
you are
my God.
Earnestly I
seek you.
I thirst
for you.
My whole
being longs
for you
in a dry
and parched
land where
there is no
water.
The good
news of
Jesus is
not just
something for
our heads
to believe
in.
It's not
just a
ticket to
hold on
to for
a later
time.
The good
news of
Jesus is
this.
God wants
to quench
the thirst
of your
soul.
He wants
to provide
you with
that drink
that will
truly satisfy
and refresh
you and
give life
to you.
And not
just a
drop or
two or
a little
cup that
will leave
you longing
for more.
No,
he wants
to put
the fountain
of all
life itself
inside you.
He wants
to put his
own spirit,
the source
of life,
in you
and cause
his rivers
of living
water to
flow
forth
from inside
you.
Are you
thirsty for
that?
Do you
want that?
Then leave
your broken
cisterns
behind
and come
to Jesus
and drink
what he is
holding out
to you.
Believe in
him.
Listen to
his words.
Take them
into your
heart.
Follow
him.
Surrender
to him.
And this
extravagant
gift of
life is
yours.
This is
the good
news of
Jesus.
I pray
that we'll
believe it.
Father in
heaven,
we thank
you
that you
sent Jesus
into our
world
to quench
our thirsts,
to give
us the
ultimate
gift,
the
ultimate
drink.
I pray
that our
hearts would
embrace
that.
Lord, I
know in
my own
heart this
week, I've
found myself
distracted and
looking at
all kinds of
different things
going on around
me, longing,
looking for
relief and
refreshment in
these trying
times, but
it's you.
You're the
one that we
need.
You're the
one who
quenches our
thirst so
that we
never thirst
again.
Help us to
see that.
Help us to
cling to that
truth in
these days
ahead and
to share it
with others.
In Jesus'
name, amen.