THE CLIMAX OF
CHRIST'S TEACHING

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink.
38 He that believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.
39 (But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom they that believe on Him should receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified

-- John 7:37-39

Have you ever looked forward to a certain occasion, thinking it would be just wonderful and bring you great joy, only to feel let down when it was over? That was what many of those celebrating this feast were about to experience; and Christ made this offer just on time to spare them that disappointment.

Jews had come from all over Israel, and even from Jewish settlements in other lands, to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. They always expected their feasts to be joyful occasions. They had seven feasts that God had actually instructed them to celebrate, which were grouped into three seasons. This "feast of tabernacles" was the last feast in the last of the three seasons. And now the last day of that last feast of the last season had come. It was to be the climax of all; they called it the "great day."

Christ had already done some teaching at this feast (verse 14); but He waited for this climactic moment to make this important offer. There was something particularly crucial about it, to be heeded earnestly.

To deliver such an important message, Christ made a STRATEGIC APPEAL  in verse 37. He had chosen the most appropriate moment for the announcement He was about to make. He knew that many of His hearers could feel disillusioned. Though God had told the Jews to celebrate this feast, they had added a number of their own traditions to it. One such tradition was that the priests drew water from the Pool of Siloam in golden pots, and poured it on the altar. They had several reasons for doing this. They claimed to do so in memory of the water that gushed out of the rock that Moses struck in the desert, not long after their crossing the Red Sea. They also believed that they were putting Isaiah 12:3 into practice-- an exhortation to "draw from wells of joy." Their Talmud said that this verse referred symbolically to the outpouring of the Spirit.

There was one additional reason for pouring out this water on the altar, and perhaps somewhat less commendable than the others. This feast was celebrated at the end of the dry season; rain would come shortly after it each year. The Jews thought that their pouring out water on the altar would make the rain come. They were like the proverbial rooster who, noticing that the sun rose after he crowed, concluded that it rose because he crowed!

On this last day of the feast, there would be a "holy convocation" with fewer animal sacrifices offered than on other days. Instead, there would be much rejoicing, singing of Psalms of praise with many musical instruments, and dancing. There was a proverb saying that whoever hadn't seen that last day of the feast, had never seen rejoicing. Yet Christ knew that, even after all the excitement and expectations, many present wouldn't really be satisfied in the depths of their hearts. He took an illustration from what they were doing-- with water-- to explain what He was offering them, which alone could satisfy them completely. And you, reader, have you at any time been taken up with an occasion for which you had spent much time, energy, and perhaps money, but which left you feeling empty in the end? Christ alone has what you need.

There is an overtone of urgency in Christ's appeal. He stood to make it.Unlike what we are accustomed to, preachers in the synagogues in New-Testament times generally sat down to teach. Their chairs were high enough to be seen by everybody; but, having read their text from the scroll, they sat down to explain it. Christ's standing indicated special earnestness in it. Also, the word translated "cried" is what we call an onomatopoeic word. That is, the word refers to a certain sound; and the pronunciation of the word imitates the sound it refers to. Some examples in English are crack, click, and hiss. The French word ronfle (meaning "snore") and the Spanish aulla (meaning "howl") are also examples. The word describing Christ's call here, actually imitates a cry of urgent appeal. He was pleading with the crowd to head what He had to say.

Christ's offer was really very gracious. He wanted to do something for that crowd in spite of how He had been treated at this feast. At the outset of the chapter, a plot had been made against His life (verses 1, 2). His own family according to the flesh, had challenged the reality of His claims to be the Messiah (verses 3-5). In fact, feasts in general had not been a very congenial time for Him. That's why these feasts, which had been called "feasts of the LORD" in the Old Testament, were not only called "feasts of the Jews." Christ, their Lord, was left out.

At the very first Passover during Christ's public ministry, many false professions of faith had been made (John 2:23). He was accused of breaking the Sabbath by healing a paralyzed man, at an unnamed feast (John chapter 5). At this present feast, the general atmosphere was one of rejection for Him. At the feast of Dedication (which had not been instituted by God), Christ was left outside in the winter cold and threatened with stoning (John 10:22, 23, 31). The Jews sought to kill Him again just before the last Passover, because the Sadducees (the sect to which most of the priests belonged), and who believed in no resurrection of the dead) were angered by His having raised Lazarus (John 11:55, 56). And at the last Passover, Christ knew His time had come to leave this world (John 13:1); it was during this feast that Judas betrayed Him. Yet in spite of all the mistreatment that Christ had suffered at feasts, He had only words of grace for the crowd, offering what would fully satisfy their souls.

What could the crowd be thirsty for? We find the answer in Christ's statement that the Holy Spirit would satisfy them. Later on He told His disciples what the Holy Spirit would do when He came. He would provide them with companionship, for He was called the "Comforter" who would "abide with them forever" (John 14:16). Anyone who is conscious of the inadequacy of human companionship, or who feels lonely and perhaps misunderstood, is invited to come to Christ to find this divine Companion. The Spirit would also teach the Word (John 14:26). Is anyone dissatisfied with his soul's health, desiring that it be better nourished-- or longing for a better grasp of the Scriptures, or wanting to find Christ nearer? Let him come to Christ and be satisfied. The Spirit would also provide guidance (John 16:13). Is anyone confused, unsure of an important issue, or longing for help with a decision? Is anyone anxious about the future? The Spirit will guide him, and "show him what he needs to know concerning things to come" if he comes to Christ. If, therefore, you are feeling any of these needs, don't return to the regular routine of life without coming to Christ, who promises to meet your need.

Having awakened our desire for something so essential, Christ makes a  GRACIOUS  PROMISE  in verse 38 and the beginning of 39. He promises to meet the heart-felt need of whomever "believes." The parallelisms in the text equate "drinking" with "believing." How do I drink of the Spirit like a thirsty person drinking water? By believing-- that is, trusting, staking everything on Christ, and adhering to Him. The invitation is given in the present tense, showing that it is not just a once-for-all believing in conversion, but an on-going LIFE of faith. When a sinner comes to Christ in repentance and faith, and receives God's gift of eternal life, he makes a wonderful discovery. But, that is only the beginning of a wonderful entire life. One must continue trusting, not to keep himself saved, but to maintain the Spirit-filled life.

Christ said His offer to hungry souls was based on what the Scripture said. We find no single Old-Testament Scripture that speaks these exact words; but we certainly find the idea of Christ satisfying a thirsty soul, very frequently. In Isaiah chapter 55 we read: Ho, everyone that thirsts; come to the waters. In chapter 44 of the same book, God says, I will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground. In Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 176, the saint is compared with a tree planted near water from which it can drink. Psalm 36 speaks of our drinking of "the river of God's pleasure." The idea of thirsting for God appears in Psalms 42 (verse 2), 63 (verse 1), and 143 (verse 6). And Isaiah 58:11 tells us that the soul of the saint shall be "like a watered garden."

To the Jewish mind, "living water" meant "unfailing water"-- that wouldn't dry up. Spiritual living water would therefore be something that would never disappoint. On two occasions, the prophet Jeremiah had reproached God's people for choosing water from broken cisterns (which would not only get used up, but that would leak out) instead of Him, who was the "fountain of living water."

Christ's offer didn't stop at satisfying souls that were present. He wanted His hearers to receive, that they might give. He said that, if they "drank," rivers of living water would flow from their hearts; they would in their turn become a blessing to others. Once one is filled with the Spirit, it is impossible for him to keep the blessings to himself. Ralph Shallis, the missionary to France, compared the hearts of believers to the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The same Jordan River flows into both seas; but there is a tremendous difference between them. The Sea of Galilee is full of life, whereas the Dead Sea cannot sustain life. What makes the difference? The Sea of Galilee sustains life because it not only takes in (where the Jordan River enters it on the north side), but it also gives out (where the Jordan flows out of it at the south). The Dead Sea receives water from the Jordan, but it has no outlet. It only gives off its water through evaporation. That's why it has accumulated so much salt and other minerals that no life can survive in it. That's a picture of the difference made by whether the saint is seeking to be a blessing to others, receiving in order to give, or whether he is only centered on his own satisfaction. Are you and I drinking in order that rivers of living water may flow from us in blessing to others?

Christ chose an appropriate occasion to make His strategic appeal, accompanied with a gracious promise. But in order that we may appreciate the great value of this promise, Christ reminds us at the end of verse 39 of its TREMENDOUS  COST.  The Holy Spirit had not yet been given (to indwell believers, as He has since Pentecost) "because Jesus had not yet been glorified." For many years I assumed that Christ's "being glorified" referred to His ascension, since it meant an end to His humiliation on earth. It certainly was true that the Holy Spirit did come after Christ's ascension. He had said that the Comforter would come when He had gone away (John 16:7). Yet His ascension is not the basis for the Spirit's coming.

Other references to Christ's "being glorified" are consistently concerned with His death, when, though crucifixion meant shame in the eyes of the world, He was glorified among angels in heaven and among the few saints who understood the reason for His death, such as Mary of Bethany. In John 12:23, after speaking of the hour when He would be glorified, Christ said that He, the grain of wheat, must fall into the ground and die in order to bear fruit. At the Last Supper, when Judas went out to betray Christ, He said, "Now is the Son of man glorified" (John 13:31). In His high priestly prayer just before going to the Cross, Christ said, "Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son" (John 17:1). Even in Peter's speech in Acts chapter 13, he speaks of God glorifying Christ in a context about His death (verse 13).

Besides these indications, our text literally says that the Holy Spirit had not been given "because Jesus had never been glorified." That wouldn't fit with identifying His glorification with His ascension, since He had been in heaven before. But He had never been crucified before-- and, furthermore, never will be again. In fact, Moses' striking the rock in the desert had represented Christ's death; and the water, representing the Spirit, had gushed out. Christ's death was the basis on which the Spirit would be given, since the Spirit could only indwell a sinner after he had been cleansed by the blood of Christ.

But think of the cost of this blessing. Christ's death itself seems even to emphasize what He suffered so that we could be blessed. In order that our thirst might be quenched, Christ suffered thirst on the Cross (John 19:28). In order that "rivers of living water" may flow from our hearts, blood and water literally flowed from Christ's side. And at that moment of supreme suffering, the mystery of the Gospel was displayed in that Christ's death, the height of shame in the eyes of the world, was the moment when He was glorified-- just as God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak to confound the mighty (I Corinthians 1:27-29).

After the Battle of Waterloo, under Wellington, which ended the wars of Napoleon, a procession appeared in the distance on a foggy day. The crowd waiting for news of the battle perceived a banner through the fog. Before they could read it distinctly, they perceived the words "Wellington defeated." But as the procession got closer, they were able to read the full inscription-- "Wellington defeated the enemy." Similarly, at the moment of Christ's shameful death, everything visible seemed to say, "Jesus defeated." But the eye of faith, enlightened by the Spirit whom Christ sent, can read, "Jesus defeated death." Being glorified in His death, He sent the Spirit at Pentecost to satisfy the longing soul.

Christ's offer astonished the crowd. When the Jewish leaders, who were jealous of Christ, sent the chief officers to seize Him, the officers came back, saying, "Never man spoke like this Man." They realized that what Christ had offered them was incomparable. Nobody has ever offered just what it would take to satisfy the human soul. Have you come to Him-- first for salvation, and then for a daily upkeep of the Spirit-filled life? And particularly, if you have recently been disappointed by what you thought would lead you to the height of happiness, don't return to the regular routine of life unsatisfied. Don't do as the Jews at this feast would have been doing if they had returned to their homes afterwards without receiving what Christ was offering them. Christ has what you need. Come to Him now, trust in Him, and the Holy Spirit will meet your need and enable you to be a means of blessing to those around you.