John 7:25-53: An Invitation to the Thirsty

John 7:25-53: An Invitation to the Thirsty

If you have your Bible, please open it to John 7. If you’re using the Story Bibles we provide, that’s on page 740. John 7:25-53. We’re going to pick up where we left off last week as we continue our series through the Gospel of John. Last week, we learned that there was this huge festival going on in Jerusalem called the Feast of Booths or alternately the Feast of Tabernacles. And right in the middle of this festival, Jesus goes right up to the temple courts in Jerusalem and begins to teach. Now not too long after he starts teaching, listen to what happens. Beginning at John 7:25: Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.

Now, we’ll come back to these next verses in the middle of our text, but let’s jump down right now to verse 40. The Jewish religious leaders have noticed Jesus is persuading more and more people, so they send temple guards to arrest him. Let’s see how that turns out. Verse 40-53: “When they heard these words [that is, when the crowds heard the words Jesus said in the verses we just skipped], some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. 45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” 53 They went each to his own house.”

What we have in these verses is a very intriguing situation. A group of police officers from the JTPD, the Jerusalem Temple Police Department, were just dispatched by the Jewish religious leaders to go and arrest Jesus. Jesus had crossed the line and was causing too much trouble for the religious leaders, so it was time for him to be arrested. And that was the mission these police officers were given—the very simple mission of arresting Jesus. But then in verses 45 and 46, we see them returning to the police station empty handed. And when the religious leaders ask them why they didn’t arrest Jesus, they reply, “No one ever spoke this man!” They didn’t make up some lame excuse about how the crowds kept them from arresting Jesus. They just said, “No one ever spoke like this man!” Imagine that happening today. Imagine a huge rally taking place in Washington DC, and the city officials don’t like what the leaders of this rally are saying. So they find an excuse to send out the DC metro police to arrest the leaders of this rally and put an end to it. And the DC police move forward with every intention of doing exactly what they were told, but then they start listening to what rally speakers are saying. And they find their message so persuasive that they just can’t bring themselves to arrest these people, and they leave the rally empty handed. That would be pretty crazy. If CNN found out about something like that, they’d be all over it. I’ve never heard of a police officer not obeying orders like that. But that’s exactly what happens here in John 7. 

So here’s what I want to know: What in the world did Jesus say that made the temple guards unable to arrest him? What exactly was he teaching that the guards found so irresistible and so persuasive? Well, let’s find out. Look with me at verses 37-39: “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” So that’s why the temple guards went back empty handed—because of that invitation you just heard from Jesus’ lips. So here’s our main point this morning: Jesus gives an invitation unlike any invitation you’ve ever received. Jesus gives an invitation unlike any invitation you’ve ever received. And this morning, I’d like to ask and answer three questions related to this invitation. Question one: “For whom is this invitation intended?” Question two: “What does Jesus invite people to do?” And question three: “What will be the outcome for those who respond?”

“For whom is this invitation intended?”

So first, “For whom is this invitation intended?” This invitation is given to the thirsty. Verse 37: “On the last day of the feat, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.’” “If anyone thirsts.” That’s who this invitation is directed to.

Now, in order to really get that, you have to understand what was going on in Jerusalem. Remember how we said that there were huge crowds in Jerusalem to celebrate something called the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacles? That’s what was happening. This was one of the three major feasts of the Jewish calendar year which all Jewish men were required to attend in order to celebrate the harvest. Society was very much oriented around agriculture, so the harvest was a big deal, and they wanted to celebrate the harvest they had just taken in. So everybody came down to Jerusalem around mid-October and constructed these small, temporary dwellings to camp out in for a week, called “booths” or “tabernacles,” and they would live in those for the week. Also, one of the most important rituals that would take place at this festival involved water being poured out. Every day for seven days, a priest would go to a pool in the city and use a big golden pitcher to draw out some water, and then he and the people with him would have a parade from the pool down to the temple and to the altar in the temple, where he would then pour the water from the pitcher into a bowl beside the altar. And this whole procession of him doing this was a really big deal—kind of like the Olympic torch being carried or something—because the water he carried and eventually poured out represented a prayer for rain for the upcoming year. They were celebrating the rain that had come during the past year and also acting out a prayer for rain during the upcoming year, which of course would lead to another fruitful harvest. So in John 7, after everyone’s done this water ceremony each day for seven days, Jesus stands up and cries out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”

And you know, we may not have an elaborate water-pouring ritual like these first-century Jews had, but Jesus’ words should also resonate with us—because Jesus is referring to a spiritual thirst that everyone should have. It’s natural for us to thirst for something more, something deeper, than this world offers us. And there’s a good reason for that. God created us to have a relationship with him. That’s the way we’re wired—that’s what we’re shaped for. As human beings, we’re full and satisfied and complete when and only when we’re in a close relationship with God. And that’s what we enjoyed when God first created us. But then something happened. Humanity rebelled against God, and because of that rebellion, immediately became alienated from him. That close relationship that originally existed was immediately torn apart when the first humans sinned. No longer could they know God or enjoy God or be with God. Instead, they were shut out from God’s presence—shut out from enjoying the relationship they were created to enjoy. Think about an eagle or some other kind of majestic bird that has a broken wing. Normally, that eagle would be soaring through the sky, enjoying incredible freedom and going wherever it wanted to go and feeling the wind running through its feathers. But instead, because of its broken wing, it’s hobbling along the ground. I’m no animal expert, but I know that eagle is probably not very happy—because it’s not enjoying what it was created to enjoy. And that’s the way we are apart from God. And like eagle, because we were created for something more, it’s quite natural for us to feel a desire for something more. Or in the terminology of Jesus in John 7, it’s quite natural for us to be thirsty. We should be thirsty. 

So if you’re feeling frustrated with your life—not just frustrated with a particular situation but frustrated with life in general—this explains why. This explains why no matter how much money you make or how many material possessions you accumulate or what kind of professional status you obtain or how many “good times” you have with your friends, none of those things bring you the fullness you’re looking for. You always feel strangely empty. This is why. You were created for something more. 

And if you do feel that thirst—that deep inward longing and aching for something more than this world can provide—then I have some good news for you. You’re exactly the kind of person Jesus is directing his invitation toward in our text. He invites the thirsty. And that’s the only requirement. Jesus doesn’t say anything about performing well enough morally or measuring up to a certain standard. The only requirement he gives is being thirsty. That’s it! If that’s you, Jesus invites you to take him up on his invitation.

“What does Jesus invite people to do?”

And that leads us to the second question I’d like to ask and answer related to his invitation: “What is it?” “What does Jesus invite people to do?” Well, as we see in that same verse, verse 37, Jesus invites people to “come” and “drink.” “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” And that coming and drinking in verse 37 is used interchangeably with believing in verse 38. Believing in Christ—the way the Bible uses that term—is coming to Christ and drinking from Christ in order to have your soul satisfied. That’s the invitation. And even more than that, that’s Christianity! As we gather here in church week after week and talk about Jesus, that’s what we’re calling people to do. That’s the central thing: come to Jesus and drink of him and experience a depth of satisfaction you never before even knew existed. That’s the invitation.

A few years ago, I was working for a hospice company, and the company had a very good year business-wise. Maybe you’re not sure if that’s good thing or a bad thing, for a hospice to be doing well with their business goals, but the leaders of the company definitely thought it was a good thing. And I suppose it did provide jobs for people and things like that. So to celebrate what a good year it was, they took all of us employees out to a very nice restaurant for a dinner party. And honestly, I had never been to a restaurant that fancy before. It was nice. And it was even nicer that someone else was paying for it so that I could enjoy everything I wanted to enjoy without thinking about how much it cost. They served us seafood and steak and a wide array of nicely prepared foods. It was amazing. And I’m almost certain I went home that evening with a very heavy “food coma,” as I like to call it, for having eaten so much. But what would you think of me if I told you—hypothetically—that I went to that dinner party but didn’t eat anything? I wasn’t on a diet or anything. I just went to the restaurant and somehow never got around to eating any of that really delicious food. Well, of course, you’d wonder why. If you’re not on a diet, why in the world would you go to a dinner party and not have dinner, especially at a restaurant like that? 

And, you know, that’s exactly what I wonder about so many people who call themselves Christians and do many of the things Christians do, but give no evidence of drinking of Christ—delighting in Christ, savoring Christ. Why would you do that? Why would you surround yourself with people who are drinking of Christ and at least claim you believe everything they believe and yet never drink of Christ yourself? Maybe you attend church, maybe you serve in church, maybe you donate to the church, maybe you do all of the external things church people say you’re supposed to do, but you never drink from the only fountain that can satisfy. If that’s you, I don’t know what exactly you have, but it’s not Christianity. You’re missing it. You’re missing out. 

And let me say a word here to any in attendance who are true Christians and do delight in Christ somewhat but are very cognitive and therefore have a tendency to get a little too wrapped up in theology to the point that it’s unhealthy. Getting wrapped up in theology to that extent reminds me of the way babies and toddlers respond when they receive presents. Their parents spend all this money on really nice presents, but what does a child that age usually want to play with the most? They want to play with the box. Many times, that’s they only thing they seem interested in playing with. You know, my son Silas is turning two years old in a couple of weeks, and I bet if we wanted to, we could just give that kid some colorful boxes that used to have toys in them and that he would be perfectly content just playing with those. Now, I’m sure Becky wouldn’t let me do that, but I bet we could if we wanted to, and he’d think it was the best birthday ever—because that’s how kids that age are. 

And unfortunately, that’s the way some Christians seem to be with theology—they get way too preoccupied with it. Now don’t get me wrong: I love theology. I stopped doing sports in eleventh grade so I could use that extra two hours each day to read Charles Ryrie’s 700-page systematic theology book from cover to cover and look up every single Bible verse he cited. Also, I’m now entering my eleventh year of formal theological study in an academic setting. So I love theology. In fact, I don’t think anyone can be a healthy Christian if they’re not growing in their theological knowledge. But here’s the thing: theology is simply a workhorse, a means to an end. In other words, we don’t do theology for the sake of doing theology. We do theology because we want more of God and we want to delight in him. As one preacher memorably put it, “I don’t just want to think; I want to drink.” Lead me to the well. Let me drink. And that’s exactly what Jesus invites you to do also.

“What will be the outcome for those who respond?”

Now moving on quickly to the third question this morning, “What will be the outcome for those who respond?” What happens when we take Jesus up on his invitation? Verses 38-39: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” So whoever receives this invitation will be overflowing with what Jesus calls “rivers of living water.” You may remember Jesus using that same phrase in John 4:10, when he told the woman at the well, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” So Jesus seems to have used this metaphor of “living water” on a number of occasions. And we see back in our main text, in verse 39, that “living water” actually refers to the Holy Spirit. After Jesus died and resurrected, be would send the Holy Spirit to actually live within his followers. Think about that. When someone drinks of Jesus, Jesus doesn’t just allow them to have a sip. He gives them a deluge of water, “rivers of living water.” And he does that in the form of the Holy Spirit living within them.

That’s pretty amazing when you think about it. In fact, it’s probably the most amazing thing that happens to us this side of heaven. I mean, the God of the universe—a God of greater splendor than our minds can fathom—actually comes to dwell within his people. That’s incredible. In the Old Testament, God separated himself from his people by a thick curtain in the temple. That’s what we would expect for a God of such holiness. We would expect some kind of separation between him and us. And even him dwelling behind that curtain in the temple was a very gracious thing for him to do. The Old Testament describes him as dwelling in the “midst” of the Israelites. That’s very gracious. But here in John 7, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit won’t just dwell in the midst of his people. He’ll dwell within his people. “Out of [our hearts] will flow rivers of living water.”

Becky’s grandfather was a soldier who served in Europe during World War II. And he was captured during the war and spent a number of months in Nazi prison camp. Not exactly the most pleasant experience, I’m sure. But he survived and was eventually released. And after his release, he actually got to have dinner with the queen of England. The queen wanted to express her appreciation for his service, so she invited him, along with a few others to have dinner with her. And he got to shake her hand and talk to her and everything like that. That’s pretty neat. That’s definitely a high honor to be able to do that. And when I think about the fact that One infinitely greater than the queen of England actually dwells in me, it blows my mind. It’s a wonderful mystery that I can’t even begin to comprehend. 

No wonder Jesus uses the phrase “rivers of living water.” “Rivers” implies an abundance, and that’s what he gives in the form of his Spirit. Jesus gives us an abundance of his presence within us, and along with it, an abundance of joy and an abundance of satisfaction. That’s what happens when you respond to Jesus’ invitation. He’ll give you so much fullness and so much satisfaction that you won’t be able to contain it, and “out of [your] heart will flow rivers of living water.” So the “living water” won’t just stay in your heart. It’ll flow “out of” your heart. It’ll be present with such abundance that it will overflow from your heart into your conversations and every other aspect of your life so that your entire life will be saturated with the joy of God’s presence. 

Conclusion

That’s what Jesus invites you to experience this morning. If you don’t remember anything else, remember these ten words: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” It’s such a simple invitation when you think about it, but so many people—even many churchgoers—just don’t seem to get it, unfortunately. So many seem to be missing it and, consequently, missing pretty much the whole point of Christianity. That’s crazy when you think about it, and yet it’s possible. It’s possible to consistently attend church and faithfully serve in church and generously give to the church but still miss the whole point of Christianity. So this morning, I’d like you to be very honest with yourself and ask yourself whether that might be you. Ask yourself, “Is it possible that even though I’ve been actively involved in church, I’ve actually been missing the whole point of Christianity?”

Maybe that’s why verses 37 records that Jesus stood up to say what he said. Typically, in that culture, rabbis would sit down to teach. They would sit, while their audience would stand. But in giving this invitation, Jesus stands up. Maybe he knew that his audience needed to be shocked out of their status-quo religion and awakened to their need to drink of him. And maybe we also need that kind of shock and awakening.

Listen to me: Jesus invites you to so much more than empty religion or mere morality. He invites you to drink of himself. Are you doing that? If you and I were having a personal, one-on-one conversation right now, and I was sharing with you about how I’ve been drinking of Jesus and delighting in Jesus this past week—not in a boastful way but just joyfully sharing about those experiences—would you be able to contribute to the conversation? Listen: that’s not some kind of exceptional Christianity that’s reserved only for pastors and elite Christians. That’s normal Christianity. It’s just normal. It’s what the average Christian should be experiencing on a very regular basis. The invitation goes out to everybody. As we read earlier in the service in Revelation 22:17, “The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”