Wednesday 26 May 2021
- Bible Book:
- John
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 let the one who believes in me drink.' (vs. 37-38)
Background
The Festival of the Tabernacles is a seven-day festival celebrating God’s provision to us and our dependence on him. One of its features was the drawing and pouring of water that took place each morning. The priests would process to the Pool of Siloam, draw water from it and then return to the Temple and pour it out on the altar. This pouring out of water is often linked to Isaiah 43:3 and was a reminder of God’s provision of rain to make crops grow and a future hope of the living water that would flow from the Temple, as prophesied in Ezekiel 47:1-12 and seen in Revelation 22:1.
On the last day of the Festival, which was the grand finale, the greatest day, this procession was carried out in an even more elaborate way with more water than usual poured over the altar. It is on this day that Jesus, stood in the Temple courts proclaiming that whoever comes to him will never be thirsty. This was a big statement to a people celebrating the hope of God’s living water that they believed would flow out from the Temple when the Messiah reigned. Jesus was here proclaiming he was the one in which living water would flow out of and into those who believe.
We may lose the significance of the words Jesus proclaimed in the midst of that celebration as we read them today. That doesn’t mean they aren’t as true now as they were then. In this week when we celebrate the Spirit being poured out at Pentecost we need to hear the words of Jesus that if we come to him we will not thirst and his living water will fill each of us.
To Ponder:
- How does God provide for you each day? Do you give thanks for that provision in particular ways?
- When have you felt most filled with God’s Spirit?