"Come to Me and drink."

John 7:1-52

Welcome! Today we are continuing our series entitled “What did He say?!” on John chapters 5 through 11. If I had to name two over-arching themes in these chapters, I would say that one is that Jesus is God – this in fact is a huge theme throughout the book of John – and the other is that people refused to accept what Jesus really had to say. We have seen these themes already, and we will continue to see them. But beyond this, there is much more to see in these chapters, and I am excited about what we will see in John chapter 7 today.

The very first words of John 7 are “after this,” to which our natural response should be “After what?” Well, in John 5 and 6 we see Jesus in Galilee after leaving Jerusalem because the leaders there were becoming more and more upset with Him, even to the point of beginning to plot His death. There in Galilee, Jesus drew larger and larger crowds, and in front of a giant crowd of “5000 men” and who knows how many others, He miraculously fed the whole group starting from only 5 small loaves and two fish. He then left the crowd because they wanted to forcibly take Him and make Him king. His disciples crossed the lake that evening, a fierce storm came up, and Jesus miraculously walked across the water to meet them. After this the storm suddenly ceased, and they crossed to the other side. There, in Capernaum, the crowd followed after Jesus the next day, and in a dramatic teaching, Jesus explained that they needed to “eat His flesh and drink His blood” if they wanted to come to Him or to the Father. At this much of the crowd and even the greater group of disciples left Him. And this brings us to Chapter 7.

After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take His life. But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to Him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even His own brothers did not believe in Him. – John 7:1-5 

The Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was a fall feast; the events of Chapters 5 and 6 took place right around the Passover, a spring feast. This means that Jesus “went around in Galilee” with His disciples for about 7 months. John tells us nothing about this gap of time except to describe His location. From the other gospels we see that Jesus primarily spent His time with the disciples; He continued to do some healings, some teaching in small groups, but it does not appear He had other events with giant crowds. His primary focus seems to have been on His 12 disciples. Although John does not talk about this, because it does not relate to the themes He has been led by the Holy Spirit to emphasize, I find it quite significant.

The first thing I should point out I that Jesus wasn’t staying away from Judea because He was afraid, but because the time wasn’t right. Jesus, in everything He did, followed the will of the Father, and God did not want Jesus to die for mankind yet. Why? I am sure there are many reasons, some perhaps which we will never know, but one which appears obvious to me is that Jesus wanted to continue to build into His disciples before He left them.

Disciple-making was a huge deal to Jesus. One obvious reason for this is that these disciples would be the future of the gospel, that unless these guys were built up and made ready for living as mature believers and sharing the gospel, Christ’s sacrifice would not have led to the salvation of more than a handful of people. And I find it very significant that Jesus’ instructions to them, after His resurrection but before He ascended into heaven was this: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” – Matthew 28:19-20. I don’t want to get too far off track from John 7, but do you understand that God desires that (1) you become a disciple, and, (2), you make disciples? In fact, a disciple is someone who makes disciples. It’s not someone who goes to church every week, although that is good, or someone who prays regularly or studies the Bible regularly or gives to the church regularly, although those are good too; it is someone who makes disciples. I encourage you to really think about this. Are you taking steps to (1) be discipled, (2), be a discipler? If you are a student, understand that this is Brian’s heart more than anything – to see you become one who, for the rest of your life, multiplies your life – a life fully in submission and service to God – into others. I encourage you to talk with Brian to see how he can walk beside you and help you to grow to truly be a disciple. And if you are a “non-student” adult who is a part of this church, I encourage you to talk with me or John or Fred about growing to be a disciple. We too desire nothing more than to help equip you and train you and help you to grow in love and submission and service to Christ and to help you become able to similarly help others. And if you are a child, our vision is that we would help you to grow too, not just individually but also through your parents; that is, we desire to equip you as a family to grow together to be disciples in Christ. Please talk to us if you desire us to help you further in these things. 

But back to our passage – it is time for the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Booths. According to Leviticus 23, everyone was to go to this feast.  For eight days they were to live together in booths, present offerings to the Lord by fire, and take choice fruit from the trees, palm fronds, and leafy branches and rejoice before the Lord.

And so Jesus’ brothers (technically speaking, His half-brothers) came to Him. From Matthew 13:55 and other verses, we know these are James, Joseph, Simon, and Jude. And these guys have some misconceptions about Jesus. First of all, they doubted whether He really was what He claimed to be. And second, they think He wants “to become a public figure.” Now, Jesus is the oldest “brother”; they weren’t around at the time of all the miracles of the virgin birth. Yes, they grew up with Him, and they certainly observed His lack of entering into sin, but they may not have seen the miracles, and the things Jesus was saying was more than they could believe. And, apparently, they could not understand why, if Jesus was who He said He was, Jesus would just “hide out” in the remote parts of Northern Israel for all these months rather than go to Jerusalem and become the leader they thought He intended to become.

  

Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time for Me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for Me the right time has not yet come.” Having said this, He stayed in Galilee. – John 7:6-9 

And so, Jesus’ answer is, “it’s not the right time.” His brothers did seem to notice how much time Jesus was spending with the twelve; this told Him to go to Jerusalem “so His disciples could see what He could do.” But they didn’t understand that this was wasting time, or doing things in secret – it was part of God’s timeline, and one purpose was to build into those 12 disciples (technically, into 11 of them).

Jesus also explains that the “world” hates Him because He testifies that what they do is evil. You know, I think part of being a disciple, of following Jesus, is to sometimes testify yourself when those around you are doing evil. Being an outspoken Christian, even if you do it with great love for others, is, in many cases, more likely to cause you alienation than affection. But we are called out to defend the innocent and protect those who need protection. And if you look at the history of Christianity, some of its greatest moments have been when individual believers have acted on their faith and done just that. One example that comes to mind for me is those who built orphanages and cared for orphans in such a way that they completely transformed how society as a whole viewed those who had lost their parents. Another example is those such as William Wilberforce who helped to put an end to slavery. Jesus did not do these particular things, but He spoke out against the hypocrisy and the wrong things the Jewish leaders did, misusing the Law and their power to put their people under a different kind of slavery. And because He did this, He was hated. 

However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, He went also, not publicly, but in secret. Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for Him and asking, “Where is that man?” Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about Him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” But no one would say anything publicly about Him for fear of the Jews. – John 7:10-13 

The Jews “watching for Him” were the Jewish leaders, the Pharisees. They were really determined to put an end to Him, asking those around them, “Where is he?” And their attitude was so full of hatred that nobody even had the courage to say something publically like “I think maybe He really is the Messiah.” Today we would call this severe political correctness – such a climate of fear and intimidation that people are not even willing to publically say what they think, even if they are not quite sure what they think. Some of the events on the national stage and world stage this week even reflect this kind of thinking. Nobody seems willing to say that killing innocent people just because some guy totally unrelated to them made an offensive movie, no matter how offensive, is completely and unequivocally wrong. Why will nobody say this? I have to conclude that people are intimidated, afraid of what might happen. The same thing is going on here in John 7, 2000 years earlier. 

Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?” Jesus answered, “My teaching is not My own. It comes from Him who sent Me. If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.” – John 7:14-18 

And so, Jesus is back in Jerusalem, at first keeping a low profile, but on day 3 or 4 of the Feast, Jesus begins again to teach publically. The Jews there were amazed at His teaching. They were flabbergasted. They were astonished. Nobody ever spoke like this, it says elsewhere. They didn’t recognize Him as one of the local rabbis, one of the famous rabbis, so they couldn’t understand how He could know and teach what He did. (And what He taught was infinitely more powerful, more deep, more amazing than anything any mere rabbi could teach anyway.) “How could He do that?” they thought. Jesus, knowing their thoughts even if He didn’t hear what they murmured, responds by saying something similar to what He told Nicodemus in John 3, similar to what He had said in Capernaum, after feeding the 5000: His teaching came straight from God.

To say this was no less explosive than to overturn the tables as He had once done in Jerusalem. It was explosive for two reasons: 1. It clearly implied that the teaching of their rabbis weren’t from God; it was just their own made-up opinions and ideas, and as such, quite fallible. 2. To imply that He received teaching directly from God implied that His relationship with God was unique, far beyond that of even the most devout rabbi. And in His next sentence, He makes it clear that the rabbis did seek to gain honor for themselves, that they did speak falsehoods to do so. Jesus said He was not at all like that – His words came straight from God.

By the way, this passage gives 3 reasons to trust Jesus, to believe in Him. 1. Because what He taught was unlike anything anyone else ever taught. 2. Because you can test Him by doing what He says to do and see what happens. 3. Because He does not seek His own honor; that is, because He is humble, selfless. (The ultimate proof of this is how He willingly gives His life for us.) 

“Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill Me?” “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?” – John 7:19-20 

It took me a while to make the connection between the first and second parts of verse 19. Although it is not literally in the Greek, you can easily make the connection if you add the little word “so.” “Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. So why are you trying to kill Me?” Does that help? The last time Jesus was in Jerusalem, the reason the leaders said they were so upset with Jesus is that He had healed a crippled man on the Sabbath. In other words, they were upset because they believed Jesus had broken the law. Jesus explained to them how He had not in fact broken the law, not God’s real law, anyway. But the Pharisees had added tons of detailed rules making law keeping a horrible burden and yet they themselves violated the most fundamental aspects of the Law. They didn’t really love the Lord, to begin with. And so, Jesus, dropping His “cloak” of anonymity as the Jewish leaders began to realize who He really was, asks them why they want to kill Him for supposedly breaking the Law when in fact they are all serious lawbreakers themselves. They respond by basically calling Him crazy, denying that anyone wants to kill Him. 

Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with Me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” – John 7:21-24 

Jesus completely ignores their answer, their lie, their feigning ignorance of any plot to kill Him and instead goes back to the miraculous healing of that crippled man on the Sabbath. And as Jesus often did, He drew connections, brought things together that no one ever thought about, and as He says it, it’s logic is so incontrovertible, so clear, that everyone wonders why they never thought about it that way before. I personally love how Jesus does this again and again. It is one of the things that just blew me away when I read John for the first time before becoming a Christian. I had read most of the Old Testament at this point, so I knew what Jesus was talking about, but when Jesus would say these things, I was just as amazed as those who were personally there to hear Him.

And so, in this case, Jesus asks them about the fact that they circumcise a child on the 8^th day, even if it falls out on a Sabbath. Leviticus 12:3 says “On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised.” Period. And then He draws out a deeper meaning of circumcision that no-one had ever drawn out – it was a kind of healing, symbolically. In Leviticus 12, it is described right in the midst, before and after this verse, of the requirements for purification, being declared clean, after childbirth; circumcision was a necessary step for this purification or “healing” of the woman. On your own, you can look at the entire chapter – it’s a very short chapter – to see this. And elsewhere, in multiple places, it is described as a necessary act to be a part of the Israelite people, that is, to be a part of the people of the covenant. Under the Mosaic Law, a child not circumcised could not be a part of the Israelite people. To circumcise the child was to “restore” them into the covenant and the blessings of God. In a similar way, but much more completely, Jesus said, was His act of healing a man on the Sabbath, as it healed his whole body. How then could this be wrong?

It was a devastating argument. Who could argue with it? After hearing it, who could think that the Jewish leaders were right in anything they were saying about the incident, or even in anything else they were saying about Jesus? 

At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ? But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” – John 7:25-27 

But the crowds still had questions. They changed the subject. We saw this with the woman at the well. And if you spend any time talking to unbelievers about Jesus, you will see this too. They often don’t even really listen to what you are saying – they rarely if ever acknowledge that your argument devastates theirs. Instead, desperate to be able to keep on believing whatever they believe, they play mental gymnastics, forgetting what was just said, pretending as if it never happened, and move on to talk about something else that bothers them about Christianity. If you have spent time talking to unbelievers, you know how frustrating this can be, although you may not have a chance to think about it until later, because you are too busy answering the next argument people give to be able to stop and think at all – which is precisely their intent, whether they realize it or not.

As a former atheist, as one who used to do this very thing, let me encourage you. They may well think about it later, even if they don’t acknowledge that you have “won” anything. Over time, they may realize that their top arguments, one by one, have disappeared. Don’t be discouraged if people do this to you – only God knows the real impact of what you are doing. And God is pleased when we engage others regardless of what happens. 

Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know Me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on My own, but He who sent Me is true. You do not know Him, but I know Him because I am from Him and He sent Me.” – John 7:28-29 

So how did Jesus respond to this change of subject? He addresses it but comes back to one of His central messages – He is from God, and He knows God – and they don’t! 

And by the way, that argument that no one should know where Christ is from is not found in Scripture. From what I have read, it was based on rabbis’ misinterpretations of several verses including Malachi 3:1, which says that the Lord shall come suddenly to His Temple. It’s a total stretch to make that mean that no one should know where he was from. But the rabbis often did this. 

At this they tried to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him, because His time had not yet come. Still, many in the crowd put their faith in Him. They said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more miraculous signs than this man?” The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about Him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest Him. – John 7:30-32 

They tried to seize Him because they understood that Jesus’ claims really amounted to a claim of divinity. Just as in previous conversations that took this turn, they refused to accept even the possibility that Jesus was God. Not only this, but the crowd is starting to believe – this is a very real threat to the Pharisees – they could lose their authority and respect and power if many people start believing in Him. So they sent out temple guards to try to arrest Him. 

Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent Me. You will look for Me, but you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.” The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for Me, but you will not find Me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?” – John 7:33-36 

This was presumably said to the crowds while the guards were starting to search for Him. There is irony here that they were actually searching for Him, because Jesus was really speaking of a future time, not the present. He was speaking of His death – He would go to the Father after completing the task His Father had assigned to Him, dying a horrible death on the cross for the sins of man. But the Jews missed all that. Either they were genuinely clueless or this was sarcasm, in which case they were mocking Jesus! 

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. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. – John 7:37-39 

I want to read a commentary on these verses by Morris, The Gospel According to John: 

 Tabernacles was a festival rich in symbolism and popular appeal, and the symbolism forms the background to our Lord’s saying. The principal features of the observance, in addition to the erection of the leafy bowers in which the people camped out and the offering of the sacrifices, appear to have been these. The people carried with them bunches of leaves, called lulabs. There was apparently a disagreement between the Sadducees and the Pharisees over the correct interpretation of Lev 23:40, “And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook….” The former took the words to refer to the material out of which the booths for the observance of the feast were to be constructed, while the latter held them to mean that the worshippers were actually to carry branches of the trees named as they entered the temple. The Pharisaic interpretation prevailed among the people, and accordingly each worshipper, as he marched in procession, would carry a lulab in his right hand and a citron in his left. The lulab symbolized the stages of the wilderness journey (marked by different kinds of vegetation), and the fruit the fruit of the goodly land that God had given His people. As certain Psalms were recited the worshippers shook their lulabs. The rejoicing was marked further by the flute-playing and dancing that went on for most of the feast and by bringing in young willow branches and arranging them round the altar (Sukk. 4:5). The tops thus were bent over the altar forming a leafy canopy for it. The reciting of the words, “Save now, we beseech thee, O Jehovah: O Jehovah, we beseech thee, send now prosperity” (Ps 118:25), is probably to be understood as a prayer for rain and fruitful season. On each of the seven days of the feast a priest drew water from the pool of Siloam in a golden flagon and brought it in procession to the temple with the joyful sounding of the trumpet. There the water was poured into a bowl beside the altar from which a tube took it to the base of the altar. Simultaneously wine was poured through a similar bowl on the other side of the altar. These symbolic ceremonies were acted thanksgivings for God’s mercies in giving water in past days (probably looking right back to the smiting of the rock in the wilderness and then on to the giving of rain in recent years). They were also an acted prayer for rain in the coming year. It is also significant that the words of Isaiah are associated with these ceremonies, “with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation” (Isa 12:3). The Jerusalem Talmud connects the ceremonies and this scripture with the Holy Spirit: “Why is the name of it called, The drawing out of water? Because of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, according to what is said: ‘With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.’”

And so, in this amazing context, Jesus on the last and greatest day of the feast announces that if you thirst, you should come to Him! Drink from Him! In so doing He declared Himself the true fulfillment of these traditions. Picture in your mind the situation where the Israelites were desperately thirsty in the desert, crying out to Moses to bring them water. This is what the people were thinking of. In this context Jesus tells them that He is the ultimate solution, the eternal solution, to thirst. 

On hearing His words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Christ.” Still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family 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. – John 7:40-44 

How extremely ironic that the people complained about where Christ was from – they did not know that Jesus was in fact born in Bethlehem. They only knew that He grew up in Galilee. 

Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards declared. “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. “Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.” – John 7:45-49 

The guards were overwhelmed by what Jesus had said. They sound almost dazed, in a trance. The Holy Spirit was working in their hearts, as well as the hearts of many of the “mob.” I hope this stirs your soul as well – I know that I hunger and thirst for a day when my hunger and thirst is truly satisfied, when I no longer fight my sin nature against its desire for things that do not truly satisfy. Like many things, there is a sense in which this is fulfilled now, in that we can taste and see that the Lord is good now, that we can be filled by the Spirit and walk in the Spirit now, but even this is nothing to what will be, when we are forever filled and perfect in Christ, when we no longer war against the world, our flesh, or the devil. In that day will we see the ultimate fulfillment of our finding our thirst filled by Him. And by the way, there is more supreme irony here. This “mob” is in fact cursed, as are all men. The Pharisees seem to have forgotten that they too are cursed with the curse of Adam. And this mob that supposedly knows nothing of the law actually knows more than their teachers. It is true they don’t know all the fine points of the made-up rules that went beyond the Law of Moses, but they know that they thirst, and they know that the Law does not do anything to fix their thirst. And in their hearts, they too are stirred – they want Jesus to fill their thirst. It is the Pharisees that don’t really know what they are missing. They are blinded by their rage. 

Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, “Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.” – John 7:50-52 

It would appear that Nicodemus too, who we learned about in chapter 3, has had his heart stirred by Jesus’ promise to satisfy thirst. But the leaders snap back at him. This is also ironic because, according to 2 Kings 14:25, the prophet Jonah was from Gath Hepher, which was in Galilee. You know, it is a truth that God makes fools out of fools. I can tell you that I, in my atheist days, was a first-class fool. I remember one particular time in my undergraduate days walking on the UCLA campus looking at some Christians doing outreach and thinking, “How foolish and deceived these poor people are – if only I could help them see the truth!” In my pride, I had no idea that I was the fool – these people had come to Christ and drunk of Him, and from them rivers of living water were flowing. May we ever find our fill solely in Him.