“On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out in a loud voice, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” ‘ ” (John 7:37-38/Ex 17:6) “Jesus answered her, ‘… whoever drinks the water that I give them will never be thirsty again.’ ” (John 4:10-13)

He offers His Spirit in quiet places in the middle of nowhere, and in the midst of huge crowds. “When He stood up at the great feast, Jesus was referring to Moses’ striking of the rock at Meribah to provide lifesaving water to the Israelites in the wilderness. That water was a picture of the Spirit of God. Water for drinking is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. (John 7:39) Water for washing is a symbol of the word of God. (John 15:3; Eph 5:26) Just as taking water into our bodies satisfies physical thirst, so the Spirit of God satisfies the soul and enables us to bear the fruit of the Spirit. The religious Jews attending this feast would have known their Scripture and probably understood that Jesus was now proclaiming Himself to be like the rock of God that Moses struck. If they could only have seen the lives He would one day save as a result of their ‘striking’ Him!” (John MacArthur)

But don’t overlook the place and timing of Jesus’ proclamation. Do you know what “Feast” this was? “This was the Feast of Tabernacles, or Booths, or Succoth. It is a week of great celebration, of building ‘booths’ to resemble the dwellings of the wandering Hebrews in the wilderness. In Jesus’ time, upon the last and greatest day of the Feast, the high priest would lead a huge procession from the temple down a steep hill to the pool of Siloam. He would dip a pitcher into the pool and return to the temple with the crowd chanting, ‘Save us now, O Jehovah.’ (Psalm 118:25) When the crowd arrived at the temple, the high priest would ceremoniously raise the pitcher high and pour its contents on the ground to commemorate Moses’ act in the wilderness, while announcing Isaiah 12: ‘With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation!’ (vs. 13) Now picture Jesus, suddenly crying out His Messianic invitation.” (Dr. William L. Lane) Big difference. Knowing the full context certainly gives us a full color picture, and we thank God for revealing it! (Matt 13:16-17)

David