Gospel Lesson of the Day: John 7:37-39
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. 38 He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.'” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
May 22, 2026
Dear Disciples of Christ,
Have you ever been thirsty? I mean REALLY thirsty so your tongue stuck to the roof of your mouth? You were so thirsty that your knees buckled and you needed to lie down and put your knees up and your head down so you could just think straight? If that’s happened to you, you know how uncomfortable or even scary it can be. It’s odd, in some ways. Why should being thirsty affect our thinking and acting and, in fact, our lives? A quick check on the Internet suggests our body is anywhere from 65 to 75% water but some parts contain more than others (Brain 75%, Heart 75%, Lungs 86%, Muscle 75%, Liver 85%, Kidney 83%, Bone 22%, Blood 83%). We REALLY need water or those vital parts of our bodies are going to let us know just how unhappy they are!
Now I expect most of us haven’t gone to the extreme and haven’t needed to be hospitalized for dehydration, but there are lots of “stages” in our body condition changing from healthy to hospitalized. Water is simply an essential part of our functioning and we get more than “grumpy” when we don’t have enough. So the people of Israel were grumpy in the wilderness when they had no food or water, but it was more than grumpiness that they displayed (Exodus 17:1-7). If you checked that reference (provided below), the Israelites didn’t make their request to the Lord who had saved them, redeemed them (bought them out of slavery). Instead they questioned Moses’ motives in bringing them the wilderness at all. Even worse, they put the Lord to the test, questioning whether He was among them or not. Using His servant, Moses, God provides life saving water from a rock. They are to learn to trust (have faith) in God whose love is steadfast and might beyond compare. Ultimately they would learn that in their forty years wandering there receiving daily food (miraculous manna) and life-sustaining water (sometimes, even from rocks!).
Paul makes reference to the rock (that sustained Israel in the wilderness) and indicates this was really Jesus, providing what they needed for life (1 Corinthians 10:1-5
I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same supernatural food 4 and all drank the same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless with most of them God was not pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness.).
It was not only a miracle to have water flow from the rock but a precursor of Jesus who would come so much later. Jesus, in the gospel lesson above, is at the Feast of Tabernacles. There had been some question about whether He would go to the festival or not because things had gotten very tense between Him and His teaching and the religious leaders and theirs (John 7:1-13). True to “form” (and His mission), Jesus preaches and teaches and reveals the truth (Himself). It is so startling and astounding and the religious leaders know the impact He is having and what He is saying will change everything about their structure of the faith. If the people take on his teachings as part of (or central to) their faith, they would lose their positions. If (or when?) Jesus is the center of the Kingdom, as He describes, they will be displaced and removed from their failed positions as shepherds. When Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd willing to die for the sheep, He also describes the other “hired hands” who would not do that (because they are in it simply for their own benefit and not that of the sheep – John 10:11-13). They want to arrest Him, oh so badly, but their fear of Him is greater than their anger (John 7:44-53). That will come, but not until His time.
Did you note that this proclamation of Jesus, that He is the source of living water, takes place during the Feast of Tabernacles (a harvest festival pointing to the needed rains and water)? Every day during that feast, water was taken from the pool of Siloam and poured on one of the altars at the temple. It was a reminder of the promise of God recorded in Zechariah 14:8-9 (On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea; it shall continue in summer as in winter. And the LORD will become king over all the earth; on that day the LORD will be one and his name one.) Pretty neat, eh? It’s “nice” (and important) that we know and consider the context for Jesus’ words above. Now HE would be the source of living water and He would be the connection between the people of the earth and God their maker (John 14:6). Wow. What a claim. What a gift!
Do you remember hearing of that pool of Siloam before? The man who was born blind was sent to that pool to “complete” the healing (and teaching message – John 9:1-7). Jesus had the power to heal the man, but He was connecting His power and mission to the Father who was doing His work through the Son. As glorious as was the temple and the feasts and festivals that Jews enjoyed there, Jesus had come to provide more for more. The temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed and a new age begun in Him as He became the Savior of the world and He would be the “gathering place” of worship for all nations (Matthew 24:1-3).
That would be, and has been done, in Jesus. He has been the source of grace and peace that brings us and all people back to the Father. That grace unites us with one another. And just how would that gracious Lord Jesus connect to people in every nation and every generation (even to our own)? The living waters that come from Jesus would be received by believers. They would find their relationship with God by faith, trusting in the work of the Son. And the gift of the Spirit that He would send, the living waters would flow not only to us but through us to others. Out of our lives the waters of love and grace will flow to all the people. We will be given gifts for the common good in the community and the words to say to invite others into the community.
Since only the thirsty take a drink and the sick go to a doctor, confession of sin is crucial for us, isn’t it?
Is our daily reading the Word like taking a drink from Jesus?
Who do you know needs to receive some life-giving water (of love and forgiveness in Jesus)?
Will you share some of the water you’ve received with them?
May we drink deeply today of the Word and, empowered by the Spirit, share it.
Peace in Him,
Pastor Johnson