Bible Materials

STREAMS OF LIVING WATER

by   01/26/2008   John 7:25~52

Message


In the previous passage we learned that if anyone chose to do God’s will, he would know the truthfulness of Jesus’ teaching and understand the Bible. Those who choose God’s will and do it are truly great and they will live forever. God’s will is world salvation through his Son Jesus Christ: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This grand will of God should be our focus and direction when making personal choices and decisions in life. In today’s passage people were wondering whether Jesus is the Christ promised to come sent by God. They were puzzled though they were amazed by his teaching and saw his miraculous work. They were indecisive and unspiritual. They were unhappy and thirsty. Still, Jesus embraced them and invited them to himself so that their lives might be truly satisfying and abundant. First, Jesus is from God; God sent him (25-36). It was the time of Jewish Feast of Tabernacle in Jerusalem. Some of the people of Jerusalem could sense that the religious leaders were trying to kill Jesus (murdering atmosphere). Jesus was there speaking publicly, but no one could say a word to him. The people of Jerusalem must have felt Jesus’ solemn authority and power. Then they asked, “Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?” They seemed to be waiting for the decision of the authorities for their faith. They depended on the political and religious authorities, not confessing their faith freely. To them what the authorities or government decided seemed be the deciding factor. In fact they were swayed by the public, being tossed here and there in the trend of the world. Government policies or social consensuses are important to the members of society. But faith in Jesus cannot rely on any other but on the person. It must be personal and requires personal decision. They continued to say, “But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” They knew Jesus was from Nazareth, a poor country village in Galilee. They knew his family members. Their shallow human knowledge about Jesus blocked them to come to Jesus personally. They expected that the Christ would come suddenly out of nowhere and perform sensational miracles to amaze people. Then they would believe him. In our time many people’s concept of the Christ is like that. How did Jesus help them? Look at verses 28-29. “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.” In history no one truly knew who God was, because nobody was directly from God. However, Jesus said, “I know him because I am from him.” No one had ever seen God, but Jesus has made him known (Jn 1:18). Jesus was with God in the beginning (Jn 1:1). But God sent him to this world as a human with flesh and human background in history. It was to show that God loved the people of the world and wanted to save them from their sins and give them eternal life. God made the way of salvation through his Son Jesus Christ. The religious leaders did not believe this revelatory teaching at all. Rather they sent temple guards to arrest him. Then Jesus said in verses 33-34. “I am with you for only a short time, and then 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.” Jesus would be with them for only a short time. This short time would be a very significant time in human history. During this short period Jesus revealed who God is, his love and power and his heavenly kingdom. Jesus’ death and resurrection was the peak of this revelation of God. God’s love was culminated when Jesus died on the cross for our sins; his power, when Jesus rose again from the dead. God loved us to the point of sacrificing his one and only Son. He was powerful enough to raise Jesus from the dead. After this short time Jesus would go to the one from whom he came. Jesus would ascend into heaven through his death and resurrection. He will come again to take us to the kingdom of God so that we may be where he is. He came from God, so he can lead us to God and his kingdom. God wants all people of the world to come to him and his glorious kingdom through his Son Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed for all believers before his death, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world” (Jn 17:24) Jesus eagerly wanted to share his glory with his people in the kingdom of God. To be where Jesus is is God’s utmost blessing offered for all mankind. Jesus, however, said to the unbelieving Jews, “You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” What a frustration that one cannot find him despite desperate effort! When one cannot find Jesus in this world, his future destiny will be horrible. “Where I am, you cannot come,” this is the most tragic thing that can happen to the people of the world. Those who cannot come to the place where Jesus is should remain in this world and confront God’s final judgment. When God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, he was merciful to Lot and his family members and wanted to save them from the catastrophe. Yet, Lot was hesitating and reluctant to escape to the safe place. Then the angels grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city. When they reached the safe zone, God rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah, and thus the twin cities were destroyed. This is a historical event and the same thing will happen on the final judgment day. Jesus gave this strong message to them, “Where I am, you cannot come,” so that they might know their destiny without faith in him and turn to God. We must know the spiritual reality. One must find him and put faith in him while in the world. Second, Jesus invites all to himself. Look at verse 37. “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.” Jesus had said to the Jews, “Where I am, you cannot come.” But here Jesus said to them, “…Come to me.” Now it is the time for them to come to him: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” Jesus’ invitation is wide-open and earnest for all the thirsty souls. For seven days they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. At the Feast, each Israelite lived in tent booths for those seven days. This reminded them of the time of Exodus. They lived in tent booths as they had wandered in the wilderness (Lev 23:43). There were two main events on the last day of the Feast: the sacrifice offering ceremony and the water-pouring ceremony. The water-pouring ceremony was the exciting climax of the Feast for everyone. This reminded them of the time when water gushed from the rock and quenched the thirsty souls of their forefathers in the wilderness (Ex 17:6). At this ceremony, they remembered God’s grace of quenching the thirst of their forefathers. And they rejoiced. It was the ceremony that led them to remember this wonderful event. But they had to know the true meaning of water gushing out of the rock in the desert. Later St. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:4 regarding this event, “They all…drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” Although the people participated in the Feast and drank so much during the festivities, they were thirsty in their souls. It was because they did not put their faith in Jesus. They did not know that Jesus is the spiritual rock. Jesus understood their thirstiness exactly. So, at the very moment of the water-pouring ceremony, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” They never expected such a sudden and dramatic invitation. No one could invite them to himself in such a way, but Jesus did. It was the right time for Jesus to reveal himself as the one who quenches human thirstiness. Thirstiness is a universal problem for all mankind. Amos 8:13 says, “In that day ‘the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst.’” To quench their thirst many young men and women follow party after party, drinking and dancing. They are thirsty for fun and more fun and popularity. People are thirsty for riches, power, love, and many other things. Jesus invites them all to himself, for he alone can quench their thirstiness and give them true satisfaction. He wants us to come to him with our thirstiness. We must come to him, not anyone else and drink from him, the spiritual rock. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drink the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” And Jesus went on to say. Look at verse 38. “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” What a promise! By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Streams of living water is not for one person but for many. It is written in Amos 5:24, “…let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” This is God’s earnest plea for his people when the society was corrupt. But here Jesus promised to all those who believe in him: “streams (rivers) of living water will flow from within him (inmost being).” This is the promise of out-pouring of the Holy Spirit as Joel prophesied, “…I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days” (Joel 2:28,29). This promise was fulfilled at the time of Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. It happened when a group of 120 believers gathered in an upper room and prayed holding to Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit. Also, when people heard the words of God, the Holy Spirit came upon them (Acts 10:44). In 1907 there was the Pyung-Yang revival in Korea. The revival movement began when a missionary, Canadian missionary, Hardy, repented of his hatred toward native people. That was the seed of revival. And earnest Bible study inflamed the movement through the entire land. The greatest revival movement in 20th century was the revival in Wales in 1904-1905. The work of the Holy Spirit was so powerful that movie theatres were closed and bars could not run any more. A Christian came to one of the revival meetings in Wales from America to know the secret of the revival. After the meeting, the American said to the leader of the revival meeting, “I want to know the secret.” This answer was, “There is no secret but the promise of God: ‘Ask and it will be given to you…how much more will your Father in heaven give you the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Lk 11:9-13)’” May we claim Jesus’ promise and pray and drink the words of John’s gospel until streams of living water flow from within us, the streams of joy, peace, love, power, hope and vision. Third, “No one ever spoke the way this man does” (40-52). Jesus gave them such life-imparting words of God. However, people’s responses varied. Some of the people said, “Surely this man is the prophet.” Others said, “He is the Christ.” Still others despised Jesus because Jesus was a Galilean. Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. Amid people’s diverse opinions upon Jesus there was the scintillating remark of the temple guards. They were sent to arrest Jesus. But they reported in declaration to those who sent them, “No one ever spoke the way this man does.” To them Jesus’ words were the never-heard-of shining truth of God that enlightened their hearts. As temple guards, their job was not that great, less than ordinary, but their understanding of Jesus’ words were extraordinary and remarkable. At this the Pharisees’ pride was greatly hurt. They could not admit their subjects’ unbiased, honest report. They retorted, saying, “You mean he has deceived you also? 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.” Their pride as God’s chosen people with the law was an immovable stumbling block in their lives. In their pride they were bigoted and unrepentant. Nicodemus’ words, “Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?” revealed their contradiction as people of the law. They judged everyone who did not fit to their category. They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.” We thank God for Jesus’ wide-open invitation, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” We thank God for Jesus’ great promise, “Whoever believes in me, streams of living water will flow from with in him.” May we make this word of Jesus’ promise ours.



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