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Intro
It has been a great challenge looking at what Jesus has to say about being a true disciple over the past few weeks.
I hope you are encouraged to be walking with Him, following Him every day.
Learning from Him, Loving Him, Loving on another, Loving the World, and Living in Obedience.
Today, we are going to work our way through John 7, ultimately focusing on Jesus plea for all who are thirsty to come to Him.
Have you ever been thirsty?
I mean really thirsty?
You just longed for something refreshing, something that would satisfy?
I remember a trip I was on.
I was in the coastal town of Wewak, helping to load supplies for another team of missionaries who were moving into a tribal location interior.
They had hired a truck to carry their supplies from Wewak, to a spot on the Sepik River.
After loading the truck, I climbed on to ride.
This was a 20 foot flat bed truck, and I had to ride on top of the supplies on the back.
It was a beautiful, sunny day for the 6 hour trip.
The road interior was rough, and I had to hang on tight with the bumps, twists and turns as we headed over the coastal mountains, and then down into the Sepik Plain.
The road was paved, at least for the first few miles.
After that, there were some parts where there was still a little pavement.
Mostly it was pot-holed and rutted dirt roads.
What started as a fun adventure riding on the top of a truck, soon turned into a hot, dusty, diesel exhaust inhaling journey.
I still enjoyed it.
But the bumps, dust and fumes, along with the blistering sun did keep it from being a pleasure trip.
After a few hours of the sun, dust and fumes, I was out of water, sunburned and thirsty.
Eventually they made a quick stop at a village, and there I had my first taste of kulau—fresh coconut milk.
I was never a fan of coconut growing up, but I was thirsty.
I was parched, hot and feeling dust encrusted.
They chopped off the top of a green coconut, and I enjoyed the sweet, cool, refreshing milk.
Wow!
I couldn’t believe how good it was.
That kulau was so good!
And, to my surprise, even though that coconut was out in the sun like me, the juice was cool to my palate.
Have you ever had that experience, when you were truly hot and thirsty?
How good was it when you finally got a drink!
Especially a cool, drink that just seems to refresh and revive you?
Jesus is talking to the people, and says, “Anyone who is thirsty, come to me!”
However, I don’t think Jesus is talking about being physically thirsty.
I believe He is talking about our longing for something more, something truly satisfying in life.
I believe we all have that longing for something that really satisfies, and it isn’t Coca-Cola.
What is it?
Let’s pray, and work our way through the passage.
The Jewish Festival of Tabernacles.
The Jewish feasts were given to the Israelites when the came out of Egypt.
God set times for them to come to Jerusalem to remember, worship, and look to the future.
They were to be times of refreshing!!
If you are reading the Bible chronologically with us this year, you will have read this summary of the feasts in Deuteronomy.
The Jewish Feasts - Times of Refreshment
Three times a year, at these three feasts, the Israelites were to gather in Jerusalem.
God wanted them to remember specific things at each festival, worship Him, and look to the future.
The Festival of Unleavened Bread began with the Passover.
What were they remembering?
How God delivered them out of slavery.
They were to worship God for His deliverance.
What was the future significance?
Jesus, the Passover Lamb who delivers all who believe in Him through His death, burial and resurrection for our salvation.
Then, as a part of that Festival of Unleavened Bread, on the Sunday following the Passover, they were to have the wave offering of firstfruits.
They were to worship the Lord for His provision, in thanks of the rest of the harvest that had just begun.
The future significance was that Jesus rose from the dead, the first of the harvest of God’s righteous ones!
The whole week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was to remind them of how God provided for them to have new life after they were released from slavery.
They had to leave in haste, not allowing time for their bread to rise, but God provided for them.
The future significance is God providing new, eternal life for us, conquering death through Christ.
Fifty days after the First fruits, was the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost.
This was to celebrate God providing the harvest for them.
Now, they offered God two loaves of leavened bread to thank God for His provision.
The future significance of this was the beginning of the church, which was for both Jews and Gentiles!
In the fall, the Feast of Tabernacles followed the Festival of trumpets, and the day of atonement.
Once again, for the Feast of Tabernacles they were to gather in Jerusalem.
They were to remember how they lived temporary shelters when they first came out of slavery in Egypt, until God brought them into the promised land.
They worshiped Him for bringing them out of slavery, providing for them on their journey and bringing them home.
The future significance for Israel was that after they lost their nation and were scattered among the nations, God promised He the messiah would come and establish His kingdom on Earth at Jerusalem.
Zechariah says
A few verses later, Zechariah through the Spirit says,
The Festival of Tabernacles
This Festival of Tabernacles was a time of worship for what the Lord had done as He cared for the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness until they were home in the promised land.
It was also looking forward to what the Lord would do when He came and established His kingdom on Earth in Jerusalem.
He was with them, providing what they needed as they wandered this weary world.
And one day, they would no longer be wanderers in this world.
They would be home with Him!
That is what the Festival was supposed to be about.
It should have been a time of real refreshment.
However, as John puts it...
The feast was more about what the Jews had made of it, than what God desired for them to be getting out of it.
It had become ritual, instead of a fresh time of worship and anticipation.
It was no longer refreshing.
It was what needed to be done.
It was the routine that just added more stress to their day-to-day lives.
That is the background.
Now, let’s keep working our way through this passage.
Jesus’ brothers did not believe.
They though Jesus just wanted fame.
They thought He was just about getting a lot of attention from crowds of people.
Jesus was not after crowds.
He wanted true followers.
So, Jesus responds,
The World Hates Me
The world hates me because I testify that its works are evil.
Jesus knew the religious leaders wanted to kill Him.
Chapters 6 and 7 in John are a transition from people loving what Jesus was doing, to not appreciating Him because He was not doing what they wanted.
They did not like when He spoke the truth about their actions.
They hated Him, and wanted to kill Him.
Jesus knew what it was like to be a a world that is full of trouble.
He knew how tiring it is, how wearying it is, how depressing it can be living in this harsh world.
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