Thirst, Come, Drink (7:37)

Jesus Fulfills the Symbolism of the Feast.

The last day. The “last day of the feast” refers to two possible days, either the 7th day or the 8th day. The Mishna indicates that the “Hallel Psalms and the rejoicing are for eight days” and that the 8th day was considered to be the “last festival day of the Festival” (Mishna, Sukkah 4:8).[1] This understanding well correlates to the statement in Leviticus, “For seven days you shall present food offerings to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work” ().

Josephus. 4. we should arrive at our own country, and come to that city which we should have then for our metropolis, because of the temple therein to be built, and keep a festival for eight days . . . On the eighth day all work was laid aside, and then, as we said before, they sacrificed to God . . . for an expiation of sins. And this in the accustomed solemnity of the Hebrews, when they pitch their tabernacles. [2]

Drawing a definitive conclusion does not have great significance, but there could be some value in understanding the backdrop to Jesus’ statement about those who thirst coming to him.

The water drawing ritual. The first 7 days of celebration would have included a water drawing ritual. Each morning, for the first six days, the Jewish people observed a water drawing ritual which involved the filling of a golden flagon from the Pool of Siloam which was then carried back to the temple. As they entered Jerusalem through the Water Gate, they were welcomed by three blasts of the shofar to mark the occasion. In addition, would be recited, “Therefore, you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation. This processional followed the path to the Temple and then proceeded around the altar and sang the Hallel (). The container of water was brought to the priest on duty who then poured the water over the altar. On the seventh day, the same processional occurred but they proceeded around the altar seven times instead of just once.

Mishna, Sukkah 4.5F. And on that day [the seventh day of the willow branch] they walk around the altar seven times.[3]

It appears that this water ceremony did not occur on the 8th day, but clearly the 8th day was a day of celebration in which they still recited the Hallel Psalms and rejoiced. The Mishna references this reality in Sukkah 4:1 “[The rites of] the lulab and the willow branch [carried by the priests around the altar, M. 5:5] are for six or seven [days]. The recitation of the Hallel Psalms and the rejoicing are for eight [days]. [The requirement of dwelling in the] sukkah and the water libation are for seven days.”[4]

So then, we have one of two possible scenes in which Jesus stood up and cried out to the Jewish people. Either we are to imagine Jesus standing amid the temple on the 7th day following the water ceremony, or we are to imagine Jesus standing in the center of the temple on the 8th day amid Jewish celebration. Either way, His manner and timing would have been bold and provocative.

Whether the water ceremony was performed on the 8th day or not, Jesus’ reference to water would have quickly drawn attention to the meaning of the water ritual.[5] This ceremony reminded the Jewish people of God’s provision of water as they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. “It commemorated the water that gushed out of the rock at Meribah and that was intended to quench the thirst of the multitude in the desert.”[6]

As the Jewish people celebrate God’s provision of water during their wilderness thirst, Jesus boldly stands and shouts that if anyone thirst, they should come to him, drink, and receive the life-giving blessing of the Holy Spirit. What a beautiful but equally dramatic and provocative moment.

The significance of Jesus’ fulfillment. Naturally, we may glaze over the contextual setting offered in verse 37 and quickly proceed to the well-known statement in verse 37, “If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink.” And of course, the emphasis is on Jesus’ statement and not the setting for his statement.

While we need to be careful to not infer types and fulfillments of Jesus in every text of the Old Testament, we ought to reflect the same spirit of Messianic revelation throughout the Old Testament that is reflected in Jesus’ conversation with the two men on the road to Emmaus. “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (). Jesus accurately revealed himself through the pages of the Old Testament.

At times Jesus directly fulfilled a Messianic prophecy. For example, prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (). Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be preceded by a forerunner (, ).

A slight variation on these fulfillments are Old Testament types. Types are “an element found in the OT [that] prefigures one found in the NT.”[7] (1) For instance, the Passover lamb discussed in is a type of the Messianic lamb whose blood would be slain for our redemption. (2) As well, Jesus reveals that he is the fulfillment (or antetype) of the serpent lifted on a pole in . The Jews were required to look to the serpent and live. We must now look to Jesus to live. (3) The Messianic kingdom is characterized in the OT as a time of abundant wine and food. Christ fulfills this physically in the wedding wine () and the feeding of the multitude (), but also acknowledges that these are simply types when he exhorts the people to come to him because he is the bread of life (6:31-33).

At each turn in the Gospel, we see Christ fulfilling Old Testament promises and hopes. Each chapter reveals, sometimes subtly and other times quite boldly, that Jesus and the salvation he offered were long before conceived and discussed throughout the Old Testament scriptures. Graeme Goldsworthy writes in his book, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, “The Gospels complete the salvation history picture of the Bible by presenting Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises and hopes for the future salvation of God’s people. Despite the historical gap in the intertestamental period, the Gospels are anchored to the redemptive framework of the Old Testament.”[8]

Messiah, forsaken, pierced, and vindicated

Suffering servant would bear our sins and suffer in our place

Messiah, a prophet like Moses

, , ,

Messiah pierced

Messiah preceded by Elijah the prophet

Messiah born in Bethlehem

Messiah the righteous sufferer

,

Messiah preceded by forerunner

Messiah as Passover lamb

, , ,

Messiah lifted up like serpent on the pole

Messiah, a light for the nations

Messiah’s reign characterized by abundance of wine and food

,

Messiah is the bread of life, not just manna

Messiah replaces the temple [9]

,

The compassion in his call. After days of consistently teaching in the Temple, Jesus looks out among the masses that had congregated for this last momentous day of the festival, acutely aware that most of them have already rejected him and want to kill him.

Just like on the mountain side. Jesus compassion compelled him to once again plead with them to come to him. This compassion well reflects the same compassion displayed some time earlier as he looked at the thousands who had flocked to him on the mountain side. “[H]e saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things” ().

Setting aside typical teaching posture and realizing the urgency of this moment, the last day of the festival, Jesus stands and cries out. “If any of you are thirsty, come to me and drink!”

Oh, how foolish is humanity! Typically, we throng around the one who has all the resources craving to benefit from their overflow, yet when it comes to Christ and his eternal resources, we are mostly unengaged. Indifferent. Even hostile. Yet, contrary to typical humanity, Christ, who possesses all things, pleads with us to come to him and be satisfied.

If anyone thirst (Realize your need). Jesus offers a universal appeal while at the same time inferring a limited reality since many will not come. The word “anyone” beautifully extends to all people individually. Every single person who thirsts can come to Jesus and be satisfied. Yet, the “if” makes the phrase a conditional clause which implies that not everyone will be thirsty.

Spurgeon. There wails through our text an undertone of grief by which it is anxiously narrowed down. Wide as the invitation is, yet that “If,” spoken in tenderly solemn tones of apprehension, reminds us that many are called, but few are chosen. “If any man thirst”—as if he had said, “The mass of you do not thirst: do any of you thirst? The multitudes do not thirst; only one here and there is doing so.” Our Lord’s glance sweeps over the throng; he reads their indifference, and spiritual death, and in plaintive accents he expresses his fear that none, or at least very few, are thirsting.[10]

Isn’t everyone thirsty? In a general sense, everyone thirsts. But, sadly, we tend to attempt to satisfy our thirst with temporary means. Christ is the only thing that truly satisfies the ache of our soul, but most people will only and ever attempt to satisfy the eternal longing of their soul by temporal and earthly means.

No additional caveats. Are you thirsty today? Do you realize your need? Wonderfully, Jesus adds no caveats to this appeal. He doesn’t say if you’ve considered me before but didn’t commit, don’t come again. He doesn’t say if you’ve committed certain sins don’t bother coming. He doesn’t say if your deserving come to me. He only has one condition – do you thirst? Then come![11]

Come (Realize your inability to meet your need). Jesus doesn’t say, “go and find satisfaction” but instead he says, “come to me.” He doesn’t say go to morality and be satisfied. He doesn’t tell you to go to church and be satisfied. He doesn’t tell you to hold to certain doctrine and thereby be satisfied. He doesn’t tell you to perform certain rituals and then be satisfied. He doesn’t tell you to find the right mentor or life coach and thereby be satisfied. He doesn’t tell you to perform certain sacraments and be satisfied. He simply pleads with you to come to Him.

Unending resources. And there is no fear that the resources will dry up. There’s no similarity to a baseball game where the first 1,000 people get a free hat or a Thanksgiving dinner with your family where you better grab the stuffing before your stout cousin grabs it all. Christ can say “if anyone thirsts” because he has no end to his resources. “You may come in your dozens, your scores, your hundreds, your thousands, your millions, and your hundreds of millions! There shall never be a time when the Lord Jesus shall bid the thirsty stay away because the current of his grace is exhausted.”[12]

Drink (Appropriate the gift). And it is here that we pause for a moment of caution. Some have thirsted and never drank from Christ. Others have thirsted and come to Christ and still never drank. These first two terms, “thirst” and “come,” while graciously offered by our Savior, fall short of satisfaction if those who come never appropriate this great salvation by ever drinking.

The rich man. The rich man spoken of in thirsts for Christ and even dramatically came to Christ, but when he came, was unwilling to accept what Christ had to offer. It is therefore necessary not only that we thirst and that we come but that we drink.

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” [Jesus directs him to the law which he admits to having followed.] . . . And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. ().

Come and drink equal belief. “Coming and drinking are merely two sides of one action, namely, believing in Jesus.”[13] Likely, these two verses were a summation of Jesus’ dialogue at this moment.[14]

In considering the import of these verses to those who have already come to Christ, I wondered if this appeal to come is an ongoing action or simply a one-time act. Only two authors, accessible to me, addressed this question. Pink, who I would not consider a linguist, did draw a helpful pastoral application.

Pink [thinks this is ongoing]. Now how is the believer satisfied? The answer is, By “coming” to Christ and drinking . . . But does this refer only to a single act? Is this something that is done once for all? Such seems to be the common idea. . . . O dear Christian reader, we are to continue as we began. Where was it that you found rest and peace? It was in Christ. And how did you obtain these? It was from a consciousness of your need (thirsting), and your coming to Christ to have this met, and by appropriating from Him. But why stop there? This ought to be a daily experience.[15]

On the other hand, Lenksi, a German-born American-naturalized Lutheran pastor and scholar, addresses the tense of the two imperatives. “The two present imperatives ἐρχέσθω and πινέτω are aoristic presents not durative or linear actions . . . We are to come and to drink once only—then we shall never thirst again. Life, once received, lives on and on; we need not receive it over and over again. The figure of birth (3:3–5) is more adequate in this respect, as natural birth is without repetition.”[16]

The context and the grammar indicate that this appeal to come and drink is a one-time act. As well, Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman in , would indicate the same reality. Jesus tells the woman, “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again” (). (1) This is encouraging. When we come to Jesus in belief at our conversion, we are truly transformed and will eternally possess the streams of living water that will forever satisfy. (2) Yet, practically and pastorally, I call you, in those times of seeming spiritual draught, temptation, and struggle, to accept Pink’s exhortation, “continue as we began. Where was it that you found rest and peace? It was in Christ. . . . [Your need was met in coming to Christ.] But why stop there? This ought to be a daily experience.”

[1] Neusner, The Mishnah, 287–88. “The Hallel Psalms and the rejoicing are for eight days: How so? This rule teaches that a person is obligated for the Hallel Psalms, for the rejoicing, and for the honoring of the festival day, on the last festival day of the Festival, just as he is on all the other days of the Festival. The obligation to dwell in the sukkah for seven days: How so? [If] one has finished eating [the last meal of the festival], he should not untie his sukkah right away. But he brings down the utensils [only] from twilight onward — on account of the honor due to the last festival day of the Festival.”

[2] Josephus and Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, 95–96.

[3] Neusner, The Mishnah, 287.

[4] Neusner, 286.

[5] James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John: Christ and Judaism, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 586; Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel, 574–75; Michaels, The Gospel of John, 462; Kruse, John, 191.

Boice claims this event occurred on the 8th day and that the ceremony as well occurred on the 8th day. On the eighth day, the day on which Jesus stood up and cried out this invitation, the ceremonies were particularly impressive. On that day the priests, accompanied by the worshipers, went outside the city to the pool of Siloam—the pool to which Jesus later sends the blind man. Here they filled golden pitchers with water. Then, returning to the city, they marched seven times around the altar and concluded by pouring the water from the pool upon it. Clearly, the ceremony reminded them of God’s provision of water for the people during their forty years in the wilderness.

Lenski argues this rite was performed on the 8th day as well. Each morning during the seven days of the feast, at the time of the sacrifice, a priest proceeded to the fountain of Siloah with a golden pitcher, filled it with water, and, accompanied by a solemn procession, bore it to the altar of burnt sacrifice, pouring the water, together with the contents of a pitcher of wine from the drink offering, into two perforated flat bowls. The trumpets sounded, and the people sang , “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” . . . Late Jewish authorities report that this was done also on the eighth day. In the debate as to whether Jesus has this ceremony in mind when uttering his cry we need not be in doubt. It commemorated the water that gushed out of the rock at Meribah and that was intended to quench the thirst of the multitude in the desert, although the symbolic ceremony in the Temple repeated only the pouring out.

Michaels concludes an alternative understanding. Many interpreters have argued that John’s Gospel must refer to the seventh day because Jesus speaks of “living water” (v. 38), and the ritual of drawing water from the pool of Siloam to the temple went on for only the seven days. On the eighth day the water libation would have stopped. But the argument rests too much on the supposed parallel between the water poured out at the Tent festival and the saying of Jesus, a parallel which the Gospel writer does not even bother to make explicit. Even if the parallel is presupposed, Jesus might plausibly have waited for the customary water libation to come to an end before offering “living water” of his own.

Kruse suggests this event occurred on the 7th day. If it was the seventh day, when the priests and people processed around the altar seven times, singing the Hallel, shaking their lulabs, and rejoicing before the Lord while the water was poured over the altar, the symbolism in Jesus’ proclamation would be striking.

[6] Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel, 575.

[7] “Type, Typology,” Elwell and Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, 2109–10.

[8] Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture: The Application of Biblical Theology to Expository Preaching (Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 222.

[9] Paul M. Hoskins, “Jesus as the Replacement of the Temple in the Gospel of John” (Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2002), iv, http://search.proquest.com/pqdthss/docview/305461612/abstract/CFDE9A6437864445PQ/1. “, ,, and 4:20-24 are often associated with Jesus’ replacement of the Temple. They lead one to posit that Jesus fulfills, surpasses, and replaces the Temple. He does so as the locus of God’s presence, glory, revelation, and abundant provision. Furthermore, clearly associates Jesus’ role as the Temple with his death/resurrection/exaltation.”

[10] C. H. Spurgeon, “The Preacher’s Last Sermon for the Season,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 31 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1885), 676.

[11] [Cross Reference] Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (). Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. ().

[12] Spurgeon. “The Preacher’s Last Sermon for the Season,” 679

[13] Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel, 575.

[14] Lenski, 575. “The lack of a connective between v. 37 and v. 38 is sufficient ground for assuming that the two verses are independent statements, not uttered consecutively but taken from separate parts of a longer discourse. That Jesus said more on this last day when he stood in a prominent position and cried out may well be assumed”

[15] Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 403.

[16] Lenski, 575.

Thirst, Come, Drink (7:37)

Jesus Fulfills the Symbolism of the Feast.

Jesus Fulfills the Symbolism of the Feast.

Jesus universally calls all to be satisfied in him.