Jeff Klein 0:07
Welcome to Elmhurst CRC's daily dose in the Word of God. It's Friday, May 26. This is Jeff Klein, I'll be reading today from John chapter 7, verses 37 through 39.
Jeff Klein 0:18
Looking forward to the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time, the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Jeff Klein 0:50
Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles. He is watching the proceedings on the last day of the feast (in the temple in Jerusalem). This feast is one of three pilgrimage feasts the people of Israel participated in - traveling from wherever they lived to be part of it. The other two are Passover and Pentecost. Remember, during this feast, everyone would build and live in temporary shelters, mimicking their time in the wilderness, recalling that time when they had to rely on God for everything, his provision and his protection. But now that they're in their own country with their own temple, the feast takes on a whole new emphasis, bringing the presence of God back to the temple. The whole of Hebrew scriptures talk about the presence of God, settling in the temple in very tangible and physical ways. It happened for Moses, Samuel, Solomon as well as others.
Jeff Klein 1:43
But over the years, God has seemingly distanced himself in some ways from this physical temple, and his physical presence was not always felt in the same way. The prophets cast a vision for God's presence to return. Ezekiel talks about a river of life that flows from the temple. Isaiah talks about waters that you can drink from a not grow thirsty. Psalms talks about a thirst for this water (this presence), this kind of intimate connection to our God.
Jeff Klein 2:11
So as Jesus stands and watches the worship going on, he feels compelled to stand up and invite people to where they can find this water of life. If anyone is thirsty, come to me and drink. I am the source, I'm standing right here. If you want to experience God's presence (like it's promised in the prophets in the Old Hebrew Scriptures), come to me. So the question would be, are you thirsty for the presence of God? Are you longing for God's living water to flow through your life and the lives of those around you? Would you like to drink and never be thirsty again?Then come to Jesus. Get connected to him in new ways, vibrant ways, and ask Jesus to send his Holy Spirit into your life.