John 7 Daily Bread
Daily Bread John 7
37On 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. 38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39By 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.
40On hearing his words, some of the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet."
41Others said, "He is the Christ."
Observation:
As Jesus continues to teach, some believe in him and others continue to discount his teachings. Even his brothers urge him to go to Judea to do his miracles there, but Jesus insists it is not yet his time. Jesus shows remarkable restraint, considering he could have done anything he wanted. But He is being led not by other’s expectations of Him, but by His Father in Heaven. Jesus argues that if people will do what He says and teaches they will be able to test and approve whether He is from God or not.
On the last day of the Feast, Jesus slips in and gives these words that whoever would believe in him, streams of “living water” would flow from within them. Water was a big part of Jewish history. Jacob’s well was a sign of God’s blessing. Moses struck the rock, out of which clean and pure water flowed out. And finally, Moses parted the waters of the Red Sea, as a sign of Israel’s deliverance from the Egyptians and their slavery.
Jesus used this water metaphor to illustrate the living waters of the Spirit, which would flow through believing in Him. This water would satisfy the soul.
Application:
Often we will make the remark, “I feel spiritually empty”. Or we might say “I am going through a dry time”. Often this can happen when we are trying to minister out of our own strength. Often we go to the world to quench our thirst and Jesus tells us that as we seek Him, living waters will flow from within us and satisfy the desires of our soul and it leaves us only thirsty for more.
I love the imagery of the phrase, “streams of living water”. It is the language of abundance and life. There are many people running on empty, just trying to survive. Jesus said, “I have come to give you life and life abundantly.” In John, Jesus is always meeting people and introducing them to the living streams of water. He invites us to take a drink of the life giving Spirit. If you are thirsty spiritually, ask Jesus to come into your life in a new and fresh way. Come to the living waters and take a big drink.
I know what it is like to be dehydrated. Your body starts shutting down and it is actually a very scary experience. (I had to be taken to the doctors a couple of times for it in high school football). But an even scarier experience was being spiritually dehydrated, for in those times my soul, not my body, was in danger of shutting down. Come to the living waters and take a big drink.
Prayer: Jesus I come to you the source of living water. Fill me to the brim with your life giving Spirit. Amen.
37On 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. 38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39By 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.
40On hearing his words, some of the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet."
41Others said, "He is the Christ."
Observation:
As Jesus continues to teach, some believe in him and others continue to discount his teachings. Even his brothers urge him to go to Judea to do his miracles there, but Jesus insists it is not yet his time. Jesus shows remarkable restraint, considering he could have done anything he wanted. But He is being led not by other’s expectations of Him, but by His Father in Heaven. Jesus argues that if people will do what He says and teaches they will be able to test and approve whether He is from God or not.
On the last day of the Feast, Jesus slips in and gives these words that whoever would believe in him, streams of “living water” would flow from within them. Water was a big part of Jewish history. Jacob’s well was a sign of God’s blessing. Moses struck the rock, out of which clean and pure water flowed out. And finally, Moses parted the waters of the Red Sea, as a sign of Israel’s deliverance from the Egyptians and their slavery.
Jesus used this water metaphor to illustrate the living waters of the Spirit, which would flow through believing in Him. This water would satisfy the soul.
Application:
Often we will make the remark, “I feel spiritually empty”. Or we might say “I am going through a dry time”. Often this can happen when we are trying to minister out of our own strength. Often we go to the world to quench our thirst and Jesus tells us that as we seek Him, living waters will flow from within us and satisfy the desires of our soul and it leaves us only thirsty for more.
I love the imagery of the phrase, “streams of living water”. It is the language of abundance and life. There are many people running on empty, just trying to survive. Jesus said, “I have come to give you life and life abundantly.” In John, Jesus is always meeting people and introducing them to the living streams of water. He invites us to take a drink of the life giving Spirit. If you are thirsty spiritually, ask Jesus to come into your life in a new and fresh way. Come to the living waters and take a big drink.
I know what it is like to be dehydrated. Your body starts shutting down and it is actually a very scary experience. (I had to be taken to the doctors a couple of times for it in high school football). But an even scarier experience was being spiritually dehydrated, for in those times my soul, not my body, was in danger of shutting down. Come to the living waters and take a big drink.
Prayer: Jesus I come to you the source of living water. Fill me to the brim with your life giving Spirit. Amen.
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