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“If Any Man Thirst, Let Him Come!”
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In the midst of the feast, He entered the court of the temple in the
presence of the multitude. It had been urged that He dared not place
Himself in the power of the priests and rulers. All were surprised at
His presence. Every voice was hushed.
Standing thus, the center of attraction to that vast throng, Jesus
addressed them as no man had ever done. His words showed a
knowledge of the sacrificial service and the teachings of the prophets,
far exceeding that of the priests and rabbis. As one who beheld the
Unseen, He spoke with positive authority of the earthly and the
heavenly. As at Capernaum, the people were astonished at His
teaching, “for His word was with power.”
Luke 4:32
. He made every
possible effort to bring them to repentance. He would not be rejected
and murdered by His own nation if He could save them from the
guilt of such a deed.
The question passed from one to another, “How knoweth this
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Man letters, having never learned?” Both Jesus and John the Baptist
had been represented as ignorant because they had not received
training in the rabbinical schools. Those who heard them were
astonished at their knowledge of the Scriptures, but the God of
heaven was their teacher. As Jesus spoke in the temple court, the
people were held spellbound. The men most violent against Him
felt powerless to do Him harm.
Weariness of the Worshipers Recognized
The morning of the last day of the feast found the people wearied
from the long festivity. Suddenly Jesus lifted up His voice: “If any
man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on
Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of
living water.” The people had been engaged in a continued scene of
pomp and festivity, their eyes dazzled with light and color, and their
ears regaled with the richest music; but there had been nothing to
meet the wants of the spirit, nothing to satisfy the thirst of the soul.
The priest had that morning performed the ceremony which
commemorated the smiting of the rock in the wilderness. That rock
was a symbol of Him who by His death would cause living streams
of salvation to flow. There in the presence of the multitude Christ
set Himself apart to be smitten, that the water of life might flow to