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John 3:16-17
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John 3:16-17
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I went to the morning prayer meeting because I was running on empty. The grind of planning our annual summer conference had left me drained. Between coordinating flights for speakers, housing for participants, and preparing to emcee the week, I was exhausted. But I left the prayer meeting feeling empty, too. How bad was it when meeting with co-workers to pray didn't change how I felt? As I walked down the hallway to my desk, I felt the heaviness of each step.
John 7:37-52
On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him." He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified. When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, "This truly is the Prophet." Others said, "This is the Messiah." But some said, "Surely the Messiah doesn't come from Galilee, does he? Doesn't the Scripture say that the Messiah comes from David's offspring and from the town of Bethlehem, where David lived?" So the crowd was divided because of him. Some of them wanted to seize him, but no one laid hands on him. Then the servants came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him?" The servants answered, "No man ever spoke like this!" Then the Pharisees responded to them, "Are you fooled too? Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which doesn't know the law, is accursed." Nicodemus—the one who came to him previously and who was one of them—said to them, "Our law doesn't judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he's doing, does it?" "You aren't from Galilee too, are you?" they replied. "Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee."
For seven days, the High Priest had led a procession from the Pool of Siloam to the temple, carrying a golden pitcher of water. The choir sang Psalms, trumpets blew, and the crowd shook willow and myrtle branches. At the end of the harvest, it was a prayer to God from a nation desperate for rain. And it reminded them of God's promise that one day, living water would flow from the Temple to heal the nations. On the eighth day of the festival, the procession stopped. Thirst wasn't a metaphor. It was another Tuesday with a dusty throat. When Jesus cried out, "If anyone is thirsty," he was speaking to everyone. In the holiest place on earth, where everyone knew that God brought water, Jesus claimed to provide living water. The ritual had called for God to come and provide. He showed up and offered himself. His audacious claim divided the crowd. Some said he was the Prophet like Moses, who had struck a rock and water had poured out. Others claimed he was the Messiah. That led to a geographical-theological debate about his hometown. The temple guards gave up on arresting him and got berated for their failure. The leaders cursed the people. The only ray of hope is the ironic tension between the leaders claiming that no rulers believe in Jesus, and Nicodemus tentatively offering that it was premature to judge Jesus without hearing him out and knowing what he is doing. Throughout John's Gospel, irony often points to the truth. So, what is living water? It's the Holy Spirit. Instead of a symbol of God's presence, God was offering to be present in the depths of our being, welling up like a spring that never runs dry. Responding to Jesus doesn't require advanced theological training. In this short passage, John presents the sequence for us: hear, know, believe, and receive. We all feel an ache that no achievement, relationship, or religious accomplishment has ever soothed. God is the only one who satisfies the thirst beneath every other thirst. I've learned there's no magic formula for God to make me feel better. Living by the Spirit looks like trusting that God will meet my every need, even when I still feel thirsty.
What are you thirsty for?
In this passage, people avoid Jesus with debates, dismissal, and hesitation. When Jesus gets close to you, how do you avoid responding to him?
What makes it hard to trust that God can meet your deepest needs?
Tell God what you're thirsty for. Not the sanitized, safe version. But the honest desires of your heart. When you've finished praying, trust that God has already filled you with his Spirit. Text a friend, "Pray that I would be satisfied by God today."
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