John 7:37-39 (NIV)
37 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. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 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.
This week we’ve been remembering the Old Testament harvest celebration, the Festival of Booths (or Tabernacles). John tells us that Jesus celebrated this too, and as was his want, transformed it. In his day, part of the celebration featured priests taking water from the Pool of Siloam and processing to the Temple. Whilst they did this, the crowd would join in by reciting Isaiah 12:3: “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” We don’t just celebrate the physical harvest, but also a spiritual harvest as Jesus meets our needs and brings salvation, pouring his Spirit into us and through us to those around us.
Lord, thank you for the most precious gift of yourself in Jesus given to meet our needs, and his Spirit flowing through us to help us meet the needs of those around us!
Leave a Reply