John 7:37-52 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink.… I. THE TIME. The last and great day of the feast when Israel's joy, in appearance, was at the fullest, and when there seemed least need of any other joy. II. THE PLACE. Jerusalem — the Temple. What need of anything else than what the Temple afforded: particularly through the teachings of this feast. III. THE GIVER. The Son of God, and not merely a prophet, who knew what they needed, and what He had to give; Himself God's own gift. To Himself He, as ever, turns their eye. "Come unto Me." Feasts, altars, sacrifices, doctrines, ceremonies, were all vain. IV. THE GIFT. Living water; the Holy Spirit; a gift sufficient to fill the soul of the emptiest, and to quench the thirst of the thirstiest, and then to overflow upon others. There are two gifts of God which stand alone in their priceless greatness — the gift of His Son and the gift of His Spirit. V. THE PERSONS. Not heathen and irreligious, but religious Jews, engaged in Divine worship. Before it was to the Samaritan that He presented the living water. In Revelation 22. it is to Jew and Gentile alike. So also in Isaiah 55. But here the thirsty one is the Jew. His rites and feasts cannot quench his thirst, which calls for something more spiritual and Divine. So to those who frequent the sanctuary — who pray and praise outwardly — the Lord now speaks. External religiousness may help to pacify conscience, but it does not confer happiness. Only Christ can do that. VI. THE LOVE. It is all love from first to last. In love Christ presents the full vessel of living water, and presses to their parched lips. (H. Bonar, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. |
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