Read John 7:37-53
Questions from the Scripture text:: What day of the feast is this (John 7:37)? Who stands and cries out? Whom does Jesus invite to come to Him? To do what? About whom does Jesus talk in John 7:38? What will happen to that person? About whom was Jesus speaking (John 7:39)? What were people saying about Him in John 7:40-42? What were the people divided over (John 7:43-44)? What did the officers from John 7:32 do in John 7:45? What do the Pharisees ask them? What do the officers answer in John 7:46? What do the Pharisees ask them in John 7:47? What do they ask in John 7:48? What do they say about the entire feast-keeping crowd in John 7:49? Who speaks up in John 7:50? What does he ask in John 7:51? How do they answer him (John 7:52)? What do they give as the reason for not believing in Him? Where does everyone go in John 7:53?Next week’s Call to Worship, Prayer for Help, Song of Adoration, and Confession of Sin all come from John 7:37-53. Here, Jesus announces Himself as the water in the wilderness. The Feast of Tabernacles was all about remembering the wilderness period; and a big part of the wilderness period was the miracle of water from the rock when the Israelites thought they would die of thirst.
Now Jesus identifies Himself as that Rock. He not only promises to quench our thirst but to fill us with so much life that it bursts forth from our hearts! Apart from Christ, out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies (Matthew 15:19). But the Holy Spirit comes along and changes our hearts by filling us with the life of Christ!
We have to choose. Are we going to recognize Jesus as the Prophet greater than Moses (John 7:40, cf. Deuteronomy 18:15ff)? Are we going to recognize that His words are Divine words (John 7:46)? Are we going to listen to what He says and respond to what He does (John 7:51)?
May God save us from unbelief! And, we see in John 7:48-49 one of the main things from which we need saving: self-righteousness. One of the things that God used to enable many in the crowd to believe in Jesus was their thirst. They knew they needed a Savior. They were thirsty. But the Pharisees thought that they were better than the accursed crowd (verses 48-49). If we believe that we are better than others, we must admit instead that we are thirsty and need life from Christ.
What time in your life can you remember, when you felt more sharply your need of Jesus? How does remembering that time help you trust in Him?Suggested songs: ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH459 “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”
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