Christ was back in Jerusalem again but only for a short time. He went down across the Jordan River after this visit and possibly went a little further north as well. We can only marvel at the intense way He tried to make every day count in the ministry God had given Him, "leaving us an example that we should follow in His steps." In the first fourteen verses of this chapter, Christ's movements are accounted for until He appeared at the feast in Jerusalem. This was the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev.23) which lasted seven or eight days. During that time the people lived in bough shelters. Then on the last day the priests took water, carried it through the streets and then poured it out. It must have been right at that moment Christ cried out His invitation. Did He sense that many of the people were turning away, perhaps with the let-down feeling, "Well that's over for another year?" Were they like a family which has finished Christmas Day activities and is just looking at each other before going back to normal duties? What was Christ saying in this great invitation? "If you still feel empty and disappointed, if you sense within a real spiritual vacuum which hasn't been filled by all this ritual, come to me. I'll fill your deepest need. I can satisfy your thirst." The invitation was simple and personal. "If any man..." The only qualification was a sense of need. "If any man thirsts..." Thirst is a strong desire for something you do not have. Here it is the longing of a human heart for something to fill it up and give it life. One of the characteristics of our present age is restlessness. Nothing seems to satisfy - at least not for very long. Christ promised that if any man came to Him, He could satisfy him and then from Him there could flow a stream which could touch the hearts of others. It is still the same today. If you have not come to Christ, why not come today and find out what He can do? |
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