“He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).
The day that Jesus made this glorious proclamation of salvation, the temple was busy with activity. On each of the seven feast-days, a priest would fill a golden pitcher with water from the pool. He would then return with a procession to the temple and pour the water along the base of the altar of burnt offering. Trumpets would sound and the multitudes would rejoice as they were reminded of the blessings bestowed on their forefathers in the wilderness, particularly God’s provision of water from the rock. This ceremony pointed to the spiritual bounties of the Messianic age. The people, therefore, were preoccupied with passages such as Isaiah 12:3, “with joy shall you draw water from the wells of salvation,” and Isaiah 44:3, “For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.”
In the midst of this celebration, Jesus, as if no longer able to contain Himself and His Good News, cried out that He was the fulfillment of the prophecy, that He was the water they needed to drink; and in particular, that the Spirit would come upon them in power, giving them life welling up and overflowing to others. The coming of the Spirit, to which Isaiah 44:3 and this passage in John refer, occurred at Pentecost. But we must not misunderstand Jesus as saying that the Spirit was not active before Pentecost. He was, but something new occurred at Pentecost. The Spirit came upon the church in a way that He never had before. After the Resurrection, the Spirit came upon God’s people with power, filling them with new life. We see this principle manifested in the life of the individual believers. Sin must be dealt with first before he can be filled with the Spirit—repentance comes before service. Similarly, Christ had to conquer death before the Spirit would equip His people to serve.
The proclamation of Christ on that day in Jerusalem was profoundly significant. The fulfillment of prophecy was standing before them. Yet many could not see it because of their hardened hearts. Jesus offered an invitation of life and many refused to accept it. May you do otherwise. Draw from the wells of salvation and rejoice in the Spirit today and every day.
Pray specifically for someone today who does not know Christ, that they will find life in Him soon. Pray that God will enable you to participate in that event.
