"On the last day of the feast, ...Jesus stood up and cried, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink'" (John 7:37).
In Jesus' day, Jewish families were to make a yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Lev. 23:33-43). As families camped outside in booths (huts) made from branches, they were reminded of the 40 years their ancestors spent living in booths in the wilderness.
To commemorate the times when God miraculously provided water in the wilderness, the Feast of Booths involved special water processionals. On the last day of the feast, a priest obtained water from the pool of Siloam and put it into a gold pitcher. After processional pomp and ceremony, he poured the water at the base of God's altar.
At this ceremony, "Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.'"
You and I get parched from living in the wilderness of sin, pain, and death. The crucified and resurrected Jesus gives us water in this wilderness. His cross (the place of sin, pain, and death) is the source of the water of life.
From the opened rock of His tomb, this life-giving water gushes forth. Through His Word, the Holy Ghost brings this wondrous water of life to our thirsty souls. Dear friend, trust in the crucified and risen Jesus and be quenched of your soul's thirst!
-Dale
