Jesus The Water Of Life
A Dramatic Announcement At The Feast Of Tabernacles
The impact of Jesus' words on the crowd must have been dramatic. Not only was he interrupting the most solemn moment of the ceremony, but he was drawing attention to himself as the fulfilment of a prophecy by Isaiah in the Old Testament which everyone associated with the Messiah.
The Joy at the Arrival of Messiah (YESHUA)
On that day you will sing: “I will praise you, O Lord! You were angry with me, but not any more. Now you comfort me. See, God has come to save me.I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation (Hebrew Yeshua - the Hebrew form of Jesus)"
With joy you will drink deeply from the spring of salvation! In that wonderful day you will sing: “Hallelujah! Praise the LORD! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is! Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. Let all the people of Jerusalem shout his praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.” ISAIAH 12:1-6
A Samaritan Woman Finds The Answer To Her Desperate Thirst
In JOHN Chapter 4 we see Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman, who is desperately looking for love and has been involved in a series of broken relationships. At the culmination of their meeting, Jesus declares:
“If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.............Anyone who drinks the water from your well will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
Not surprisingly the woman replies: “Oh sir! Please give me some of this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” JOHN 4:10-15
And she discovers Jesus to be the Messiah she has been looking for all her life.
Three Conditions For Receiving The Streams Of Living Water
• We need to be THIRSTY
• We need to COME TO JESUS
• We need to DRINK IN THE STREAMS OF LIVING WATERS to slake our thirst:
in other words, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit
Questions
1 What festival were the Jews celebrating when Jesus made his startling announcement?
2 What was the significance of this festival for Jews?
3 What Old Testament prophecy associated with the arrival of the Messiah did Jesus' words recall?
4 What was so shocking about Jesus' utterance?
5 What did he mean by the phrase streams of living waters?
6 What was the Samaritan woman's reaction to Jesus' statement about the gift he was offering her?
7 What conditions did Jesus place on receiving the streams of living waters he promised?
Do you know the experience of those streams of living waters Jesus promised his disciples?
Baptism In Water & In Spirit
For more about being baptised in Holy Spirit, click on BAPTISM IN WATER & IN SPIRIT.
