John 7:37-39; The
Festival of Pentecost; May 31, 2020;
Life in Christ
Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;
“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus
stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow
rivers of living water.’ ” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those
who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given,
because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37–39, ESV)
(Thanks
to Rev. Reed Lessing, Concordia Journal, June 12, 2011)
Grace and peace to
you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Have you ever been
in an airplane flying over one of those states that is mostly desert? You know,
states like Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. There’s a reason they’re called
“fly-over lands.” We fly over them to get somewhere else more important, places
that have more interest. A few years ago, a politician called the Midwest “fly-over.”
He seemed to indicate that our values are not as important and far less
interesting, as those on either coast. Those of us in Iowa would disagree. We
don’t believe we live in “fly-over land.”
You may not live
in “fly-over land,” but we all have “fly-over lands” as part of our lives. We
have bad memories, broken relationships, and regrets that we try to put in the
back of our minds. We put them there because they are our failures brought
about by our own sin. We don’t want to live in them. They are dry desolate
places without hope. We don’t want to be reminded. We want to fly-over. After
all, they are parched desert lands. Remembering them only makes you thirsty for
things to be different.
Jesus says if you
thirst you can come to him and he will quench you. What he means is that it’s
time to quit denying our sinfulness. It’s time to acknowledge our pain. It’s
time to acknowledge our dry thirsty “fly-over lands” and bring our sin to the
one who can quench our thirst with living water. Jesus is the one who has
living water to quench the thirst of our sin.
Jesus is no
stranger to water. The gospel of John is full of him using it. In fact, his
first miracle is changing water into wine (John 2:1–11). He heals a lame man in
the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1–9). He walks on water showing his authority over
the elements (John 6:19). He uses the Pool of Siloam (John 9) to bring about
site in a blind man. And, Jesus even washes the disciples’ feet with water
(John 13:1-15, 15:3).
“If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”
(John 13:8, ESV)
And here in our
text for today, John links Jesus’ use of water to the ultimate gift of salvation
at our Lord’s death. How does he do that? It begins with the last day of the
feast, the seventh day. It’s the Feast of Tabernacles. This Jewish holiday has
a very special connection to water. Each morning of the seven days of the festival,
a priest fills a golden pitcher with water as the choir sings the words,
With joy you will draw water from the wells of
salvation. (Isaiah 12:3, ESV)
That water is poured
on the base of the altar. On the last day, the seventh day, the water is poured
seven times into silver funnels surrounding the altar. The altar is drowned in
water. This last day is the day that Jesus stands up and says, “If anyone
thirsts, let him come to me for drink.” The prayers of the people, water for
salvation, are answered in Jesus. He is the one who gives living water for
thirsty sinners. It is from his side that the water of salvation flows.
It is out of Jesus
living water flows. On the cross, the spear pierces Jesus’ heart and outflows
life-giving blood and water. It is also the river of the water of life that
flows from the throne of the Lamb of God as John describes it in Revelation.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life,
bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the
middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree
of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The
leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be
anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his
servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on
their foreheads. (Revelation 22:1–4, ESV)
Back in Exodus,
the people complained about being thirsty. God instructed Moses to touch the
rock with his staff. The rock split open and water poured out for the thirst of
God’s people (Exodus 17:1-7). The hymn Rock of Ages is about this. Rock of Ages
cleft (that means split open) for me. The Rock of Ages is Jesus. St. Paul makes
that very connection in 1 Corinthians (10:4). He calls this split open rock,
Jesus himself. It’s a picture of Jesus split open on the cross.
On the cross,
Jesus suffers all the pain of human history. All the sins, regrets, and
failures tucked away in our dry desert “fly-over lands.” The horror of it all,
the punishment received, the hanging suspended between earth and heaven in
God’s righteous wrath, is expressed clearly in Jesus own words, “I thirst.” This
is the most ironic twist in all of human history. The one from whom flows the
river of the water of life hangs suffering thirst. He dies. The Roman spear
splits him open and outflows blood and water. Here is Jesus crushed and cursed and
cleft by the sin of your life and mine. Here is the result of all the things we
tuck away in our minds in those “fly-over zones.” Here is where we see the
horrible cost of our sin. Here is where we see the seriousness of our sin. It
cannot be overlooked. Sin must be dealt with. Just like the witnesses of the
crucifixion, we may want to fly-over this scene. We can’t even bear to see
Jesus on the cross. We want to skip the punishment and run straight to the
resurrection.
The cross is
necessary. We preach Jesus Christ crucified. His suffering and death are your
suffering and death. His suffering and death make it possible for your thirst
to be quenched. And Jesus says, “Come to me! I have living water for thirsty
people.” This Jesus is crushed and killed but made alive for you. On the cross,
he has earned forgiveness for you by taking the punishment you deserve for your
sin. In his grave, he carries your sin into his death, your death. In his
resurrection, he promises that forgiveness is yours. Look at the
thirst-quenching water in your baptismal font. Here is where Jesus connects you
to him through his living water. It washes you clean. It floods away your
filth. It defeats your death. Jesus is here, from him flows living water to
quench your thirst. He floods your “fly-over lands” with forgiveness. Amen.
The peace of God
that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
