~ Drinking from the Deep ~
(A 10-part series on John 7:11–John 8:59)
“Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him.”
The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come?’”
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Christ.” Still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.” (John 7:31-43)
THIS WAS BECOMING a progressively divisive time in Israel; resentment against the harsh hand of Rome had been seething for the better part of two generations. Jesus has been co-opted by numerous factions of this social, political, and economic unrest, each with their own purpose for moving him in front of their own objectives. The kingdom of Israel is divided in thirds amongst the sons of Herod, each vying for power over the people even as they curry favor with the Roman oppressors; they needed a common enemy. The Temple, with its priests, scribes, and Pharisees, have become vastly and pervasively corrupt, but not without a contingent of men of integrity; they need a central figure from the outside to bring clear definition and resolution to their divided interior purposes. A group of revolutionaries, the Zealots, are trying to overthrow both the Roman government and the religious establishment; they need a powerful symbolic figure of freedom to rally the masses to their underlying purposes. Below all these are the ordinary men, women and children of the nation, who are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matt. 9:36) Jesus has become the most controversial figure in all of Israel, championed by some, wondered about by many, and inspiring murderous wrath in the inner circles of the powerful elite. “The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.” (John 7:32)
All of them, save a mere handful of disciples to whom Jesus has entrusted the secrets of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 13:51)—and even them imperfectly—fail to grasp the greater overarching truth that Jesus not only speaks to, but in fact literally embodies. “‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’” (Mark 1:15)
At no time in all human history, across the tragically storied rise and fall of the cycles of civilization, has the most important message, at the most important time, been so crucially misunderstood. Yet even this is within God’s will. The next five months in Israel will reveal the wrath of God to this current generation and all to follow. It will also reveal a mystery beyond his wrath, one that Paul clearly understood: “And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” (Eph. 1:9-10)
Even as the will of God is being worked out through all generations of mankind to a culmination point in space, time, and matter as we currently know it, the message of Jesus to the harassed and helpless is constant in each generation. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11. 28-30) His promise is trustworthy, for he “is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Heb. 13:8) And that promise is for all who will believe: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” (John 37b-38)
This is very much a message for today’s world culture. Students of the eschatologically prophetic message of the bible, only revealed as it has just occurred, surely must concur that there are immanent forces reshaping the gestalt of the eight billion plus inhabitants of the earth into an entirely new worldview, possibly the eighth and last. There has never been a time greater than this for the message of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, to be heard. “‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity.’” (Jer. 29:13-14) The message to ancient Israel is also a message to everyone today: Hunger and thirst, believe, receive.
Q. Where and how are my deepest needs satisfied?
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