Christ’s clarity in a confused world – Part 1

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:37b-38

Christian author and evangelist, Larry Moyer, writes, “Some years ago, a commuter train stalled on the tracks moments before a freight train was due to arrive. A conductor ran to flag down the approaching train, and the passengers were assured that there was no need for worry. As they began to relax, the freight train suddenly came bearing down upon them.

“The engineer of the freight train narrowly escaped death by jumping just before the impact. He later testified in court why he had not stopped: ‘I saw a man waving a warning flag, but it was yellow. I thought he just wanted me to slow down.’ Examining the flag in question explained the confusion. The flag had once been red, but long exposure to the sun and weather had turned it a dirty yellow color. The cause of the crash can be stated in one sentence: The message was not clear.” Larry Moyer, Free And Clear: Understanding & Communicating God’s Offer of Eternal Life [Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997], p. 13.) Confusion can destroy lives both now and in eternity.

In a remarkable book published some years ago, Canon Roger Lloyd, an archdemon instructs on an ancient and effective piece of Satanic strategy, “Insert yourself into the simple situations which call for plain and obvious duties and complicate them and complicate them again until at last no one involved in them can make sense of the confusion.” (http://www.biblia.work/sermons/ confusion-2). 

Satan’s strategy is to confuse the world about the identity of Jesus Christ to prevent Him from becoming more well known. We are going to study Christ’s clarity in a confused world in John 7:37-52. First, we will look at CHRIST’S CLARITY ABOUT ETERNAL SATISFACTION (John 7:37-39). The first thingJesus taught about eternal satisfaction is that it is free.

On each of the first seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles the priest led a joyous parade from the Temple area down to the pool of Siloam where a golden pitcher would be filled with water. The priest, leading the procession, would then return to the Temple where he poured the water into a silver basin by the altar of burnt offering. This was accompanied by the recitation of Isaiah 12:3: “Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation.” This ceremony symbolized God’s grace in providing water for the Israelites when they were wandering in the wilderness and His provision of refreshment and cleansing in the messianic age to come. It also served as a confession of thirst and an expression of prayer for autumn rains after the long, dry season.

“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out saying…” (John 7:37a). The “last day” was the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles. On the eighth day, this water ceremony did not take place which makes Christ’s offer for living water even more amazing. Jesus “stood.” Rabbis usually sat when teaching their disciples, but Jesus stood because of the importance of what He was about to say and so He could be seen and heard better when He gave this marvelous invitation. When Christ cried out this invitation, He was claiming to be the fulfillment of all that the Feast of Tabernacles anticipated. He announces that He was the One, the Messiah, Who could provide Messianic blessings. Jesus’ words compared His own Person to the rock in the wilderness that supplied the needs of the Israelites (cf. Exodus 17:1-7;  I Corinthians 10:4).

There is only one prerequisite to Jesus’ invitation. “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” (John 7:37b). “If anyone thirsts…” Only thirsty people drink. God has created us with a built-in need for Him. We are all born with a thirst for God — a longing to know God. For some, there is a deep thirst for significance. They want to feel like they are important and belong. That they are somebody. People whom society overlooks, those who are not wealthy, or handsome, or have strong personalities, thirst to be regarded as important. Some are looking for power – the ability to accomplish things. Jesus says to such. “If that is what you want, come to Me. Enter a personal relationship with Me,” Jesus says, “And your thirst for power and significance will be satisfied forever.”

Physical thirst is the most powerful drive known to man. The sex drive can be contained, you can even deny satisfying hunger for weeks at a time, but one thing you cannot leave unsatisfied is thirst. It becomes a driving force that takes over all your life and makes you think of nothing else but satisfying it.

Like the man crawling through the Sahara Desert when he is approached by another man riding on a camel. As the rider approaches, the crawling man whispers through his parched lips, ”Water … please. Can you give … water?” “I’m sorry,” replies the man on the camel, “I don’t have any water with me. But I’d be delighted to sell you a necktie.” “Necktie?” whispers the man. “I need water!” “They’re only four dollars apiece.” “I need water.” “Okay, okay, two for seven dollars.” “Please! I need water!” the man exclaims. “I don’t have any water, all I have are ties,” replies the salesman, as he heads off into the distance.

By now the man has lost all track of time, crawling through the desert seemingly for days. Finally, nearly dead, with clothes tattered and skin peeling under the relentless sun, he comes to an oasis with a restaurant. Summoning his last bit of strength, he staggers to the door and confronts the headwaiter. “Water … can I get … water,” the dying man pleads. “I’m sorry, sir. Neckties required.” I know – bad joke.

But have you ever really been thirsty? When you are thirsty, there is not much else you can think about, like appropriate clothing attire for fine dining. When you are thirsty, you cannot get it out of your mind. It is all you think about. That is what Jesus means. If you feel yourself driven, wanting something, restless and thirsty and longing for satisfaction, then His invitation is, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” (John 7:37b). Jesus says, “If anyone…”Regardless of your background, education, ethnicity, intelligence, or social status, Jesus says to come to Him for eternal satisfaction and it is free. You don’t have to pay a cent. You don’t have to work for it. You simply come to Christ as you are.

The second thing Jesus tells us about eternal satisfaction is that it is by faith. “He who believes in Me…” (John 7:38a). The way to come to Christ is by faith alone apart from any good works. The word “believe” (pisteuō) means to  be convinced that something is true and then trust or depend on that something.

For example, years ago, three men were fishing on the Broadback River in northern Quebec. A violent storm arose and gale force winds overturned their canoe. The men knew they couldn’t save themselves. They noticed the large ice chest that had been in the canoe now floating on the water. They were convinced the ice chest could hold them up, so they pulled the ice chest underneath them, rested their weight upon it and trusted it to save them. And it did.

What Jesus is saying is we are to come to Him just as we are – as sinners, understanding that He died in our place to take our punishment and rose again, so that all we must do is believe or trust in Him alone for the free gift of salvation. The moment we trust in Christ alone for salvation, “As the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38b).

What “Scripture” is Jesus thinking of? I agree with Zane Hodges who argues that it refers to Ezekiel’s vision of the future Millennial Temple in Ezekiel 47 (Zane C. Hodges, “Rivers of Living Water – John 7:37-39,” Bibliotheca Sacra 136:543 (July-September 1979):239-48). “Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east…south of the altar… it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep… And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live.” (Ezekiel 47:1, 5, 9).  Ezekiel is talking about the Temple of God in the future 1,000-year reign of Christ on the earth.

There is a link between the altar and the water ceremony which reminds us of Ezekiel 47. The waters issue forth at the right side of the altar of the Millennial Temple and the priest would pour water on the right of the altar during the Feast of Tabernacles.

Also, the waters of Ezekiel’s prophecy have similar properties as the rivers Jesus speaks of, “And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live.” (Ezekiel 47:9).  Those waters are properly described as living waters. This will be a life-giving river that flows from the Temple in the future kingdom that will bring blessings to all it reaches.

If the Millennial Temple was to become the source of living, healing waters, could the destiny of those who believe in Christ be any different? Jesus tells us that when we come to Him as we are and believe in Him as our only hope of heaven, out of our innermost being will flow rivers (not just a river, but “rivers”) of living water. The great thing about what Jesus offers is that it will never run dry. We will always have more than we need. When we are filled with the water Jesus offers, it does not stop with us. It gushes out of us! It keeps coming and touches those that we touch. We become, pipes, so to speak – pipes for Jesus – that in effect, allow Christ’s living water to flow through us to others.  We are former thirsty people who now show thirsty people how to get a drink. God wants these rivers of living water to flow out of our lives to bless others.

So the third thing that we see about the eternal satisfaction that Jesus freely offers, is that it focuses on others. When we come to Jesus and He more than satisfies our spiritual thirst, we start to show concern for others. The satisfaction that we found in Christ leads us to reach out to needy people around us and to minister to them. Why not be a pipe for Jesus and let His blessing flow through you as you step out in faith to share the gospel with those who don’t have Christ in their lives? Be the channel through which the unsaved can discover how much God loves them and wants to bless them with eternal life. God saved you so that you can become a blessing to others as His rivers of living water flow through you to satisfy the need of other people.

John identifies what the living water is. “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:39). The living water is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would not be given until after Jesus was glorified, that is, after His death, resurrection and return to the Father in heaven. This giving of the Holy Spirit took place on the day of Pentecost (cf. John 15:26; 16:7; Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-13; I Corinthians 12:13). Jesus is announcing that the Holy Spirit would come on believers in a new way, namely, to regenerate (John 3:3-8; cf. Titus 3:4-7), baptize (John 1:33; Acts 1:4-5; I Corinthians 12:13), indwell (John 14:16-17; I Corinthians 6:19), seal (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30), and empower them (cf. Acts 1:8).

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank You for Your clarity in the midst of a very confused world. You alone are the Messiah-God!!! You created me with a spiritual thirst that only You can quench. I once tried to quench my thirst through the things of this world, including religion. But they only left me more dissatisfied. Thank You for freely giving me eternal satisfaction the moment I believed in You. I now have rivers of living water flowing through my inner being which can never run dry. As I continue to abide in You and Your Word, Your rivers of living water can flow through me to others who are searching for Your eternal satisfaction. Please grant me the boldness and clarity to proclaim Your eternal satisfaction to those who would otherwise die forever in confusion. Thank You for hearing my prayer my Lord and my God. In Your holy and powerful name. Amen.

How can I experience eternal satisfaction? Part 1

“And they said, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” John 6:41

A few years ago, we drove past a store in central Iowa that had the following words on the side of its building: “Satisfaction Guaranteed.” What does that mean? I took it to mean that I would be satisfied with their customer service and products. But that is quite a statement isn’t it? Satisfaction guaranteed? For how long? One minute…  an hour? … a day?… a year?… a decade?… a lifetime? What about eternity? No way! Could they guarantee my satisfaction for eternity? The next few days, Lord willing, we will look at Someone who does and can guarantee eternal satisfaction in John 6:41-59. We will discover four ways to experience this eternal satisfaction.

I Can Experience Eternal Satisfaction When … I COMPREHEND THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD (John 6:41-42). In verse 34, when Jesus spoke of the bread that came from heaven that would give life, the crowd begged Jesus for the bread. Now that Jesus reveals that He is the bread that came from heaven (John 6:33-40), the crowd isn’t too eager to take Him up on His offer. 41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven.’ 42 And they said, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” (John 6:41-42). This crowd knew Jesus was something special or they would not have tried to make Him king the day before after He miraculously fed thousands of people.

But these people could not comprehend Jesus’s claim to be from heaven when they knew He was the son of earthly parents. “We know Him. He grew up in Nazareth right over the hill. We know His parents, Joseph and Mary. He is a carpenter’s son. He is just like one of us.” Like many today, these Jews were the victims of incomplete facts. They did not have all the evidence they needed nor were they looking for it either. They knew Jesus grew up in Nazareth just like anyone else. But they did not know the rest of the story.

This is the reason for so much doubt about Jesus today. People have never examined all the evidence – the eyewitness accounts of what Jesus did and said. In secular circles, people often take the position that Jesus was a good, moral teacher who knew a great deal about life, but He was nothing more than an ordinary man. Among the various religions of the world that deny Jesus is God, they only read the Bible with one eye open. They focus on verses in the Bible that teach the humanity of Jesus, but they ignore the verses that teach Jesus is fully God.

For example, just yesterday an individual wrote on our Facebook page that Jesus cannot be God because He said of His return in Mark 13:32, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” This individual concluded that Jesus cannot be God because God is omniscient and this verse clearly shows that Jesus is not.  

I replied in a private message to this individual that I applauded him for recognizing that God is both the Father and the Son. This was a big admission for this person who comes from a religion that denies God is both Father and Son. But instead of focusing on the fact that Jesus is God’s Son which means Jesus has the same divine nature as God the Father, this person takes this verse out of context to prove to himself and any naïve readers, that Jesus cannot be God.

I also pointed out to this person that his conclusion that Jesus cannot be God because He is ignorant of the exact day and hour of His return fails to consider the difference between the nature and role of a Person. This is a common mistake made by Islam and other false religions who deny that Jesus is God and have to take verses out of context to come to this conclusion.

The Bible teaches that Jesus is “our great God and Savior” (Titus 2:13), but it also says Jesus is subordinate to the Father (Mark 13:32; 1 Corinthians 15:28). Both are true. It will do no good to ignore or distort the former to make sense of the latter.

It is important to realize that Jesus was speaking to His Galilean disciples in Mark 13:32. If you know anything about Galilean culture, you would understand why Jesus says only the Father knows the exact day and hour of His Son’s return. Jesus’s reference to only the Father knowing the exact time of His return is consistent with Galilean wedding customs in Jesus’s day.

In the Galilean culture of that day, the groom goes to the bride’s house to present a wedding contract to the bride. When he proposed marriage, he would offer her a cup of wine. If she drank it, she was accepting the betrothal. He would then inform her that he was to go to his father’s house to prepare a place for her. She would typically respond, “When are you coming back?” The prospective groom would reply by saying, “Only my father knows!” The groom then returns to his father’s house to prepare for his marriage by adding a room to his father’s house where he and his bride will live. In Galilean culture, his father determines the exact time when his son returns to his bride’s house to bring her back to his own.

Jesus’s reference to only His Father knowing the day and hour of His return was consistent with Galilean wedding customs in His day. Saying “only my Father knows” does not mean Jesus is ignorant, but rather submissive and respectful to His Father’s authority.

This is substantiated further in Acts 1:6-7, “6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ 7 And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.’” After Jesus’s resurrection, the disciples ask Jesus a similar question they asked Him in Mark 13. Only this time Jesus does not say He does not know, He says it is not permitted for His disciples to know. Why does Jesus exclude Himself this time? Why doesn’t He say, “It is not for us to know”? This indicates that Christ knew the end, but was not permitted to disclose it to His disciples by the Father. Jesus acknowledges that the time of His return “the Father put in His own authority.” Nowhere did Jesus say in this verse that He didn’t know the time when the Father would restore the kingdom. He simply said, it is the Father’s authority.

Again, this does not deny the deity of Christ. It means Jesus is submitting to the role of His Father who determines the exact time of His return. Although Christ was fully God during His life on earth (John 1:1; 4:25-26; John 8:56-59; 10:30-33; 20:28; Acts 16:31-34; 20:28; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; I John 5:20), He lived His life as fully man (Matthew 8:24; 9:11; Mark 6:3; John 1:14; 2:12; 4:6; 7:3, 5; 11:35; 12:27; 19:28; 21:12; Philippians 2:6-8; I Timothy 2:5) – demonstrating to you and me how we are to live our lives – in total dependence on Him!!!

If we want to truly understand who Jesus is, then we need to look at all of what Scripture says. Those who deny the deity of Christ read the Bible with one eye closed. They only look at isolated verses here and there which focus on Christ’s humanity while ignoring or distorting clear passages that teach the deity of Christ. However, all of Scripture must be consulted if we are going to have an accurate portrait of Jesus. And when we read the Bible with both eyes open, we see the incarnate Christ as equal to the Father in His deity (John 1:1; 4:25-26; 5:17-47; 8:56-59; 10:30-33; 20:28; Acts 16:31-34; 20:28; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; I John 5:20), but also in submission to the Father in His role (Mark 13:32; I Corinthians 11:3; 15:27-28).

I believe one reason why so many today reject that Jesus is God is because they do not want to be accountable to Him as their Judge. It is much easier to view Jesus as a baby born in Bethlehem or as a mere man or prophet than to face Him as the King of kings and Lord of lords Who will return to earth one day to destroy His enemies (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; I Timothy 6:15; Revelation 19:11-21). People want to be in control of their own lives rather than answer to Someone else. Eliminate the deity of Christ and you have no one to answer to but yourself.

In John 6, Jesus makes the claim to be the one and only Son of God who was sent from heaven. We can try all the tricks, gimmicks, tactics or whatever else we want to try, but until a person realizes who Jesus is, they will never find eternal satisfaction.

There is also a lesson here for those of us who know Jesus. Familiarity breeds apathy and indifference. When we become so familiar with the teachings of the Bible we can miss out on the new things that God is wanting to teach us. We start to hear familiar teachings from the Bible and we automatically tune out and start thinking about something else. We have this attitude that says, “What can God teach me that I don’t already know?” This is a very dangerous attitude to have because we can miss out on the new things that God is wanting to teach us and do through us if we let familiarity produce apathy in our lives.

Prayer: Precious Lord Jesus, I must admit that my familiarity with the Bible has sometimes desensitized me to the new things You are wanting to do in my life. Please open my heart to the wonderful truths in Your Word for me to discover. I also ask that You remove whatever keeps me from joining You in the new things You are wanting to do in and through me. I need Your wisdom and discernment in answering the many doubts people in the world have today about Your identity. Satan is confusing and deceiving so many to believe that You are merely a figment of the imagination, or at best, a good moral teacher or prophet. No wonder their lives lack eternal satisfaction in You. It is no surprise that they are either empty and without purpose or they are filled with hatred toward those who differ with them. They need You, Lord Jesus. Please lead me to those whom the Holy Spirit has prepared to hear and believe Your gospel message. In Jesus’s name. Amen.