Can This Be the Christ?

[Read John 7:25-39]

I remember coming to a shocking and troubling realization ten years ago. All of a sudden, I noticed a really bad habit that had formed in my life that was causing a lot of pain and difficulty. I noticed that whenever I was bored, I felt this urge to run into town and go to the store and walk around looking at things. Yet, I didn’t need anything AND I didn’t have any money to buy anything. So, I just walked around the store looking at things I wanted to buy, but couldn’t buy—another way of saying coveting. Eventually, the Amazon marketplace became popular, so I didn’t even have to go to the store. Whenever I was bored, I could just pull out my phone and look at things I didn’t need, couldn’t afford, but still wanted. What I noticed was that it was creating a constant stream of dissatisfaction in my life. I was always feeling like I didn’t have enough. I always wanted more but never had enough. I was never satisfied. 

We see this all the time in our culture today, don’t we? Think about it. For many people, their immediate, gut reaction to boredom is to pick up their phone. They don’t even think about it anymore. It’s been implanted in our subconscious. And when we open our phones, what are we often doing? Often, we’re looking at things we want to do and can’t do, looking at things we want but can’t have, etc., etc. Covetousness. You don’t have to be programmed to use your phone to experience the same thing. For centuries people have been trying to fix their boredom/dissatisfaction by eating, working, sleeping, and a whole host of other things, and they have gotten the same result. They’re caught in this same downward spiral of covetousness and dissatisfaction.

And here’s what’s crazy about all of this stuff. We reflexively turn to these things to bring some level of satisfaction to our lives, but they don’t bring satisfaction. Sure, they may bring some satisfaction for a little bit, but it doesn’t last. If you try to fix your boredom/dissatisfaction with food, as soon as you’re done snacking, you’re already bored and wanting more. If you try to fix your boredom by doom-scrolling on your phone, it will numb you for a bit, and distract you for a while, but it doesn’t actually fix your boredom, does it? It doesn’t satisfy. And, when we’re honest with ourselves after we’ve doom-scrolled on our phones for a while, we put our phone down and feel worse, don’t we? We don’t feel better, more energized, more satisfied, ready to go do something big. No, we still feel exhausted. We still feel bored. We still feel the same way we did when we picked up our phone. 

To a culture that is weak and weary by dissatisfaction, Jesus says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” (John 7:37, ESV). We live in a time when people are thirsty—they’re weak and weary and longing for something to drink, something that will satisfy them. They’re looking in so many places—they’re drinking from so many wells. They’re drinking from so many wells because none of the wells are bringing any level of satisfaction—the water isn’t quenching their thirst. It’s acting more like coffee—that leaves you thirstier after you’ve drunk it. So, you keep coming back for more, more, more. And Jesus says, “Stop drinking from all of these wells that aren’t satisfying you. If you’re weak and weary and thirsty, come to me and drink. I will quench your thirst. I will heal your longing. Ultimately, I will satisfy you. I am the ONLY thing that will satisfy you completely.” 

What’s interesting is how people respond to this statement by Jesus. I’ve heard many people respond by saying, “Yeah, well, that sounds good and everything, but it doesn’t work. I tried the whole ‘Jesus thing’ and I wasn’t satisfied. It didn’t work. It didn’t help.” There are a bunch of ways to respond to that feeling in people’s lives. One way is to point something out. It’s very different to try something out than come to them and drink. It’s very different to “taste” something than to drink deeply. Of course, taking a little sip—a little taste, trying him out—isn’t going to satisfy. You have to drink deeply—you have to give your life to him, abide in him, and truly know him. That’s the only way you can truly come and drink and be satisfied. 

And that was the problem with the crowds. Many of them just wanted to “try Jesus out” a little bit. They even thought that since they had been hanging around Jesus for a while—“trying him out” kicking the tires—they knew who he was. They say, “Can it be that the authorities know that this is the Christ? But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” (John 7:26–27, ESV). They’re curious about why the authorities haven’t done anything about Jesus yet. Weren’t they seeking to kill him? Why are they letting him speak openly in the temple? Maybe the authorities were taking action because they were beginning to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. But then they shake that idea out of their mind right away: “Well, of course, he can’t be the Messiah. We KNOW who he is and we KNOW where he comes from!” 

Yet, Jesus KNOWS what they’re saying and what they’re thinking. So, while he’s teaching in the temple, Jesus loudly says to everyone, “You know me, and you know where I come from.” (John 7:28, ESV). Now, I agree with several commentators who believe this would be better translated as a question that assumes a negative answer. It’s more like Jesus is saying, “You KNOW me? You KNOW where I come from? I don’t think you know me as well as you think you know me.” 

Jesus goes on to correct loudly as well, “But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” (John 7:28–29, ESV). Why don’t they know Jesus? He says they don’t know him because they don’t know the Father. If they knew the Father, then they would know Jesus because Jesus is the perfect revelation of the Father. But, since they clearly don’t know Jesus, it also shows that they clearly don’t know the Father. And they’re not too happy about him saying this. So, we read, “So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.” (John 7:30, ESV). The crowds didn’t like being corrected and rebuked by Jesus—they didn’t like him saying that they didn’t know the Father. They also didn’t like him doing this so publicly and loudly in the temple, so they try to get him arrested. But it doesn’t work because it wasn’t his hour—it wasn’t part of the Father’s perfect plan and timing. 

Yet, here’s what’s powerful in all of this. We still read this line: “Yet many of the people believed in him.” (John 7:31, ESV). Even in the midst of a group of people who were angry and frustrated by Jesus’ teaching and correction, even in the midst of a group that was seeking to have him arrested to shut him up, some people heard Jesus speaking/teaching and they believed. John Calvin says, “And, therefore, though some may murmur, and others scorn, and others slander, and though many differences of opinion may arise, still the preaching of the Gospel will not be without effect; so that we must sow the seed, and wait with patience until, in process of time, the fruit appear.” (Calvin, 301). When we effectively preach the gospel, some people are going to be angry and frustrated and do everything they can to shut us up, but others will believe. Preaching the gospel will always be effective, but that effect will often be different for different people.

Just look at the Pharisees: “The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.” (John 7:32, ESV). The Pharisees hear that people are talking about Jesus, that people are wondering if he is the Messiah, and that some people are even believing in him. So, they use all of their political power and send some temple guards to arrest Jesus. They need to do something to shut him up and make him be quiet.

Here’s what I love about this picture of Jesus teaching in the temple. He has TWO groups of people who are angry with him and seeking to have him arrested. The crowds are seeking to have him arrested and the Pharisees have officially sent the temple guards to arrest him, and Jesus keeps on teaching and he keeps on teaching LOUDLY in the midst of the temple. Don’t miss that point. As Jesus is saying these things in the temple, armed guards are actively pursuing him to arrest him and drag him from the temple. And not only does he continue to teach, but he continues to teach LOUDLY so that everyone can hear him—even the guards who pursue him, even the Pharisees who sent the guards. 

And here’s Jesus’ response to the Pharisees: “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” (John 7:33–34, ESV). I love the irony of this statement. As the crowds and Pharisees are seeking to have Jesus arrested and as the temple guards are seeking to arrest Jesus, he tells them that they will seek him and not find him because he will be going to some place they cannot go. Of course, it’s ironic. Jesus isn’t talking about that exact moment, but he is capitalizing on the irony of the moment. What Jesus is telling the Pharisees is that there will be a time when they will seek him—not to arrest him, but for help—and he will be gone and they will not be able to find him. They will have missed their moment. Their time would be up. Jesus is saying something similar to Isaiah 55:6: “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;” (Isaiah 55:6, ESV). 

Of course, we know what Jesus is really talking about here. He’s talking about his death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus knows this is the reason he came and he knows that the time is not yet…but it’s coming soon. The time is coming when he will die, rise, and ascend into heaven—he will go back to where he came from. He will join his Father in heaven. 

What’s beautiful—and providential—about all of this is that this is Ascension Sunday. Today is a day for us to celebrate and remember Christ’s ascension into heaven. And there are many different aspects that we remember when we remember Christ’s ascension. This is one that we don’t often talk about. Christ’s ascension into heaven is also a reminder that He is coming back, and when he comes back, he is coming back to judge the living and the dead. He’s coming back in judgment over all who sought to have him arrested and those who didn’t believe in him and those who rejected him. That’s what Jesus is telling the Pharisees in this moment. 

But, there’s another important reminder that comes with Ascension Sunday—it’s the gift of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus ascended into heaven, it also meant that he was going to send the Holy Spirit to us to give us strength and guidance as we follow Him. Jesus brings this aspect up a few days later—on the final day of the Feast of Booths. Once again, he says this LOUDLY, “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). 

Here’s what is powerful about this statement from Jesus. There are aspects of the Feast of Booths that most people are unaware of. The Feast of Booths was a reminder for the Jews of their time traveling without homes in the desert—living in tents, booths, and tabernacles. That’s why they lived in tents during the Feast. The reason they did this was not only to remember their travels in the desert but, PRIMARILY, to remember the way the Lord provided for them in the midst of the desert—the way the Lord provided for them while they lived in tents. And part of their celebration of God’s provision was a beautiful celebration that happened on the seventh day of the Feast. They would go down the pool of Siloam, fill gold jars full of water, and have a joyful procession back to the temple with shouts and singing, and trumpets. They would pour out this water on the altar while shouting/singing “Give thanks to the Lord!!” It was all a beautiful reminder/celebration/worship service of praise to God for the way he provided water for them in the desert when they were thirsty. 

Now, we don’t know for sure what John means when he says that Jesus said these things on the last day of the feast. It could mean that it happened on the seventh day—which would assume that Jesus loudly proclaimed this teaching in the middle of the celebration—OR it could mean it happened on the eighth day, which was the Sabbath day of rest following the celebration. Either way, Jesus had this entire celebration in mind when he cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” (John 7:37, ESV). He’s pointing out that He is the ultimate provision from God for His people. Yes, they should celebrate the ways God provided water for them in the desert, but God has provided something even better in Christ—he has provided water for their weak and weary souls. Just like he said to the woman at the well, if they miss this, they will have to continually keep going back for more, but if they understand who Jesus is, and believe in him, and come to him, and drink, they will ultimately be satisfied and never thirst again. 

But even more will happen. He says, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:38, ESV). You can see how Jesus connects the ideas of “coming to him” and “believing in him,” but notice what he says. He not only says that those who come to him and believe in him will be satisfied—their thirst will be quenched—but he also says that water will flow from them. Not only will they drink and be satisfied, but they will have living water welling up within them, life filling them up and overflowing onto those around them. That’s a powerful transformation. He gives us this picture of someone going from thirsty, to quenched, to so filled that continual streams of water are flowing out of them onto the world around them. Not only is that talking about amazing, ultimate satisfaction, but also the way these things overflow and affect the world around us. 

Just in case we didn’t understand what Jesus was saying, John gives us some clarification. He says, “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 7:39, ESV). All of this talk about water and life is actually about the Spirit. And those who believe in Jesus will receive the Spirit and the Spirit will satisfy their longings and begin to well up within their life that is so abundant that it overflows onto the world around them. That’s ultimate, complete satisfaction. This is what everyone is seeking. 

As I wrap up this sermon, I feel the need to say something very important. I want to quote Herman Ridderbos who says, “The abundance of the gifts of the Spirit, referred to here, therefore does not mean that the believer will be transferred from a struggling faith to a purely triumphant faith but that the believer will become a participant, by the Spirit, in the glorification of Christ, that the believer will drink from a spring whose fullness for everyone who believes will never be exhausted.” (Ridderbos, 275-276). This isn’t about instant, total transformation. If you think you will be immediately transformed from someone who is dissatisfied to someone who is completely satisfied, you will be very disappointed. However, this is a reminder of where we will find ultimate satisfaction. It’s a reminder that we can come to the well and keep drinking and drinking and drinking and it will never run dry. The more we drink from this well—the more the Holy Spirit works in our heart to make us satisfied in Jesus Christ—the more it will well up within us and overflow onto those around us. It may start like a trickle, but over time it will become a stream, then a creek, then a river. Being satisfied in Christ is a process that takes a while and takes the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in those who believe. 

We have to realize by now that there’s nothing in this world that will ultimately satisfy us. Nothing. We’ve tried over and over and over again—thinking every invention and innovation is going to do it this time. But they don’t. They all leave us longing for something more—something that this world doesn’t offer. They leave us longing because the only thing—the only ONE—who can bring us this satisfaction is Jesus Christ and it can only come by believing in him, coming to him, and being filled by the Holy Spirit.