Imagine standing in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles two thousand years ago. The city is crowded with pilgrims who have come from across Israel. There is singing, rejoicing, and expectation, and for days water has been part of the celebration—a powerful reminder that Israel depends upon God for the rain that gives life to the land. Then, on the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stands up and cries out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). Those words would have been almost impossible to miss.
Jesus was not speaking about water at an ordinary moment.
He was speaking during Sukkot—the Feast of Tabernacles—when the people were looking to God for rain and remembering His provision. Water meant crops, harvest, food, and ultimately life itself. There was even a joyful ceremony during the Feast in which water was drawn and brought up to the Temple, accompanied by rejoicing before God.
So when Jesus stood in the middle of this celebration and told the thirsty to come to Him, everyone around Him understood the picture He was using. They were looking to God for the water that sustained physical life, and Jesus was telling them that there was another kind of thirst only He could satisfy.
Sometimes when we read the Gospels from thousands of miles away, we can miss how closely the words of Jesus were connected to the land, the Scriptures, and the biblical Feasts. But when we understand what was happening around Him, His invitation becomes even more remarkable. There is a thirst that ordinary water cannot satisfy, and we know that thirst in our own generation.
It is possible to build a successful life and still wonder why something feels missing. We can have family, work, plans for the future, and almost everything we thought would make us happy, yet still carry an emptiness that nobody else can see. Jesus knew that thirst, and His answer was wonderfully simple: Come to Me.
But His invitation did not end there.
Jesus continued, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John explains that He was speaking about the Holy Spirit.
I love the picture Jesus gives us because something remarkable happens in it. We first come to Him as thirsty people, needing His mercy, forgiveness, peace, and hope. He meets us there and fills what we could never fill ourselves. But then the person who came thirsty becomes someone through whom living water can begin to flow to others.
That is where this ancient Feast becomes very practical for us today. It is easy to imagine that serving God must always involve something large—a ministry, a mission trip, a platform, or some great opportunity. But very often God begins with the people He has already placed around us.
There may be someone living a few houses away who is carrying a burden you know nothing about. Someone at work may be searching for God without ever saying those words. Someone in your own family may need encouragement, prayer, or simply somebody willing to listen.
This does not mean we need to turn every conversation into a sermon. I don’t believe that helps people. But if the Holy Spirit lives within us, then the life of Jesus should be felt by the people around us. We can notice when someone is struggling. We can listen instead of rushing past them. We can pray, help practically, and be present. And when God opens the door, we should not be afraid to explain where our hope comes from. The living water Jesus gives us was never meant to stop with us.
Here in Israel, Sukkot is approaching again.
Soon sukkot—the temporary booths or tabernacles that give the Feast its name—will appear on balconies, in courtyards, and outside homes. Families will gather, meals will be shared, and an ancient biblical celebration will once again become part of everyday life. Yet behind all these traditions, the words Jesus spoke in Jerusalem still remain just as powerful: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.”
Perhaps today you are the thirsty person. Then come to Him. But perhaps you can also look back and see how Jesus has already met you, forgiven you, strengthened you, and carried you through things you once thought you would never overcome. If so, there is another question worth asking: Who has God placed around you?
Look at your family, your neighbors, the people you work with, and those you encounter in ordinary life. There may be someone much closer than you think who needs the living water God has already placed within you.
Blessings from Israel,
Pastor Israel