Welcome to day 28 of our 40 day challenge! Today, we are continuing in John 7

(You can catch up on our Intro, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23, Day 24, Day 25, Day 26, Day 27 if you missed them)

John 7:37-52

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹ 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.

⁴⁰ On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee?⁴² Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?”⁴³ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders

⁴⁵ Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

⁴⁶ “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.

⁴⁷ “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted.⁴⁸ “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹ No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”

⁵⁰ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, ⁵¹ “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”

⁵² They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

---

If anyone thirsts, let them come to me and drink.

Jack shares the significance of this moment on the last day of the feast, in his post here on the Feast of Tabernacles. On the last day of this feast, the High Priest takes a golden pitcher, filled with water from the Pool of Siloam, and pours it out next to the altar while reciting Isaiah 12:3: With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

In our passage today, Jesus connects this to Himself, offering life-changing, life-giving words, and some heard His words and took them to heart. But others, too wrapped up in their preconceptions and prejudices, missed the significance and opportunity.

They even insult Nicodemus, (are you also from Galilee? No prophet has arisen from Galilee) when he suggests they hear Jesus and understand what He’s doing before judging.

Jesus offers us the same living water today, and still, there has been no one else who has ever spoken like Him.

And when we come to Him, with joy we will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Options for further  journaling or discussion throughout the challenge:

• Choose a part of the passage to write out by hand. Writing by hand helps us slow down and focus on what the Lord might highlight for us in the passage. Our brains can focus and remember better by writing than just reading alone.
• Journal about what the passage brings to mind. Does the passage tell us anything about God? Does it tell us anything about our response to Him?
• Does your heart respond in gratitude to any part of the passage? Write or pray your gratitude to the Lord.

We’ll see you Monday for Day 29, in John 8

♥ Samantha