“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. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:37-38)

What Did Jesus mean?

When Jesus made the loud proclamation above saying that anyone who is thirsty should come to Him and drink, people didn’t understand what He meant. The passage went on to explain:

“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.” (John 7:39 NIV)

People are still thirsty and confused today!

The word “thirst” means different things. One of the definitions says it simply means to have a craving for something. It could be for water, food, or even other things such as wealth, power, or fame. A lot of people have a thirst but don’t know what they really want, and they go from thing to thing trying to discern what it is. Jesus, in his statement above, pointed out that the answer to their thirst is Him! He is the only one who can satisfy their thirst!

Therefore

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matt. 5:6 ESV)

“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free!” (Isa. 55:1 NLT)

“But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)