Weariness of the Worshipers Recognized

The morning of the last day of the feast found the people wearied from the long festivity. Suddenly Jesus lifted up His voice: “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” The people had been engaged in a continued scene of pomp and festivity, their eyes dazzled with light and color, and their ears regaled with the richest music; but there had been nothing to meet the wants of the spirit, nothing to satisfy the thirst of the soul.HLv 304.1

The priest had that morning performed the ceremony which commemorated the smiting of the rock in the wilderness. That rock was a symbol of Him who by His death would cause living streams of salvation to flow. There in the presence of the multitude Christ set Himself apart to be smitten, that the water of life might flow to the world. As Jesus spoke, their hearts thrilled with a strange awe. Many were ready to exclaim, with the woman of Samaria, “Give me this water, that I thirst not.” John 4:15.HLv 304.2

Many who heard Jesus were mourners over disappointed hopes, nourishing a secret grief, or seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things of the world; but amid the glitter of the joyous scene they stood dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, “If any man thirst,” startled them, and as they listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. They saw in the symbol before them the offer of the priceless gift of salvation.HLv 304.3

The cry of Christ to the thirsty soul is still going forth, and it appeals to us with even greater power than to those who heard it in the temple on the last day of the feast. “Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17.HLv 305.1