Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1875
“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirsts, let him come unto Me and drink.” John 7:37.
THE officers were after our Lord and He knew it. He could spy them out in the crowd, but He was not, therefore, in the least bit afraid, or disconcerted. He reminds me of that minister who, when he was about to preach, was stopped by a soldier, who held a pistol to his head and threatened that if he spoke, he would kill him. “Soldier,” he said, “do your duty and I shall do mine.” And he went on with his preaching. The Savior, without saying as much in words, said so by His actions. If they were sent to take Him, let them take Him—as for Himself, the time was come to speak boldly and, therefore, He stood and cried, saying, “If any man thirsts, let him come unto Me, and drink.”
You see, it was the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. From the middle of that festival the Lord had been present and had openly taught the people. They had seen Him in the midst of the throng, lifting up His hands and proclaiming holy doctrine. But the feast was over, the boughs were cleared away and the tents in which they had dwelt, for a time, were taken down. It was the eighth day, which was spent as a Sabbath, but the Savior did not cease to preach because the festival was almost over. Till the last day He continued to instruct, invite and entreat. How this reminds us of His constant patience! It is but one instance, out of very many, of the Savior’s tenacity of loving kindness. Though the Jews had often refused Him, He is still pleading with them. He has come to His own and they have not received Him, but He waits to be gracious! He tarries in unwearied mercy. He endures “even to this last” and so, on “that great day of the feast,” He has still a note of admonition and a word of invitation for them.
Oh, the patience of God to some here present! You have long heard the Gospel and although you have never given it due attention, still does the good Savior strive with you and press you to be considerate of your own best interests. Jesus urges you to live, persuades you to be saved! There are times when it would not be becoming to the honor of a king to press his favors upon those who have distinctly despised and refused them, but it is always the amazing Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ that He continues to entreat even when we continue to resist! Even to our own last hour does the Lord of Mercy sweetly cry, “If any man thirsts, let him come unto Me and drink.” Repent, dear Hearer, of all your long delays, and come to Jesus this day, for He still invites you, saying evermore, “Whoever will, let Him take the water of life freely.”
Furthermore, our Lord did not only preach the Gospel till the last day of the feast, but because it was the last day, He manifested an increased ardor in so doing and, whereas His custom was to sit and teach the people who gathered in a ring around Him, on this closing day He now sought a prominent place, probably just outside the Temple, or in one of its outer courts, and there He stood, conspicuous before them all, in the attitude of one who has risen from his ease and has come to meet those whom he invites. He assumed a position more active, more pleading, more earnest than that of a seated teacher. Behold, He stands and pleads! That pleading is in tones both pathetic and loud—He “cries,” “If any man thirsts, let Him come unto Me and drink!”
It is the last time that He will look into some of their faces. They are leaving Jerusalem where they have kept the feast. They will get back to their farms and to their merchandise and if He does not strike the iron while He has it on the anvil, He may never have another stroke at it. If at this time an invitation is not pressed upon them, they will forget the teaching they have heard—they will probably never hear any more—and they will die in their sins. I think I see the Master’s face beaming with holy affection and His eyes streaming with tears as He pleads as for His life with the throng which is so soon to melt away! It is now or never with Him and with them! He must once more free Himself of the blood of them
all and, therefore, on that “last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, “If any man thirsts, let him come unto Me and drink.”
I think it is noteworthy that when the Master had gathered up all the forces of His soul and His whole spirit was moved with intense anxiety for the good of men, then He especially preached the Gospel of salvation. I do not know that He had, before, so publicly declared Himself as the great Fountain and Source of salvation. He had taught this Truth of God to the woman at the well of Samaria with special plainness. And He had spoken of it to different little companies with great distinctness, but now, almost for the first time, on this last day He brings it all out before the multitude and cries, “If any man thirsts, let him come unto Me and drink.” Now is the invitation given most freely! Now is the cry sounded forth most loudly! O you that are perishing, O you that are lost, O you that need salvation, here is the place where you can find it—“Come unto Me and drink!” It seems to me that the Lord Jesus was driving only at this one thing—the getting of men to come to Himself. At another time He would teach them deeper doctrine, or Truth of a wider range, for His ministry dealt with many things for edification and holiness. But now, on this last day, He seems to put other matters to the side and His one objective is to win thirsty souls to come to Him and drink.