Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Opening Scripture

Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. Isaiah 35:3-8

Opening Prayer

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my Savior am happy and blest; watching and waiting, looking above, filled with His goodness, lost in His love. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long; this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

John 7: 25-52

At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”

At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”

The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

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

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

Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied. “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”

Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

Reflection  

Considering what John has already told us and the crowd’s question in today’s passage, it’s interesting that yesterday some denied any plan to kill Jesus. That knee-jerk denial – coupled with the dismissive smear: “You’re demon-possessed” – served as a flimsy attempt to deflect the truth of Jesus’ words.

Nearly everyone in the crowd knew that the religious leaders were out to get Jesus, which is why they were so surprised to see Him now speaking publicly here in the temple courts.

Were the religious leaders still plotting to kill Jesus? Had they changed their minds about Him? If He is a liar or lunatic, they ought to arrest Him. If He is the promised Messiah, they ought to accept Him. Their lack of leadership was confusing.

Once again, Jesus’ familiarity breeds contempt. It was widely known that Jesus was a craftsman from Galilee. For some, that discounted Him as a potential Messiah. They had decided that the true Messiah would be a mystery man from parts unknown.

Jesus “cried out” in reply that, though they knew His earthly family in Nazareth, they did not know His heavenly Father who had sent Him. That triggered a reaction! But since it wasn’t time yet for Jesus to offer Himself up as the sacrifice for our sins, those who tried to subdue Him were unable to do so.

Amid the chaos and confusion, some who were there believed that Jesus was, in fact, the promised Messiah. Even the temple guards, who had been sent to arrest Jesus, returned empty-handed, acknowledging that there was something special about Him. This only served to frustrate the proud and jealous leaders all the more!

Nicodemus, who came to Jesus at night in Chapter 3, stood up to defend Him, but a mob mentality had taken hold. The religious leaders weren’t interested in truth or testimonies. They had already made up their minds. Jesus was a threat that must be eliminated! They were willing to ignore or distort the facts to suit their purpose.

Flourishing Habit

Meaning and Purpose

On the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood up in the temple courts and made a startling declaration. Jerusalem was bustling with the crowd of pilgrims celebrating the harvest festival. The air was filled with excitement and anticipation, heightened by the tension between Jesus and the religious leaders.

The festival included a daily procession in which a priest filled a golden pitcher from the Pool of Siloam (fed by Gihon Spring), carried it back to the Temple, and poured it out on the altar. This ritual reminded everyone how God had provided water for the Jewish people during their wandering in the wilderness (Numbers 20:9-11).

It’s in that context that Jesus declared, “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.”

It’s the same offer Jesus made earlier to the Samaritan woman at the well. “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Just as Yahweh had miraculously provided physical, life-giving bread and water to sustain His people during their journey from bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land, so Jesus is now miraculously offering spiritual, life-giving “bread” and “water” to those who believe in Him, leading them from bondage to eternal life.

Are you experiencing the “living water” of God’s Spirit flowing up within you?

Is Jesus satisfying your “thirst” for meaning and purpose as you follow Him?

Ask God to make you a “spring” of “living water” – refreshing you and those around you – as the Holy Spirit accomplishes the Father’s will in your life.

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!