基督的邀请
约翰福音七章37至44节
37节期的末日，就是最大之日，耶稣站着高声说：“人若渴了，可以到我这里来喝！
38信我的人，就如经上所说：‘从他腹中要流出活水的江河来。’”
39耶稣这话是指着信他之人要受圣灵说的。那时还没有赐下圣灵来，因为耶稣尚未得着荣耀。
40众人听见这话，有的说：“这真是那先知。”
41有的说：“这是基督。”但也有的说：“基督岂是从加利利出来的吗？
42经上岂不是说‘基督是大卫的后裔，从大卫本乡伯利恒出来的’吗？”
43于是众人因着耶稣起了纷争。
44其中有人要捉拿他，只是无人下手。
信息分享
本章经文的头14节，没有说明基督的动向，直到祂后来在节日现身耶路撒冷。那是一年一度的住棚节（参利未记二十三章），节期持续七到八天。在这期间，百姓要住在棚里；然后到最后一日，祭司拿着水在街道上走过，并将水倒出来。基督必是在那一刻向人发出邀请的。
耶稣是否觉察到，守节的人们正收拾心情，准备离去？「又过完了一年的节！」他们是否正像一个完成了所有圣诞节活动的家庭，彼此对望，然后又要回到日常生活中一样？
基督在这里发出一个重大的邀请，祂说：「你们如果仍然感到空虚和失望，这一切礼仪若还不能满足你们灵里的需要；那么，快到我这里来，我必能满足你们最深切的需要，使你们不再干渴。」
这是一个直接而个人化的邀请，「任何人……」；只要人觉得有需要，「人若渴了……」，就可以到祂跟前来。渴乃是指对你没有的东西一种强烈的愿望；而人心所渴望的，就是能够满足人心灵和生命的东西。现今世代的其中一个特质，是人都浮躁不安；似乎没有任何东西，能令人感到满足，至少，无法长久满足。
基督应许说，人若到祂这里来，祂，基督便会满足他们，然后，从那人的腹中将要流出活水，以致能触及他人的心田。这是一个真理，至今仍未改变。你若还未来到基督的面前，何不今天就去，一尝祂为你预备的活水。
CHRIST’S INVITATION
John 7:37-44
37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
40 Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.”
41 Others said, “This is the Christ.”
But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee?
42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?”
43 So there was a division among the people because of Him.
44 Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
Message
In the first fourteen verses of this chapter, Christ’s movements are accounted for until He appeared at the feast in Jerusalem. This was the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev.23) which lasted seven or eight days. During that time the people lived in bough shelters. Then on the last day the priests took water, carried it through the streets and then poured it out. It must have been right at that moment Christ cried out His invitation.
Did He sense that many of the people were turning away, perhaps with the let-down feeling, “Well that’s over for another year?” Were they like a family which has finished Christmas Day activities and is just looking at each other before going back to normal duties?
What was Christ saying in this great invitation? “If you still feel empty and disappointed, if you sense within a real spiritual vacuum which hasn’t been filled by all this ritual, come to me. I’ll fill your deepest need. I can satisfy your thirst.”
The invitation was simple and personal. “If any man...” The only qualification was a sense of need. “If any man thirsts...” Thirst is a strong desire for something you do not have. Here it is the longing of a human heart for something to fill it up and give it life. One of the characteristics of our present age is restlessness. Nothing seems to satisfy - at least not for very long.
Christ promised that if any man came to Him, He could satisfy him and then from Him there could flow a stream which could touch the hearts of others. It is still the same today. If you have not come to Christ, why not come today and find out what He can do?