“I really should have drunk more today.”
How often do we say that when we feel a bit off? We might feel unwell in the warm weather, have a headache at the end of the day, or cramps through the night. They are all signals that we really needed to drink more.
The body needs water intake outside of itself in order to survive. The average person needs between 3 and 4 litres of water each day. Those amounts are in excess of what the body is able to produce, which is why we can only survive a few days at most without water—even less under extreme conditions.[1]
The ancient Israelites knew this. After God had rescued them from slavery in Egypt by leading them through the Red Sea, he led them through the wilderness that they might learn to rely solely on him each day. But when they camped at a place called Rephidim, there was no water for the people to drink, and they were thirsty. So they grumbled against Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”
Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”
But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” (Exodus 17:1-6).
This event was recalled during the Feast of Tabernacles—one of the major festivals God commanded his people to commemorate throughout the generations to celebrate his goodness. Although they were living in a land of plenty, God’s people were never to forget that the Lord had brought them out of bondage in Egypt. They recalled his faithful provision to their ancestors for their life in the present. During this festival the people lived in booths, recalling how they lived in temporary shelters when God brought them out of Egypt. They were to remember God sustained his people through his own ways, satisfying hunger and quenching the thirst of his people.
The offering of water was a key component of the ritual in this festival. Each morning, a priest went to the fountain of Siloam with a golden pitcher, filled it with water, and took it to pour upon the altar. In making this offering on behalf of the people, the priest sought God’s ongoing provision by blessing the land with rainfall so that there would be an abundant harvest.
When this offering of water took place, the trumpets sounded and the people sang the words of Isaiah 12:3 “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” Note the future tense of these words: “will draw.” The water pouring ceremony of the festival came to be associated with end-time expectations. Zechariah (4:18) prophesied “On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem…” and Joel (3:18): “In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the LORD’s house and will water the valley of acacias”. The day of the bestowal of the Holy Spirit was seen to be at the end times accompanying the arrival of the promised Saviour.
It is at this feast—at its pinnacle on the last and greatest day—that Jesus stood up and cried out: “If anyone is thirsty, come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within them.” That would have shocked everyone there as Jesus interrupted the regular rhythm of the sacred liturgy and the focus of those who had gathered.
What is this ‘living water’ of which Jesus speaks? Ordinary water rains down from heaven. After a time, the water soaks into the ground or evaporates, or it is gathered and used. Even great rivers dry out in times of drought. But Jesus says the water he provides is a water supply that is never exhausted—the water Jesus gives is living. He is not talking about literal water to quench bodily thirst. He is talking about a water to quench the human thirst for our deepest needs, which are not physical but spiritual—a relationship with God and the gifts God provides to give us eternal and satisfying life found only in him, as we walk the wilderness journey through this life into the next.
John explains that Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit, who would be given to all who believe in him, for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. After Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the Father would pour out the Holy Spirit through Jesus. In today’s reading from Acts we hear of that outpouring. All the people had gathered at Jerusalem for the festival of Pentecost, and through the ascended Christ, God the Father had poured out the living water—the Holy Spirit—on his people.
Jesus crying out the claim that he would be the source of streams of living water would have shocked and even offended the Jewish people present at the Temple. The prophecies of streams of living water and the fountain of water was associated with the coming of the Messiah. Jesus is saying that the end times have arrived and that he is the fulfillment of this prophecy: “If anyone is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” It is no longer the Temple that is the centre and source of life for the world. Jesus is proclaiming himself to be the place where the inexhaustible supply of water is found; the living water, the Holy Spirit. He is the new Temple, the new way God is present to his people and the thirsty soul will find supplied in him that which will not be found elsewhere.
We are among God’s end-times, Pentecost people of whom Jesus spoke. As water rains down from the heavens, we have had the Holy Spirit poured out upon us from heaven, by the Father through the ascended Jesus too. This happened at our baptism, where we were clothed with power from on high, as Paul said to Titus: “[God the Father] saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5-7).
Not everything we drink in life is good for us. Too much alcohol, too much coffee, too many sugary drinks, too many energy drinks, water that is not clean and safe to drink…these things are not good for us. So also this is true for us spiritually, as we journey through the wilderness of this life to our heavenly homeland. We are creatures that easily get parched. We have a deep thirst for worth, belonging, identity, wisdom, guidance, hope, being loved and approved, healing for our wounded heart, grace to remove our guilt and shame, longing for calm and rest, joy and peace in a world where fear and troubles are never far away. We thirst for true freedom and life.
These deepest needs are spiritual needs but so often we turn to the material things in life in attempts to satisfy this thirst. But they never do. Ordinary water is essential to life, it sustains life. But water itself cannot give life. No matter how much a dead tree is watered, it won’t grow new shoots. So too the things of this life cannot give life to our mortal bodies, and quench our spiritual thirst. Only God can do that by his Spirit. Jesus says: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life” (John 6:63).
We have been saved by grace alone—but Peter says this salvation is from an empty way of life, for true life with God (1 Peter 1:18-19). As human beings in a material world, it is so easy to get lost in material pursuits. It is easy to forget God and drink from broken cisterns that cannot hold water. It is easy to get caught up in the daily, weekly rhythm of work and life. It is natural to get bound up in the pursuit of material things, cares, concerns and priorities.
Just as the body needs water intake from outside of itself to survive, we need spiritual intake outside of ourselves to survive spiritually. We need to keep on drinking from the fountain. We need to keep on receiving the Holy Spirit. We need to keep on hearing the words of Jesus and receiving from him the Spirit of life. We need to keep on coming to his table and eating and drinking the manna from heaven and the water from the rock, so that as we eat and drink Jesus’ holy body and blood we receive the Holy Spirit. We need to keep coming to him confessing our sin and receiving pardon and peace, bringing our broken cisterns for him to fill with the living water. We need to keep on receiving the Holy Spirit so that we keep on walking the journey through the wilderness of this life to the life eternal to come.
When we feel dehydrated we say: “I really should have drunk more today.” Let us not become spiritually dehydrated. Let us say: “I really should drink more of the Spirit each day.”
For Jesus is our risen and ascended King, and the Holy Spirit has been poured out through him. Jesus invites you today to come to him and drink. The only requirement to receive this water is to accept his invitation. His invitation is to everyone: “if anyone is thirsty…” His invitation is to those who are empty, the weary, the hurting, the grieving, the guilty, the ashamed, the lonely, the fearful, those who feel worthless, without purpose and hope. His invitation is to you.
The only requirement is to come to Jesus and receive, without cost, life from the Lord and Giver of life. As we do, Jesus promises an abundant outpouring. It will be like a fountain, or streams running forth within us, enough not only for ourselves but for others to receive. God has freely given what He has promised. He has not held back from us what is most needed in our lives. He wants so much to share his life with you and you to share in his life that he gave his one and only Son to redeem you, and through him, pours out upon you his Holy Spirit so that you would know him personally and just as closely as the Son himself knows the Father. Hear his invitation to you: “If anyone thirsts come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within them.” Amen.
Pastor Tim Ebbs
St Paul’s Lutheran Church, Glenelg
Pentecost Day, 2026
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
“When we feel dehydrated we say: “I really should have drunk more today.” Let us not become dehydrated spiritually. Let us say: “I really should drink more of the Spirit each day.”
- What promise does Jesus make to those who believe in Him?
- According to verse 39, what does “living water” represent?
- What kind of “thirst” do you think Jesus is referring to?
- Why do people often try to satisfy this thirst with things other than God?
- What does the image of “living water” suggest (e.g., life, refreshment, cleansing, abundance)?
- Verse 39 explains that this refers to the Holy Spirit—what does this teach us about the Spirit’s role and the relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit?
- Why had the Spirit “not yet been given”?
- How does the Holy Spirit satisfy spiritual thirst?
- In what areas of your life do you feel spiritually “thirsty”?
- What things do you tend to turn to instead of Jesus to satisfy that thirst?
- What would it look like for you personally to “come and drink” from Jesus daily?
- What would change in a church or community if everyone truly lived as a source of “living water”?
[1] https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/nutrient-reference-values/nutrients/water
