John 7: 37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) 40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. 41 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? 42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
It’s the end of the year and we’re faced with a new calendar. There will be lots of new things in the coming year. For example my new insurance is not so good; so much for health care. We start from scratch each year with our deductible. I’m so glad the insurance in Jesus still works and there is no co-pay! There might be fine print in our insurance policies that we don’t know about and it bites us. The Bible is plain. The Great Physician doesn’t change. Man had no hand in it and I’m glad to be under the care of Jesus.
In this scripture Jesus was at the temple at the Feast of Tabernacles. It was a feast of the harvest held in September. The people were called to recognize how good God had been through the year. The Lord blessed the crops and this feast recognized it. Earlier in the year was the Feast of Passover and it was all about the Lamb and the sacrifices. Aren’t we glad for the Lamb of God! Pentecost came next. Then Tabernacles came as a time of thanksgiving and reflection. Each person built a lean-to and they spent their time in it praying and thanking God for how he had blessed them. If you and I don’t have a closet or booth to pray in we need to set aside a place. January 1st can hold lots of joy and peace because we know God will be with us just like he was in 2017. Many days in 2017 caught us by surprise. The trials were almost unbearable but we can give God glory for getting us through.
The Bible calls the last day of the feast the great day. It’s sort of like getting built up for Christmas. It starts for most of us right after Thanksgiving and the momentum builds getting us ready for Christmas Day. The day after I was headed down the road for visiting and turned the radio on. The Christmas music was already gone. I missed it.
We can consider the great day sad because it’s the end. But consider it as good. Jesus was there on the last day. He was with us on Christmas but he is every day. We wake up each day with the gift of Jesus. We’re down to the last day of the year and in spite of how hard it has been we can still say it’s a great day because Jesus is here. Without him we couldn’t have made it, stood it, or survived it. He’s with us 24/7, every minute of the day. He has not forsaken his people.
John wrote it down like a reporter. Jesus did come at the beginning or middle of the feast; it was the end. He stood up and said any that thirsts could come to him. He’s standing here on the last day of the year. We don’t know what’s going to happen. Six months ago my brother was going to a church down the road; now he attends services in a nursing home. He tells me what great services they have. People come in to teach, sing, and preach. It’s much different in there but guess what. God meets with them there. There have been lots of changes this past year but Jesus Christ was and is the same. When you feel like you can’t go on, doesn’t something happen that helps you. Jesus stood up for you. That’s what helped. Though we change as time goes, we’re still kicking. Be like Brother Harvey. He always said he was “about half.” Praise God for the half. Don’t look at things as if they are half empty. Look at it as half full. Let’s praise God. He shall be great. That’s what the angel told Mary.
We can see our last day of the year but we can also see the end of days as we know them. The Feast of Tabernacles was also known as the Feast of Trumpets. They were blown to let people know what was going on. The end day was near. Jesus stood and spoke loud and clear. The trumpet will blow for us one day!
God has been a perfect Father and Jesus a perfect Savior. Believe on them. Lose faith in people and the government but never lose faith in God and the Savior. Continue to believe. Whatever has happened he has been faithful.
This feast helped them through until the next one. They went home, many of them traveling hundreds of miles. God went with them. They experienced his greatness. God will prevail for us and see us through. This year might bring the last of a lot of things, but the best is yet to come for the believer!
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 