"INVITING SINNERS" (Pastor Tom Henry) ~ 1/20/26

“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.” (John 7:37)

The occasion of this invitation was the Feast of Tabernacles; the third of three main feasts that the faithful of Israel celebrated annually. The Passover was held in the Spring, our month of April; Pentecost was fifty days after Passover, our June; and lastly the Feast of Tabernacles was in the fall, our October. This feast was held to commemorate Israel’s wilderness journey when the people dwelt in tabernacles. Jerusalem looked like a “tent city” during these eight days from the 15th through the 22nd of their seventh month. This was the largest and best attended by far of all the celebrations.

Jesus, being in Galilee with His disciples, sent them ahead, but He would come afterward in secret, since the Jews sought to kill Him. (See Vs. 1, 10) About mid-way through, He went up to the Temple and began to teach. As He did so many people believed. This caught the attention of the chief priests and Pharisees, who promptly sent officers to “take Him.” (Vs. 31, 32) It is under these circumstances that our Lord by example teaches us how to invite sinners to be saved.

His manner was not combative or contentious. He was (probably) sitting, teaching numerous folks who gathered around Him. He had come in secret, so as not to cause any disturbance. Since His hour had not yet come (Vs. 8), He would try to avoid confrontation - not that they could actually take Him before His appointed hour was come, but they could create a disturbance, which He would avoid if at all possible. Let us seek to pattern our approach after Him.

That said, He was very courageous in inviting sinners to be saved. Though we do not invite trouble, we must often face it. Jesus was not unaware that a team of officers sent to apprehend Him had joined the group. He could see their unfriendly faces. He, however, was not “afraid of their faces.” (Jer. 1:8) While He recognized that soldiers under orders have their duty, God’s preachers also have theirs, and they must be instant in season and out of season.

Notice, He did not make Himself less visible, but rather more visible: “Jesus stood.” He was no doubt sitting as He taught the people. Neither did He muffle His voice, but quite the opposite: “Jesus stood and cried.” Let us never be ashamed of the Gospel so as to be muffled by opposers. Neither let us allow adverse circumstances frighten us from our message.

There was an urgency in this invitation that our Lord sensed. There is ever an urgency in this matter of inviting sinners to come to Christ. In this instance, it was “in the last day, that great day of the feast” that “Jesus stood and cried.” First, there was a holy convocation on the eighth day, and this meant that the masses would be gathered in one place. He wanted as many as possible to hear the call, thus He stood and cried. Secondly, it was the last day. The people would be folding up their tents, if they hadn’t already. The vast majority would be leaving Jerusalem to go home. Thus, Jesus sensed an urgency. Let us also understand the urgency of reaching our unsaved family members, friends, and neighbors, etc., who have not come to Christ. Hear the appeal of the Hymn writer:

“Brethren, see poor sinners ‘round you

            Slumbering on the brink of woe;

            Death is coming, hell is moving.

            Can you bear to let them go?”

Let us hear the invitation and what it calls for. Sinners are not invited to come to an “altar,” or to a prayer bench. It calls for no physical act. One need not change locations in coming to Christ. “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” The invitation is wide and far-reaching: “If any man (person).” Yet it is anxiously narrowed down by a little word, “If”, “If any man.” The one condition required is nothing substantial, but rather a lack, and emptiness, a painful craving: “If any man thirst...” The solution to the problem is stated plainly: “…let him come unto me, and drink.”

Such thirst is in fact a blessed thing. Jesus said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Only Jesus can satisfy this soul-thirst. People try all sorts of things, hoping to fill the void, but Jesus is the only answer.