[AI translation] I have read the Word from the Scriptures that has been continued from the Gospel of John for today, the last service of this year. It is perhaps a little longer than usual, and apparently ramified, with many small scenes, full of turbulent restlessness - yet it is unified, and the 54 verses together form a rounded whole. It tells of what happened around Jesus on the great Jewish autumn festival of the Feast of Tabernacles. And of course it is a series of moving scenes, as the crowds that thronged Jerusalem over the several days of the feast were a hive of activity. When we look at these many people of whom the biblical account is told, we find that they fall into three distinct groups in their attitude to Christ. Or I could say that Jesus was confronted there at the feast with three different groups of people. His own group of relatives; the people; and the Pharisees, the scribes, the chief priests. Each of these groups represented a certain type, a certain form, a certain kind of relationship with Christ. And so it is good to look at all three more closely, because we may find ourselves in one of these groups. Let us try in this way, in this last service of the year, to bring to a close the most important question of our lives: what has been our relationship with the Lord Jesus over the past year?1) The brotherhood and kinship of Jesus is discussed at the very beginning of this section. He is urged to leave the unknown Galilee, to go to the place where the heart of the kingdom beats: Jerusalem. With talents like His, you'd better prevail. Show yourself to the masses, to the world, let them see you, let them marvel - and let them, the brethren, say, 'Look what our brother can do! So they wanted Jesus to make a name for himself, a name, a glory - but only so that they themselves could bask in the light of it. So they begged Him to go up with them to Jerusalem for the feast. And Jesus flatly refused, saying. "Go ye up to this feast: I go not yet to this feast: for my time is not yet fulfilled." (Jn 7,8) Yet He knew that He would go up, and yet He said that He would not. He will be there at the feast, but not in the way His brethren think. Anyone who thinks he will be there to bask in the glory of His glory will also be disappointed, because Jesus' presence at the feast will not increase His popularity! So let the brethren go celebrate, but without Him, He will not go with them!
And Jesus will not go to celebrate with anyone who wants to use Him as a decoration, a show-off, a sign. For those who need Him only as long as it is useful to them, for whom He is only there to help make family celebrations or other occasions and feasts more decorative, more beautiful. Even today, there are brothers of Jesus who demand that Jesus be there at the baptism, but not only do they have no idea what baptism means for their child, but even if they did, they would not take on what it means. There are great, solemn occasions in one's life, such as a wedding, a wedding anniversary, a death, Christmas Eve, or Good Friday - well, these are the occasions for which Jesus is meant. So come and celebrate with us, lull us into a good, touching, religious mood! We cannot imagine these holidays with Him. Of course, we may not know for sure why His presence is important on these occasions, but since time immemorial the concept of celebration has been linked to the name of Jesus. The reason we need Jesus of the feast days is to reassure one's conscience from time to time: my business with the Lord God is all right! Well: I took communion on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Eve we sang by candlelight, "On the blessed birth of Christ our Lord..." We are the brothers of the Lord Jesus!
But was Jesus really there on that feast or that family occasion? Did he not say to you the same things that he said to his relatives in Galilee? "Go ye up to this feast: I go not yet..." Whoever wants to be with Jesus only for the feasts, from whom Jesus separates himself, celebrates the most touching and devout feasts without Jesus.
The brothers of Jesus represent a strange type of man. They regard themselves as Jesus' brothers from birth, with a naturalness that is so self-evident, but they would be very surprised if someone were to tell them what John the Evangelist writes here: 'Neither did his brothers call on him.' (Jn 7,5) So people who belong to Christ, people who are not even aware that they do not believe in Him! In other words, people whose lives express their belonging to Christ only by wanting to spend at least the feast or the highlights of their lives with Him, but who do not believe in Him! This is the first group there in the holiday rush. Do you still belong to that group?
2) The second group is the people, the multitudes, described, among other things, in the Gospel, "And there was a great murmuring in the multitudes because of him. Some said, 'He is a good man;' others said, 'No, but he is a believer of the people. Nevertheless, no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews." (Jn 7,12-13) There are many such people in the church today, whose attitude towards Christ is typical of what this festive crowd does: they argue, talk and discuss a lot about Jesus, they say many things about Him, both good and not good, right and wrong, but they cannot make a final decision about Him. I would say that we are talking about a group of people who have Christ and His Church as their subject of conversation, but nothing else! Those who can argue very passionately about which church is doing the right thing in matters of church policy. They are able to defend or attack, praise or condemn with great passion and fervour, this or that statement of the church leadership. They are petty in their griping about the faults of the pastor, the congregation, or the presbytery - like the multitude in the story in which "there was a great murmur because of him". Yes, there are such people, whose whole attitude to Christ is to be always "murmuring" - complaining, criticising, criticising, expressing opinions, judging. In the same way, as we read here, "Some say he is a good man, others say he is not, but a believer in the people" - but they never make a definite decision. They cannot be counted on, they cannot be relied on, one never knows whether they will not cry "crucify" to what they swear by today. In the same way as in the story here: 'Nevertheless, no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews. " (Jn 7,13)
And Jesus exposes this type even more with these words, "My doctrine is not mine, but of him who sent me. If anyone will do his will, he may know of this doctrine, whether it is from God, or whether I speak from myself" (Jn 7,16-17): It would be good if you would stop all this pious - and not always very pious - talk and take one humble, small step on the path of obedience to Christ! One tiny, real obedience, one realistic following of Christ, is now worth more than all your arguments, your right or wrong theories, your wise discussions. "If any man will do his will, he shall know of this doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself" (John 7:17). So if he does: by doing, in doing, the doctrine of Christ is made clear, and not by arguing. Christ and all His dealings here on earth are not a matter for discussion, but for action.
The mystery of the person of Jesus of God is known by doing His will! For example: the forgiveness of sins by acceptance; the powers of eternal life by opening the heart to Him; the kingship of Christ by total obedience to Him; the true power of love by the practice of love. Just as the usefulness, the whole significance of a bridge is known by stepping on it, not by arguing about it. Where have you been in your relationship with Christ this past year? Are you still at the "buzz" or are you at the "action"? Are you a stranger or familiar with the second group, which is always discussing, talking, but not deciding?! Still no decision! Has this year finally brought you a decision?
3) The third group, the most dangerous, is the group of Pharisees, chief priests, scribes. They are already in open hostility with Jesus. They are already in open denial and organized attacks. Surely none of us will have fellowship with them: we do not attack and we do not deny! But this is not where the sin of the Pharisees and scribes begins, but where these words of Jesus point: "Ye all know me, and ye all know whence I am; and I came not of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not." (Jn 7,28) What Jesus reveals here is astonishing: you may well know that without being born again no one can see the kingdom of God, yet you have not been born again! You say: Oh, I know well that without faith it is impossible to please God, nor do you have true faith! You know well that the wages of sin is death, and the gift of God is eternal life, and yet you will have to pay the wages, yet you will die, because you have no knowledge of God, no living, personal communion with God! However much knowledge you have of the Scriptures, however fervently religious you may be, you will be shocked to find that your religion is useless, vain and unreliable! We all know that when the wise men of the sunrise arrived and asked the scribes where the Messiah was to be born, they told them it was in Bethlehem, because they knew the relevant scriptures! They knew exactly the prophecy, they knew exactly the place! And while they were sitting by the scrolls, the ignorant Gentiles who were asking questions came up and came to Christ.
This is the sin of the scribes and Pharisees! They know, but they don't do it! It has happened countless times since then that people have perished near the temple because their dead knowledge never came to life, and perhaps their fervent, even fanatical, religiosity never became a living relationship with God, a communion with God reconciled to Christ. Has your relationship with Christ gone beyond mere knowledge, or are you still one of those who, when they hear about conversion, forgiveness of sins, Christ's redemption, salvation, are bored and say: 'I already know all that? Or perhaps you are allowed to say: I already know all that?!
Behold: such groups of people surround Jesus there at the feast, like the unbelieving relatives, the fickle multitudes and the hostile Pharisees and scribes. What can the Lord do with them? What does Jesus do in this environment? Not what we would do in a similar situation, thinking that it is not worth dealing with such company any longer, it is a waste of effort, leave them alone! But behold, we read, "And on the last great day of the feast Jesus stood up and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.'" (Jn 7,37) He knows that such passions are stirring around him, yet he cries out, "But is there anyone else here who will hear? Isn't it the trouble with all three groups that they are deaf? Have they no ears for unbelief, no ears for passionate disputants, no ears for self-righteous religiosity? And yet Jesus cries out! He cries out across the great temple square, he cries out for someone who is thirsty, he cries out into the swirling, unbelieving, arguing, ignorant crowd. Is there anyone here who is thirsty? He cries out in a searching, inviting, encouraging, hopeful voice: "If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink."
"On the last great day of the feast" cries Jesus! Once more! That all may hear, that all may come, that no one may be left out who wants to come, who wants more! And that's what he does on the last day of this year! He shouts! One more time! Loudly! Calling out! Precisely because there are those of us here together whose relationship with Christ has been very wrong, very wrong this past year. Therefore he calls: is there anyone here who thirsts, who expects more from me than a fleeting festive mood, than material for debate, than a topic for discourse, than a system of lofty thoughts? Is there? Let him come! Is there any one here who thirsts, who is so lacking in the forgiveness of sins, in the living communion with God, in the gift of salvation, that he is pained, that he suffers for it? Let him come and drink! Is there someone here who has long wanted to be renewed, to be different, to start a new life, to live in faith, but all his efforts have been in vain? Come and drink! If there is anyone who has drunk from the fountains of this world in great gulps, and has found that nothing the world has given him has satisfied him, nothing has quenched his thirst: let him come and drink! If there is any one here who is not satisfied by filling his belly with food and drink, who is not satisfied by satisfying his hunger of the flesh and his thirst of the flesh, let him come and drink! "On the last great day of the feast" it is not too late to come and drink!
Whoever hears the call, whoever comes and drinks, will have what Jesus says: "Rivers of living water flow from within" (John 7:38).
Let him who thirsts for it come and drink! "On the last great day of the feast", on the last evening of the year, the Lord is here, calling, encouraging! Come, in a few moments of silence, let us go to Him, and whoever thirsts, let him drink!
Amen
Date: 31 December 1950, New Year's Eve afternoon.