JESUS, THE PASSIONATE SAVIOR
By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min.
“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice [krazo], “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified (John 7:37-39).
I have come to believe Jesus is the most passionate leader the world has ever seen. Discovering the passion of the Lord is an important quest for every believer, and certainly every pastor and evangelist.
Jesus was passionate about Pentecost 2,000 years ago, and His feelings have not diminished to this day.
Krazo in Greek translates as a “loud voice” in English. “Jesus stood [in the courtyard of the temple] and said in a loud voice…”. It showed the burning passion the Lord felt about His mission. The Lord yelled it out, as if to entreat with bold exclamation. In doing it, Jesus predicted a new beginning. The era of the Holy Spirit in God’s dealings with man had arrived.
Ah! To discover the Lord’s passion about Pentecost. The Apostle John did not want anyone to miss its meaning. Hence, he interpreted Jesus’ prophecy as the gift of the Holy Spirit that would be poured on thirsty people everywhere (see also Isaiah 44:3). When the Lord yelled it out at the Feast of Tabernacles, He was identifying a spiritual need in the life of each of His followers. The indwelling Holy Spirit both counsels and empowers believers to prepare for Christian service. Jesus intended to meet this need with “the Spirit poured upon them from on high” (Isaiah 32:15). The prophet Joel had prophesied the day was coming when the Spirit would be given to “all flesh” (Joel 2:28-29). John the Baptist foresaw it too and said the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Matthew 3:11). Jesus-the-prophet joined with the Old Testament prophets and enthusiastically announced the exciting news that He intended to fulfill each if the Old Covenant predictions.
What a privilege it would be to have Jesus physically present, living with each of His followers at all times. But it was not possible for the incarnate Messiah to be everywhere at the same time. What Jesus could not do in flesh and blood He fulfilled by giving the Holy Spirit to indwell each thirsty believer.
When the Lord yelled out this great truth about the Holy Spirit that was only a few months away from being fulfilled, it was only a prophecy. Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross followed by His glorification at His Father’s right hand was required to swing wide open this door into the heart of God.
Without question, bundled into this loud shout is one of the greatest predictions Jesus-the–Prophet made. He foretold a new era in which the temple changed from a structure of stone, ornate with gold and silver, to the fleshly tablet of the heart. The prophecy forecast a fresh-from-heaven paradigm change. It would move the Most Holy Place from the Jerusalem temple to the inner being of Spirit-filled believers. This was a huge strategic move made by the Master of strategic thinkers, and it changed the whole focus of how the Heavenly Father is to be worshipped. God is looking for people who will worship Him “in Spirit and in truth.” This, in fact, is what worship is all about in the New Covenant (John 4:23).
To this day, Jesus’ piercing, passionate cry that sounded like the scream of a raven can be heard by all: “If any man thirsts let him come to me and drink…” (see also Numbers 11:29)
THINK ABOUT IT: Have you received the baptism with the Holy Spirit? If not, are you thirsty, really thirsty, passionately thirsty?
John the Baptist at Jordon River made a bold, prophetic declaration about the gift of the Holy Spirit, saying, “[Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16 KJV).
Listen with a passionate heart like Jesus’ voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water shall flow from the inmost being of anyone who believes in me.” 39 (He was speaking of the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in Him; but the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet returned to his glory in heaven (John 7:37 LB).
These “rivers” from heaven which is the Holy Spirit and the third Person of the Trinity, has an inward and outward flow. The Spirit streams first from God into the temple-of-the-heart of a thirsty person. Then the outward flow follows. The Lord said, “Rivers of living water shall flow from the inmost being of anyone who believes in me” (John 7:38 LL). The great goal of these surging rivers is to make Jesus known worldwide (John 14:25).
THINK ABOUT IT: “If any man thirsts” embraces all people of every generation anywhere in the world, including the far-flung islands of the seas (Acts 2:39; see Isaiah 41:1–4; 42:12; 49:1–6).
Fifty days after the Lord’s crucifixion, one hundred twenty believers were assembled in the Upper Room. [Pentekostas is the Greek term for the numeral 50.] The outflowing from Heaven happened in a spectacular manifestation from heaven that sounded like a rushing, mighty wind. Cloven tongues “as of fire” sat on each of them as the presence of the Spirit saturated the whole house (see Acts 2). They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with new tongues.
The gift of the Holy Spirit completed the temple switch to the New Covenant. The Spirit also brought to fulfillment Joel’s prophecy, promising in the last days God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh (Joel 2:28–29; Isaiah 59:21; Acts 2:16–21).
Oh! To have the Lord’s loud yell leap off the pages of Holy Writ and grip our hearts. Let yourself sense the powerful anointing present that historic day. Then perceive in your own life the authority of this profound prophecy fulfilled at Pentecost that birthed the era of the Church (see also Numbers 11:29).
Jesus is as passionate about the gift of the Holy Spirit today as when He yelled out the prophecy at the high point of the Feast of Tabernacles. The blessing of the Holy Spirit continues to be available to the Lord’s thirsty followers worldwide.
Jesus’ promise also produced the Pentecostal outpouring at Azusa Street in Los Angeles at the start of the twentieth century. This revival has now spread around the world. The baptism with the Holy Spirit is this unstoppable “fountain that continues to flow” out of the temple of the heart (Joel 3:18).
“Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” Or, has the flaming fire of your own baptism with the Holy Spirit burned low so that there is a gap between the intensity of Jesus’ passion and yours? If your answer is yes, will you meet your Lord again in your closet of prayer and rediscover Jesus’ passion?
They were in an upper chamber.
They were all with one accord.
When the Holy Ghost descended,
As was promised by our Lord.
Oh Lord send the power just now,
And baptize every one.
By: Charlie Tillman
