John 7: When Parallel Lines Meet: An Invitation
John 7: When Parallel Lines Meet: An Invitation
For even his own brothers did not believe in him. Therefore Jesus told them, "My time is not yet here; for you any time will do." (John 7:5-6, NIV)
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." (John 7:37-38, NIV)
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 7:39, NIV)
1. Two Irreconcilable Times, People on Parallel Lines
John chapter 7 begins in a massive whirlwind of disbelief and misunderstanding. Even Jesus' own brothers don't believe in him, urging him to prove himself according to worldly standards. Their time follows human chronology (chronos) - pursuing worldly opportunities and glory. But Jesus draws a clear line: "My time is not yet here." His time operates on God's perfect timing (kairos) - when the Father's will unfolds. Here we see two times, two worlds that seem destined never to meet. Jesus' way and the world's way are like parallel lines, forever passing each other by without ever intersecting.
The world of that day was one where corrupt religion provided the foundation for twisted politics, each justifying the other. People defined Jesus according to their own interests and advantages, making Jesus, who is Truth itself, an uncomfortable presence for most. In this spiritual chaos, Jesus walks alone toward the Father's appointed time, while people live according to their own timing. Where Jesus is, they cannot come; the Jesus they seek, they cannot find. This desperate disconnect is the stark reality of human existence.
2. An Invitation Ringing Out from the Heart of Misunderstanding
Parallel lines can never meet. Yet John shows us how this impossible encounter becomes possible. Jesus says he won't go up to the festival, then secretly makes his way to Jerusalem. To human eyes, this looks like inconsistency or even deception. But this represents a higher form of consistency - rejecting the world's timing to follow the Father's perfect schedule. Refusing his brothers' suggestion to reveal himself through worldly methods, he walks straight into the heart of conflict to proclaim life through God's way.
Then, on the last and greatest day of the festival, when all arguments and thirsts had reached their peak, Jesus stands and cries out: "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink." This is God's vertical invitation breaking into a world of parallel lines. Since meeting is impossible on the horizontal plane of human understanding and effort, God himself opens the door of grace. In the midst of all the misunderstanding and disbelief, political calculation and religious hypocrisy that had left that land parched, he offers himself - the source of life - as the answer.
3. The Holy Spirit, Breath of New Creation
How can earthly beings encounter the heavenly? How can our time connect with God's time? John proclaims the only way: "Rivers of living water will flow from within them." And he clearly reveals that this living water is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the only One who makes this impossible encounter possible.
John must have been a theologian who deeply explored Genesis. Just as God's Spirit moved over the chaotic waters at the beginning and, together with the Word, created life, now that same Spirit enters the deepest part of believers (their hearts) to begin new creation. The Spirit bridges the gap that human effort could never cross. He makes the Jesus of the past a living reality for us today, and causes the Lord who is in heaven to dwell within us - he is the mysterious bridge.
All the conflict and thirst of chapter 7 culminates in this single vision: rivers of living water bursting forth from within us to refresh the world. This is the hope John presents, the power of life that breaks through all the nets of legalism to set us free.