In John 7 we read that our Saviour attended the festival of Tabernacles , ( Lev 23 v 33ff )part of the festival involved a priest taking a golden pitcher and going to the Pool of Siloam and filling it with water. It was then carried back through the Water Gate while the people recited Isaiah 12 v 3; ''With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation''. The water was then carried to the Temple and to the altar and poured out on it as an offering to God.It was against this background , Jesus said in a loud voice,'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink'.J.C. Ryle comments on this,'We should note the breadth of the invitation. It is for''any man''. Then note the persons invited. They are those who ''Thirst''. The expression is a figurative one, denoting the spiritual distress and anxiety which anyone feels when he discovers the value of his soul, and the sinfulness of sin, and his own guilt. Such a one feels a burning desire for relief, of which the distressing sensation of ''thirst''- a sensation familiar to all Eastern nations- is a most fitting emblem. No further qualification is named. There is no mention of repentance,amendment, preparation, conditions to fulfil, new heart to be got. One thing alone is named. Does a man ''Thirst''? Does he feel his sins and want pardon?- Then the Lord invites him'.
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