‘Now on the last day, the great day of the Feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, “If any man thirst let him come to me and drink”.'
‘On the last day, the great day.' The feast came to its climax with a special Sabbath, which was the eighth day. And it was probably on this day, so that the people would take the message home with them still fresh from hearing it, that Jesus proclaimed these momentous words ‘with a loud voice', that is as a proclamation.
‘If any man thirst let him come to me and drink.' His words were like the cry of the water-seller in Isaiah 55:1. As with the water-seller He was not teaching but making a public announcement and offer. His actions would be especially noticeable because it was usual for a Jewish teacher to speak sitting down. This time, however, He stood. What He was saying was thus intended to be seen as a proclamation.
The people's minds would be filled with the events of the week that had gone before and there would be a feeling of joy and well-being in their hearts. So His words would catch the mood of the moment and they would be open to hear. Perhaps Jesus was now about to reveal Himself by spectacular miracles as God's Messiah.
In Isaiah the cry of the water-seller, “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy and eat, yes, come and buy wine and milk, without money and without price”, was immediately followed by the promise of the renewal of the everlasting covenant (Isaiah 55:3). Jesus' words were very similar and must have had Isaiah 55:1 in mind. He too was offering a new covenant. His offer, however, differed somewhat as He was able to offer what the water seller could not, living water through belief in Him.