Coca-Cola™ Says It’s the Real Thing:
Isaiah Says It’s God
Who or what is the Real Thing?
Biblical Context
When John (the Baptist), who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Mark 11:1-2 (NIV)
John was asking, “Is Jesus the real thing?”
What Truly Satisfies: From Soda Slogans to Sacred Scripture
Coca-Cola’s advertising campaign built around the phrase “It’s the real thing” was a remarkable success. Just a few well-chosen words shaped perception, stirred desire, and influenced buying behavior. Kudos to Coke for understanding the power of language.
It is striking, then, how words of far greater personal and spiritual weight can have so little effect. How many people can quote—or even recall—Isaiah 55:1?
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters…” (NIV)
The contrast deepens when we consider advertising history. As early as 1929, Coca-Cola introduced “The Pause That Refreshes,” positioning its drink as the perfect break in the day. Decades later, Sprite’s “Obey Your Thirst” urged consumers to satisfy thirst in an authentic way. And there are many, many other examples.
Yet if we stop there, we miss the point. Physical thirst is real, but it is not our deepest thirst. Scripture speaks to a deeper longing—a spiritual thirst shared by every human heart. The real question is not whether we thirst, but how that thirst is to be quenched.
Isaiah’s Invitation: God is the Real, Real Thing
Isaiah answers with clarity with the invitation “come,” stoutheartedly voiced four times. Here is Isaiah 55:1–2 (NIV):
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.”
Obey Your True Thirst—Listen to Isaiah
If you were in advertising in Isaiah’s day (born 740 BC), what would God’s selling points be? Here are five.
• God and God along can satisfy our true thirst, a thirst we all have. He is the river of living waters.
• Everyone is welcome to the river of blessings that is bottled as God’s love.
• There is no cost. In fact, satisfaction cannot be bought.
• Wine and milk symbolize all things necessary to the spiritual life, as these are also necessary to this corporal life.
• Nothing compares to God’s drink which will delight us in the most satisfying way.
Thirsty? Advertising Offers a Sip; Isaiah Offers Living Water
Let’s add an additional layer of advertising flair with magnificent wordsmithing (it’s what advertising copywriters do) to God’s message. Here is 55:1-2 in words that soar with incomparable beauty from one of the earliest recorded Bibles, the Geneva Bible of 1599:
“Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and ye that have no silver, come, buy and eat: come, I say, buy wine and milk without silver and without money.
“Wherefore do ye lay out silver, and not for bread? and your labor without being satisfied? hearken diligently unto me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight in fatness.”
The Real Thing
John the Baptist asked if Jesus was the real thing, the expected Messiah. Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” (NIV Matthew 11:5-6)
By pointing to what he manifested, Jesus is saying “Drink and be satisfied; I am the living waters, delight in me. I am the real thing.”
Drink from the living waters. Refresh your soul.
Don Metznik, December 2025
Concept, key points, and majority of content is original. Photo is AI generated. Some content edited with AI. Coca-Cola is a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company.