If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee." 

- John 7:37-52

In the past few readings, we first learned there was a feast in Jerusalem (the Feast of Tabernacles or succoth).  Jesus' brothers taunted Him to go openly, for even His brothers did not believe in Him,  but Jesus did not go openly as it was not the time for His Triumphal Entrance.  In yesterday's reading, we read that about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom You do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come?"


On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  Of this passage, my study bible notes:  "The last day, that great day of the feast is probably the seventh or eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  Ceremonies include a procession from the pool of Siloam, carrying water and pouring it as a libation at the temple.  This commemorates the water flowing from the rock which Moses struck in the wilderness (Ex. 17:-17), and provides the context for the Lord's words, if anyone thirsts.  Living water is the gift of the Spirit and the new life which springs forth by the power of the Spirit.  Christ gives the Holy Spirit, and the believer's heart consequently flows with new life.  Christ does not force us, but is always available if we desire Him."  Reading John's Gospel in sequence, we have already read of the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, who told Jesus, "Sir, give me this water, that I may neither thirst, nor come here to draw."

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  A note reads, "The Prophet:  Many Jews of those days were looking not only for the Messiah (or Christ) but also for a prophet who would be a new Moses, one who would lead Israel out of bondage (Deut. 18:15-19).  Reference [in the Orthodox Church] is often made during the Holy (Passion) Week services to the 'Great Moses,' especially on Holy Saturday."

Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  My study bible tells us, "We know that Jesus did come from the line of David and was born in Bethlehem, as had been prophesied.  But the people think He is from Nazareth in Galilee.  Far more significantly, throughout his Gospel John uses occasions like this to bring out the truth concerning Jesus' eternal origin from the Father.  No arrest could be made before Jesus 'hour' had come."

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"   A note here reads:  "The enemies of Jesus increasingly scheme to destroy Him.  The officers of the temple were sent out to Him in the middle of the Feast, and it is now the last day.  They came back saying, No man ever spoke like this Man!  St. John Chrysostom writes, 'The Pharisees and the Scribes . . . who even witnessed miracles and read Scriptures, derived no benefit from all this. . .  The attendants [the officers], on the other hand, though they could lay claim to none of this, were captivated by a single sermon. . . . For when the mind is open to conviction there is no need of long speeches.  Truth is like that' [Homily 52]."

Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."  Another useful note tells us:  "Nicodemus has spoken with Jesus, and may well be on his way to becoming a follower. Others also believed in Christ, but were afraid of repercussions.  Nicodemus's defense of Jesus is based upon legal grounds:  they should first listen to Jesus' words before He is arrested. . . . The Pharisees fail to uphold the law, making a sarcastic response to Nicodemus.  But their statement condemns them and shows their blindness to the Scriptures:  the prophet Jonah came from Gath Hepher, a town in Galilee only 3 miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25)."  It points out relevant passages in Exodus (which forbids false reporting), and Deuteronomy (requiring that both sides of the case be heard).

We remember Nicodemus, a Pharisee, who came to Jesus by night for teaching.  It was he to whom Jesus taught that "unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  So John's Gospel prepares us for the uses of water and the allusions to Spirit all along the way.  By the time we reach today's passage, John has prepared us to understand Jesus' words.  Nicodemus is struggling along the road to faith, and he speaks up for Jesus' rights under the law.  But what about the other people at the temple?  Some say He is the Christ.  Others think He's the Prophet, another Moses-like figure awaited by the people.  And so we read of varying levels of faith and criticism.  But where do we draw the line in this Gospel?  Who is outside of the curve of truth here altogether?  And there I think we start to understand Jesus a little better.  There are those who do not understand but are on the road to faith.  And then there are those who deliberately pursue lines of arguing and debate simply for the sake of their positions, and they are those who should and do know better.  And there we start to get a sense of Jesus' emphasis on truth, and why the Gospel will so often give us condemnation of hypocrisy.  Some use the law to their benefit but they will ignore it also to their benefit.  Jesus has healed the paralytic on the Sabbath at the previous festival in Jerusalem, and for this they seek Him, as well as His declaration of being the Son and therefore equal to Father.  But how do we find the truth, and how do we know the truth?  What strikes me today is all the linkage of the symbolism of water; even Nicodemus' appearance reminds us of a teaching about water and about the Spirit.  Aside from the revelations that we have throughout history by virtue of the work of the Holy Spirit, what guides us toward spiritual truth?  First we have a love of God in our hearts.  But we also open our hearts to the Spirit itself, which Jesus likened to the wind that blows where it wishes.  When we remember that Jesus tells us we will hear its sound but cannot tell where it is going, then we have a better chance of keeping spiritual our eyes and ears open.  Can we hear its sound?  Let us remember that clinging to position at the cost of the truth tells us about where we may go all wrong, according to the Gospels.  We blind ourselves and we seek to blind others.  We become the blind leading the blind.