No man ever spoke like this Man!

 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

Yesterday we read that about the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles 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 the 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.  The last day, that great day of the feast is the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  On this day there is a ceremony of the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam.  It provides the backdrop and context for Christ's teaching, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  The living water of which He speaks is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the new life which accompanies this gift.

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.  The Prophet is a name for the expected Messiah, the Savior who was foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).  The Christ was expected to come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), descended from the lineage of David.   The ongoing debate over Galilee results from the people's understanding that Jesus is from Galilee, and their unawareness that He was in fact born in Bethlehem.

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."  The chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (see yesterday's reading, above, verse 32).  Now ti is the last day of this eight-day feast, and no arrest has been made, as the officers were converted by Christ's teaching.  My study bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom on this passage.  He writes that the Pharisees and scribes who had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  But these officers, on the contrary, although they can claim none of the learning of the leaders, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When one's mind is open, "there is no need for long speeches.  Truth is like that."

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."  Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, is the one who had spoken with Jesus in secret at night (3:1-21).  Since that time, he has increased in faith.  But his defense of Jesus to his fellow members of the Council is still based on our law; this is not yet a public profession of faith in Christ, which will come later on as he and Joseph of Arimathea, another wealthy member of the Council, prepare Christ for burial after the Crucifixion (19:38-39).  According to the law, Jesus has to be given a hearing before He is judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  Meanwhile, the Pharisees here show disregard for the law in their blind hatred, and also their ignorance of the Scriptures.  Jonah the prophet came from Galilee, from the town of Gath Hepher, just three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25). 


What are we to make of all the dissension and disagreement, argument and turmoil that surround Jesus?  The crowds are confused and there is a division among the people because of Him, the Gospel tells us.  But if we look closely, that same division is making itself known among the ruling classes and leaders as well.  The officers sent to arrest Jesus have failed to do so, so overwhelmed are they by His teaching.  The leadership as well have divisions.  As united and fully vested in resentment and outrage as they appear to be, there is dissension among them.  Nicodemus reminds them that the law does not judge without a hearing, and he is rudely rebuked.  By now the hatred and envy of the leaders has reached a stage where they speak thoughtlessly, casting out even knowledge of the Scriptures and the origins of Jonah.  But I think that it is important that we take a good look at these divisions.  We recall once again, as frequently we are called to do when we read John's Gospel, that the term "the Jews" is meant like a political term, to denote the religious rulers.  But even among the rulers there are important divisions.  Both Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, a very wealthy member of the Council (and so we might conclude an aristocratic member of the society around Jerusalem), will both publicly participate in the burial of Christ, showing honor to Him after the Crucifixion.  Nicodemus begins even here to speak up against the urge to rush to judgment.  There is no way that we can, in the light of the Gospels, make assumptions of monolithic nature of peoples under any circumstances.  Let us recall that every single person in this crowd and among the characters in today's reading is a Jew, including Jesus and His disciples.  The Gospel clearly shows us a great diversity of opinion surrounding Jesus, and this is explicit and deliberate.  Doesn't this teaching, made clear here in this Gospel, always apply to our lives and those who surround us?  Does not a great truth result in division, depending upon how each of us falls around it with our own opinions and perspectives?  Although in Christ is the true reconciliation of all things, and He is the Person who is Truth -- the pole around which our faith and divisions may rest -- each responds in their own way.  Moreover, the Gospel teaches us that each one is on a road of faith.  While the Pharisees as a whole are moving further and further into error and hatred, Nicodemus is moving further toward Christ on the pathway of faith.  The disciples, too, make a kind of pathway through the Gospels of doubt and faith, growing in their faith even while they clearly make mistakes (and are told so by Jesus; see, for example, Matthew 16:21-23).  While we can make statements about opinions and perspectives, we can weigh thoughts and assumptions and values, we really need great discernment when it comes to judging righteous judgment about people.  We have to be aware of what the Gospels teach us about each, and the road to faith that each must be on.  There is no doubt in the "mind's eye" of the Gospels, that Jesus is the Christ, the center of a universe and created history, the only begotten Son of God.  But in the meantime, human beings do a kind of dance all around this truth -- and while all individuals are capable of faith, no matter who they are or what position they hold in life (like, for example, Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, whose whole household received salvation), there are those who will go too far down the road of their own certainty and self-righteousness for repentance, and they in turn will mislead others.  Let us consider the important truths we find in this Gospel, that we cannot judge based on appearance, and neither can we make blanket assumptions of spiritual corrections based on them.  Each must decide for herself or himself, and each is on a pathway.  The critical question seems to come down to the capability we retain for repentance, for reconsideration, for a deeper introspection on truth and the human heart.  The Law was designed to teach good discipline and right relatedness, and from this lineage also comes Christ, the Reconciler of all things, the One who comes to heal, who is Truth.   In relation to Him we can have a sure footing, seeking to know ourselves, our weakness, our characters, and how we proceed along this road of faith -- even as we know we can't truly judge others, and always need His discernment.  Let us endeavor to know our weaknesses and blind spots, to be willing to reconsider, and to seek His truth with all diligence in our prayer, as we, too, journey toward Jerusalem through Lent in preparation for Easter Resurrection.  Our goal is to be like the officers in today's reading, who hear with hearts and minds capable of grasping what they had not known, open to hearing what they've never heard before.  No one could ever speak to us like the One who speaks to our hearts, except those who can share in that hearing.