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 

 

Yesterday we read that about the middle of the eight-day 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.  My study bible explains that the ceremony of the drawing of water on this day provides the context for Jesus' words, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  The living water, it says, is the gift of the Holy Spirit and the new life that accompanies that 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 reference to the expected Messiah, whom Moses foretold would come (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).   The Christ was expected to come from the town of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).  The people believe Jesus to be from Nazareth; they do not know He was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1).

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 earlier sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (see yesterday's reading, above).  By the time the last day of the Feast had come (this day in the text), they had failed to arrest Him.  My study bible comments that these officers had been converted by Christ's teaching.  It quotes St. John Chrysostom as saying that the Pharisees and the scribes who had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  These officers, on the other hand, even though they could claim none of this learning, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When the 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?"    Nicodemus has spoken privately with Jesus, being taught by night (3:1-21).  My study bible comments that since that time he has increased by faith.  But his defense of Christ was still based on our law, and not yet a public profession of faith, which will come later on, after Jesus is crucified (see 19:38-39).   According to the law, Jesus has to be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17). 

They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."  The Pharisees here show what my study bible calls their blind hatred and also their ignorance of the Scriptures.  The prophet Jonah came from Galilee, the town of Gath Hepher, only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).

Again, John's Gospel keeps us in the middle of the hullabaloo that surrounds Jesus.  As He speaks in the temple, the religious leaders become infuriated and seek to have Him arrested.  But even this attempt to stop Him fails, as the officers are simply stunned by listening to Him.  They respond as if they are spellbound.  Just as we read that St. Peter recently said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life," so these officers also respond to the power and energy in Christ's words.  They return empty-handed, and tell the rulers, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"   We're told that many in the crowd believe Christ is the Prophet, the Messiah prophesied by Moses.  Others say, "This is the Christ."  Still others question how He can be the Messiah, since they don't know He's from Bethlehem.  But one can just sense the rising panic of the leadership.  Nicodemus makes one reasonable suggestion, in support of the Law, which these men are supposed to cherish and uphold.  But they are so beside themselves that they must insult Nicodemus, and they falsely state that no prophet has come from Galilee.  So, as Christ stands in the midst of the people in the temple and cries out regarding the Spirit, all are stirred around Him, making it clear that He was quite true when He said that He came not to bring peace but a sword (Matthew 10:34).   This scene is also, in some sense, a reminder of the truth of Christ's words that "he who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad" (Matthew 12:30), for we can see the scattering happening, while others are growing in faith, including Nicodemus.  Once again, let us consider the chaos and confusion that surrounds Jesus, and the manipulation going on behind the scenes, including shortcutting the law.  The Gospel gives us all a gift by showing us a confusing, disorienting time, in which people truly are "like sheep having no shepherd" (Matthew 9:36), for it is entirely unclear from a worldly perspective where truth really is, and there is so much manipulation by the powerful.  Let us also keep in mind this time in the history of Israel, when the people are under Roman occupation, and there are insurrectionist movements also going on at the same time.  Jesus presents a very different picture of the Messiah than what was expected:  He doesn't have a conquering army and He doesn't preach that kind of nationalism.  He is a different kind of Liberator, His is the Kingdom of God, and the drink He offers to all is "rivers of living water" flowing from the heart, a reference to the Holy Spirit.  How can people understand what is so far hidden from them, even the great mystery about which Christ speaks?  It should be reassuring to us in a troubled and confusing time, and in the midst of our own current challenges, and all those opposing, frightening voices that respond to every rumor and machination.  We must hang on to our faith.  We are called to put our faith and trust in Him.  We are asked to hear and understand His words, venturing deeper into the Kingdom, where we may experience those rivers of living water which are meant for our thirst for righteousness, and to know our way.  Let us remember we are always going to be a bit like the image of Nicodemus, who is on his own way to a fuller faith, for as believers we know we are always on that road.  The Feast of Tabernacles commemorates the time when Israel followed Moses, led by the Spirit as a cloud which hovered over the tabernacle of meeting by day, and in which was contained a pillar of fire by night.   Jesus offers to us all the rivers of living water, the gift of the Holy Spirit, to lead us on our way.