If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink

 

 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) 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 our current readings, the events take place in what is now the final year of Christ's earthly life.  Jesus has gone to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem (see Wednesday's reading).  Now 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 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.  This last day, the great day of the feast is the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  On this day was the ceremony of the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam.  This was mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, both as purification and in remembrance of the water which flowed from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7).  This commemoration is the backdrop for Christ's words, "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."   This living water of which Christ speaks is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."   The Prophet refers to the expected Messiah, the Savior foretold by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-19.

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.   Bethlehem was the town from which the Christ was expected to come (see the prophecy of Micah 5:2).   The people know Jesus as one whose family is from Nazareth in Galilee; what they don't know is that He was born in Bethlehem, and, in worldly terms, of the lineage of David (see Luke 2:1-7).  

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).  But by this time, it is the last day of the Feast, and no arrest has been made.  My study Bible comments that the reason for this is these officers had been converted by Christ's teaching ("No one ever spoke like this Man!").  The Pharisees and the scribes, according to St. John Chrysostom, as quoted by my study Bible, who had "witnessed and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  The officers, on the other hand, even though they could not claim any of the learning of the religious leaders, 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) 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 had spoken with Jesus, as reported earlier in the Gospel (John 3:1-21), and had increased in faith since that time.  But, my study Bible notes, his defense of Christ is still based on our law, and this is not yet a public profession of faith (see John 19:38-39).   According to the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  The Pharisees who dispute with Nicodemus (who is also a Pharisee) declare that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.  But my study Bible says that in so doing, they show their blind hatred and also ignorance of the Scriptures, for the prophet Jonah came from Galilee, from the town of Gath Hepher, which was only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).  

The temple officers declare to the religious leaders, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" and indeed this is true.  No one ever spoke like Jesus.  We recall that it is the words of Christ which also keep His core disciples with Him, while many went away because of the "difficult" saying in the teaching regarding His flesh and blood.  At that time, Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  St. Peter replied to Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  Moreover, Jesus taught Himself, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  Therefore we see in action in today's reading these words of spirit and life, and their impact on the temple officers, who are unable to resist their truth, and unable to arrest Him.  So what is the impact of these words which are "spirit and life"?  How are we to understand the power within the "words of eternal life"?  A similar experience will be had by the disciples on the road to Emmaus, who did not understand that it was Christ in their midst, but later recalled, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  (See Luke 24:13-35.)   In today's reading, Jesus speaks of the "living water," meaning the Holy Spirit, teaching the people, "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."  So today, let us ask ourselves, for what do we truly thirst?  What is the deep need we have for something powerful, meaningful, filled with light, and giving us direction and substance?  In the race we lead in life, what are we chasing after?  Do all the things we can accumulate and accomplish leave us still with a thirst for something more?  Do we need direction and meaning?  It is Jesus Christ and His words which bring us this light, and we can be stirred by His words as were the apostles on the road to Emmaus in our own hearts, and we can seek this living water that quenches a thirst we will always have.  For it is God's love that compels us forward and that answers the deepest needs we have, which will lead us forward to shape our lives in meaning and purpose, and teach us what the power of that love holds.  The words are spirit and life and they draw us forward into life more abundantly.  Let us consider what we miss when all we have is a race without the struggle for God, and without the living water which quenches a deeper thirst.