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 

 

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.  My study Bible explains that the last day, that great day of the feast was the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  We recall that this is Christ's final year in His earthly life, and the season is autumn.  On the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, there is the ceremony of the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam, to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar.  This serves both as purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock that Moses struck (Exodus 17:1-7).  So it is in this context that Jesus Himself "draws" upon the Old Testament imagery for a new revelation about Himself and His ministry (and fulfillment of that promise imaged in the flowing water from the rock):  "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."  The living water is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the new life that 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.  Again, the Evangelist gives us the dissension and discussion among the people regarding Jesus.  The Prophet refers to the expected Messiah, the Savior whom Moses foretold would come in Deuteronomy 18:15-19.  Bethelehem was the town from which the Christ was prophesied to come (Micah 5:2).  We recall from yesterday's reading (above) that the people believe Jesus is from Nazareth in Galilee, where He was raised, but He was born in Bethlehem, where David was.

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."   Earlier, we recall, the chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (see yesterday's reading, above).  But by the time of this last day which we're given in today's reading, no arrest had yet been made.  My study Bible explains that this is because these officers had been converted by Christ's teaching.  The Pharisees and the scribes, who, according to St. Chrysostom (as quoted by my study Bible), had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  But these officers, on the other hand, although they could not claim any of the learning of the religious leadership, 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?"  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 by night (see John 3:1-21), and had increased in faith.  But his defense of Christ is still based on our law, and so this is not yet a public profession of faith (see John 19:38-39).  My study Bible comments that according to the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  In their statement that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee, the Pharisees 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).  

In today's reading, Jesus proclaims:  "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."  What Jesus is talking about, my study Bible says, is the coming of the Holy Spirit, which will be made possible through His sacrifice on the Cross, Resurrection, and Ascension.  Let us take this image of "rivers of living water."  "Living water" is an image that has appeared earlier in John's Gospel, in the story of the women of Samaria at Jacob's well, found in John 4:1-42.  In that reading, Jesus asked the woman for a drink.  When she is stunned that a Jewish man spoke and asked her for water, He tells her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  "Living water," as explained by my study Bible, is a term which, in the ordinary sense, means fresh, flowing water.  That is, from a stream or spring, as opposed to a pond or cistern.  So this action of flowing water gives us the sense of "living," bringing up a sense of movement, of action, such as found, for instance, in enzymatic properties.  There is a dynamism involved.  This notion of energy (as in the enzymes that turn grapes and water into wine, or that leavens a whole lump of dough) is one that is central to Orthodox theology and our understanding of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God.  For Christ's ministry will make it possible for the Holy Spirit to come into the world, to be a part of Christian baptism (John 3:5-8), to bring Christ's sayings to our recollection (John 14:26), to help us to give good testimony (Luke 12:11-12), and to help us to bear much fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).   This "living" imagery is important to help us to understand grace as the "energies" of God.  In it, we are to understand that while we cannot know nor see nor grasp God in God's substance or essence, we are given God's energies, in the action and work of the Holy Spirit in our world.  The traditional image given in patristic understanding is that of metal thrust into fire:  it does not become fire, but it can take on properties of the fire such as heat.  And this is where Christ's imagery in today's reading -- of the rivers of living water which flow out of the heart of a person -- is so important.  These rivers of living water give us the unceasing, almost torrential-seeming power of the work of the Holy Spirit in us, in our hearts, and the challenge that creates for faith.  Because we are meant to meet all the realities of this world in faith, and these "rivers of living water" are present to assist us in meeting life when we do.  How else to explain the grace with which saints have met injustice in the world?  How else do we understand the capacity of God to work through human beings to create good, even out of circumstances that are evil?  How do we take hardship in our lives, and yet retain the capacity to create beauty where we can, to add kindness even where it hasn't been received?  To give comfort in harsh circumstances, or even a beautiful garden in a small plot, and so give beauty as we can?  These are the realities of the "rivers of living water" given by the Holy Spirit, given not as the world gives, but from a Source that is unending and without beginning, that lives in us and through faith, that does not depend on a world in short supply to bring out an always creative capacity for doing good.  Let us consider how much rests on His words and teachings, and what a difference they have made in the lives of all.  What a difference they can continue to make through us, and into the future.  For what do you thirst?  For what does the world thirst?