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 his 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 our present readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.  It is now the final year of His earthly life.  This particular section of the Gospel (John 7-10:21) covers events at that Feast, in which Christ's teachings reflect many of the practices and commemorations involved in this eight-day festival.  Yesterday 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 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 provides the context for Christ's words, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  Living water, it says, 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.  The Prophet is a reference to the expected Messiah, the Savior Moses foretold would come in Deuteronomy 18:15-19, according to my study Bible.  Those who argue about the lineage of David and the town of Bethlehem dispute over the prophecy regarding the place from which the Christ was expected to come (Micah 5:2).  The people believe that Christ's birthplace is Nazareth of Galilee, for that is where He was raised.  They do not know He was born in Bethlehem of Judea and is of the house and lineage of David (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 his 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 verse 32 from yesterday's reading, above).  This is now the last, eighth day of the festival, and no arrest has been made.  These officers had been converted by Christ's teaching, my study Bible comments.  It cites St. John Chrysostom, who writes 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, although they could claim none 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, "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, we recall, had spoken with Jesus (John 3:1-21) and had increased in faith.  But, my study Bible says, his defense of Christ is still based on our law; this is not yet a public profession of faith (which he will make later; see John 19:38-39).  The law states that Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  The Pharisees state that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.  But this is not true.  In the words of my study Bible, they are showing their blind hatred and their ignorance of the Scriptures, as the prophet Jonah came from Galilee, from the town of Gath Hepher, which was only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).  

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus had exhorted the religious leaders with whom He disputed, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  This was in the context of their complaint against Him that He had healed on the Sabbath (at a previous festival, the Feast of Weeks which commemorated the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai); see this reading for the story of that healing of the paralytic at the Bethesda pool.  But Jesus' words to these men at this festival are also prophetic, because we see the kind of judgment they're using now.  Where is the mercy or righteousness that goes into proper good judgment? (see the parable of Judgment, Matthew 25:31-46).  It cements for us the understanding of Christ as the ultimate and true Judge of all.  The temple police officers who were sent to arrest Him were stunned by His words when they heard Him preaching.  They echo, in a certain sense, the words of St. Peter when they say, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  St. Peter has said to Jesus on behalf of all the disciples, "You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68) in his confession that Jesus is the Christ.  But these officers have clearly felt and perceived those effects rendered by Christ words of eternal life, even if they don't have the learning of others regarding the Messiah.  Additionally, we're told that Nicodemus, who himself is a Pharisee, reminds his counterparts in the ruling council that they're not to judge a man without a fair hearing according to the law.  But their unfortunate response only digs them in more deeply within this unrighteous judgment they display.  Not only do they fail to uphold the law in the sense of condemning Jesus before giving Him a hearing, but they are meant to be the Scriptural experts, who spend all their time poring over the fine points of the commandments found therein.  Their scathing (and disparaging) response to Nicodemus is a display of their ignorance, for they fail to acknowledge the prophet Jonah and his origins in Galilee.  It is a true observation that throughout the Gospels, people do not remain static when it comes to Jesus.  Either they deepen their faith, or deepen and harden their attitudes against Him.  Here the Pharisees clearly display their further descent into error and blind hostility.  Their response undermines their claim to be those who would not have stoned the prophets (Matthew 23:30), and their fitness as the inheritors of the place of the judges of Israel.  We will observe their hardening attitudes as they progress through the Gospel.  The witness of all of the Gospels, including Christ's explicit condemnation of their behaviors (Matthew 23), teaches us that a long road of error may even lead to the incapacity for repentance, a hardness of heart that allows only for self-righteousness, not God's righteousness.  God's righteousness is an important theme for us in this chapter, as in yesterday's commentary the notion of honor was discussed.  Do we seek the honor that comes from pleasing God, or the honor that comes from pleasing other people?  This notion of the honor of the only God is intrinsically linked to God's righteousness (or, the righteousness that comes from God).  For that kind of righteousness comes from pleasing God and the notion of obedience and humility that describes.  For, as we read in the aforementioned parable of Judgment found in St. Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 25:31-46), righteousness in the sight of Christ is bound up with the practice of mercy and the discernment that asks of us.  Notions of good judgment can't be separated from the desire to please God, for the depth of insight in the teaching of love is something that only comes from God and the gift of the Holy Spirit; we're not born with this perfection, but must learn from the author of it (1 John 4:7-21).  Let us desire with the fullness of our hearts to learn the righteous judgment which Christ preaches, to be found in the gift of the rivers of living water He promises.

 .  

Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?

 

 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 

 

On Saturday we read that about the middle of the feast of Tabernacles (in the final year of Christ's earthly life) 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 tells us that the last day, that great day of the feast was the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  The ceremony of the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam provides the backdrop for Christ's teaching here.  (This pool will play a role in yet another "sign" given on this day, which appears in chapter 9.)   It's in this context in which He says, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  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.  My study Bible says that the Prophet is a reference to the expected Messiah.  This is the Savior foretold by Moses (see Deuteronomy 18:15-19).  The debate over the town of Jesus' birth is due to the prophesy that Bethlehem of Judea was the town from which the Christ was expected to come (Micah 5:2).  The crowd doesn't know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but He was brought up in Nazareth of Galilee following the family's exile in Egypt (Matthew 2:13-23), hence the confusion and division.

 

 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."  My study Bible reminds us that the chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (verse 32; see yesterday's reading, above).  By the time this last day had arrived (the eighth day of the Feast), there had been no arrest made.  This is because, according to my study Bible, these officers had been converted by Christ's teaching.   My study Bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who says that the Pharisees and scribes who had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  But these officers, on the other hand, although they could claim none of the learning of the Pharisees and scribes, were "captivated by a single sermon."  St. Chrysostom adds that 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."  Earlier in the Gospel, we read of Nicodemus being taught by Jesus at night (John 3:1-21).  Since that time, he has increased in faith.  But his defense of Jesus here is still based on "our law" and is not yet a public profession of faith, my study Bible comments (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 respond to Nicodemus that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.  My study Bible says that in so doing, they show their blind hatred and ignorance of the Scriptures, as the prophet Jonah came from Galilee, from the town of Gath Hepher -- which was only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).  

 

Perhaps it is in some way strangely ironic that the Pharisees respond scathingly to Nicodemus, claiming that no prophet has ever arisen from Galilee.  In fact, as my study Bible points out, a very important prophet came from Galilee, the prophet Jonah.  It is the prophet Jonah to whom Jesus will refer when He is constantly asked for a sign from these same men.  In the Gospel of St. Matthew, Jesus is asked by the scribes and Pharisees for a sign, and His reply to them is, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (see Matthew 12:38-42).  In St. Luke's Gospel, He gives the same teaching to the crowds (see Luke 11:29-32).  Perhaps this omission on the part of the Pharisees is meant to be understood to teach us about the nature of a kind of blindness we might call "intentional forgetting."  In their rage and envy, perhaps they've forgotten, or they have resorted to a deliberate lie to silence the dissent of Nicodemus (and we can hear their gratuitous insult to him as well).  These mysterious omissions and connections in the Gospels do indeed teach us something about our own blindness, for what these men do is not limited to them and their time.  Indeed, as we know that St. John's Gospel is so much a focus on truth and its nature (often understood as light) -- and the deliberate darkness that is chosen to avoid it -- this is yet another subtle lesson to us about fallen human nature and our capacity to blind ourselves to the things of God, and perhaps the desire to defy God (see John 1:4-5).  At any rate, this is a somewhat "convenient" form of forgetting for these experts in the Scriptures.  In their raging passions, they are making terrible mistakes, spiritually and otherwise, and this, too, teaches us something about the historical view of the Church regarding our own susceptibility to such mistakes.  We are not meant to point fingers at these men, but to carefully consider how we might be like them, and what to do about it.  In the calendar of the Church, we are proceeding forward just now to enter into the period of Great Lent.  For the Western Churches, Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 18th.  For the East and the Orthodox, Lent begins on February 23rd, and we are currently in a preparation period for the Lenten fast.  Historically and universally across churches and denominations, Lent and the fasting practices associated with it have been considered times not simply for reflection but for cultivating the opposite of what these religious leaders are indulging in.  That is, for cultivating dispassion, learning to say no to the impulses to do us no good, whether that be rage, lust, gluttony, envy, or any number of things that lead us away from spiritual discipline and our capacity to hear the things of God and incorporate into our lives the teachings of Jesus.  This is the purpose of the fast, not to refrain simply from foods (for there are no "bad" foods in Christianity; see Mark 7:18-19), but learning spiritual discipline, how to say no to our harmful impulses and indulgences in order to cultivate a more healthy spiritual life.  We don't just fast from foods, but the goal is to fast from behaviors such as the ones we observe here, and to better know ourselves in the process, building up spiritual strength and knowing our own weaknesses.  There's no better time to look toward the events of Christ's life as we read through the Gospel, and learn from the mistakes we observe, so that we are better able to find correction when we indulge in the same types of rage, self-righteousness, and false judgment here.   There is no better time to cultivate dispassion through the traditional practices of Lent, lest we be drawn into the forces that seek to ensnare us into the same types of behavior, especially that which is promoted through social media for all kinds of reasons and motivations which may be hidden from us, encouraging us to simply "follow the crowd."  Manipulation of appearances may take all kinds of forms, and only Saturday we read that Jesus taught us, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Let us cherish the resources we're given in the Church at this time to help us to better do so.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No man ever spoke like this Man!

 

 On that last day, the 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 that last day, the 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 tells us that the last day, that great day of the feast was the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  The ceremony of the drawing of water, in which water from the pool of Siloam (meaning "Sent") was mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, is the context for Christ's words, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."   This was to commemorate the water pouring from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7).  But the living water Christ is speaking of, my study bible says, 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.   The Prophet refers to the expected Messiah, the Savior foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).  The Christ (the Messiah, "Anointed One") was expected to come from Bethlehem, the town of David (Micah 5:2). 

 

 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."  My study bible reminds us that the chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (verse 32; see yesterday's reading, above).  By the time this last day of the Feast had arrived, no arrest had yet been made, because these officers had been converted by the teaching of Christ.  St John Chrysostom comments that although the Pharisees and scribes had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either one.  But these officers, on the other hand, even though they could not claim any such learning, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When the mind is open, he says "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 come to Jesus by night to be taught by Him (John 3:1-21) and since had increased in faith.  But his defense of Jesus was still based on our law, my study bible says, and so was 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 make a broad claim, that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.  My study bible says that in doing so they show their blind hatred, and also their 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).  

I'm always struck by the sheer confusion around Jesus.  John's Gospel gives us a picture of an increasing level of hysteria on the part of the leadership, even as their threats to Jesus begin to rise because of His growing popularity.   But nothing will come together until it is time, "His hour of glory" (John 12:23).   In the meantime, the officers at this Feast of Tabernacles (a sort of temple police) are simple unable to take Him, as they are stunned by His speech and teaching.  And if we pay close attention to Jesus' teachings in today's reading, we see they are, in effect, mysterious to the people who hear them, as is quite common in John's Gospel.  He says, "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."   It's only after Jesus is glorified that even His apostles really understand that in those rivers of living water, He's speaking of the Holy Spirit.  And yet, the people are coming to faith in Him, the officers too amazed to arrest Him.  It's quite eye-opening to perceive that despite the chaos, the rising  division around Him, and all the forces stirred up among the leaders and the people, Jesus simply persists in His message, in what He's come to do.  He's come to preach and teach about the Kingdom and the realities that must be revealed.  He's Incarnate Lord for a reason, and has a mission to fulfill.  Nothing interferes with that mission:  not the attempts of the leaders to stop Him and arrest Him, not the confusion of the people, not the misunderstandings about the figurative language that He uses, not the fear and turmoil of the disciples that is to come, not the controversy -- none of it matters in terms of the fulfillment of His mission.  He persists and pursues what He is meant to do in union with the Father and the Spirit.  Judas' betrayal won't stop Him, and the Cross will not stop Him, because all of it will be a part of this mission, all used by God for a purpose.  It doesn't indicate a lack of prudence on Jesus' part, because we've already observed that He is quite prudent:  there are occasions when He deliberately evades Jerusalem and the religious leadership, even leaving Galilee for a time to go to Samaria (John 4:1-42).  It isn't a kind of recklessness that He manages to stir up controversy around Him.  All of this is for a purpose, and His hour is chosen.  But it is a kind of courage fortified by faith, and even the power of the Cross is in the midst of it all.  There is a lot that Jesus will endure as Messiah, but none of it is wasted, because His highest calling isn't to do His own will but to be true to the Father who sent Him, so that His mission of salvation for human beings is complete.  Possibly the greatest mystery of all is the Cross, but even that we understand as used by God to destroy death for all of us.   If these mysteries have indeed come down to us in the Church, perceived by the holy, trusted to give strength and hope to countless people throughout the centuries, and continuing to do so, then we can simply marvel that none of it was lost.  None of the controversy and complication and misunderstanding stopped any of this message from getting through and having its effect, and continuing to do so today.  Indeed, what we can truly assume is that Christ's revelation has more yet to give us.  The one mistake we can make is to underestimate His mission and ministry and the power of His words, for they continue to be "the words of eternal life" as St. Peter said (John 6:68).  If we ourselves look to Jesus as the image for our lives, we can't help but learn from Him:  from His humility and His courage, His willingness to serve, and His infinite capacity for faith and love.  He teaches us how we are to be in the world, and to have endless faith in the word and teachings of eternal life, for in them we find life for ourselves.  And this life cannot be stopped.