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 will 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 was the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  The ceremony of the drawing of water (in which water was drawn from the pool of Siloam to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar) provides the context for the Lord's words, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  Christ's living water 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.   My study Bible explains that the Prophet is a reference to the expected Messiah, the Savior foretold by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-19.  Bethlehem was the town from which the Christ was expected to come, according to the prophecy of 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."  The chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (see yesterday's reading, above).  But now, it is the last day of the Feast, and no arrest has been made.  These officers have been converted Lord's teaching ("No man ever spoke like this Man!").  My study Bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, saying that the Pharisees and the scribes who "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  These officers, on the other hand, although 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?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."  My study Bible notes that Nicodemus had spoken with Jesus (John 3:1-21), and had since increased in faith.  But his defense of Christ is still based on our law, and this 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, my study Bible says.  The Pharisees declare that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.  My study Bible comments that they show their blind hatred and also their ignorance of the Scriptures here.  The prophet Jonah came from Galilee, from the town of Gath Hepher, which was only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25). 

In Nicodemus' action in today's reading, we already see the transformation that happens through faith, and through the work of the Holy Spirit.  While my study Bible points out that this is not yet a full profession of faith, which will come later in the Gospel (John 19:38-39, as cited above), nonetheless he speaks up before the rest of the Sanhedrin to insist that they're violating the law by judging peremptorily.  The courage to begin to speak up here, his conscience not reconciled to the ways in which his fellow Pharisees are approaching Christ, is a sign of what is happening internally to change him, and cause him to speak up.  This is a beginning of separation from his fellow Pharisees and the rest of the ruling council, for we can see by their scathing and insulting response that they will brook no competition for how they must approach Jesus.  They want to do away with Him as handily as possible for He is seen as a threat to their authority and power.  But Nicodemus is not just going along with the rest of them, although he has yet to come to the decision to make the clean break he will later on in publicly confessing faith in Christ.  Let us notice the hostility of the religious leaders, even their insulting behavior toward Nicodemus for reminding them of the procedures of the Law.  They ask if he is also from Galilee, and go so far in their rash declarations as to make a fundamental mistake which they, as the experts in Scripture, are not supposed to make.  They claim no prophet has arisen from Galilee, when in fact a prophet as important as Jonah was from Galilee, from a town close to Nazareth.  What we can observe in this drama of Nicodemus among his fellow religious rulers is the start of separation, of one who is separating himself from the gathering of his own brethren, so to speak, from the important position he holds on the Council, in order to more fully follow his faith.  This is a process, but it is one that can be understood in spiritual terms.  To be holy, in the traditional sense of this word, is to be set apart.  That is, dedicated for the purposes of God.  What we see in the dynamics of the Council are men who, as John will say in his Gospel, "loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:43).  Their pursuit of and use of power has become more worldly in its practice than truly serving God, and we can see the result.  As Nicodemus' faith grows and begins to take hold, transforming him, he in turn begins separating himself from them -- in just the same sense as Christ cleansed the temple upon His visit at the first Passover given to us in this Gospel (John 2:13-22).  He does not want to simply fall in with their corruption, and so this beginning of the process of setting apart is taking shape and leading him further into the direction of faith in Christ.  We might take a moment here to consider the work of the Holy Spirit, which was the great subject of discussion in Christ's visit to Nicodemus and His teaching in chapter 3.  Jesus spoke then about being born "from above"; that is, reborn in the Spirit.  He taught Nicodemus, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  As in that teaching, the Spirit is leading Nicodemus where it will, and so it is in each of us in terms of this process of faith.  We are not the ones leading the journey, and we "cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes."  As we, too, grow in faith, let us not be dismayed or surprised by the separations we might come to know, even from things or people we might cherish.  For surely for Nicodemus, being on the Council and a member of the Pharisees is something absolutely central to what he feels is right about his identity and heritage.  And yet, we know that he will separate from them for a higher, better truth, for the faith of an identity given by Christ.  Let us also let the Holy Spirit work in us and follow the path of faith in Christ.  Then we can say with the officers, and eventually Nicodemus, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"

 

 

 

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 of 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 

 

In our previous reading, we were told 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 answer1ed 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.  At this ceremony was the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam, giving us the context for Christ's words, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  The living water, as St. John's text indicates, is the gift of the Holy Spirit, my study Bible notes, 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, my study Bible says, refers to the expected Messiah, the Savior to come foretold by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-19.  Bethelehem, the home of King David, was the town from which the Christ (the Messiah was expected to come (see 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 of the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Earlier in the chapter, we read that the chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the feast (John 7:32).  But by now it is the last day of the feast (the eighth day), and no arrest has been made.  This is because, according to my study Bible, these officers had been converted by Christ's teaching.  It cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who writes that the Pharisees and scribes who had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  These officers, by contrast, who could claim none of this learning, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When one's mind is open, St. Chrysostom 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."  This is the same Nicodemus (also a Pharisee) who had spoken with Jesus by night, accepting teaching (John 3:1-21), and in the intervening time had increased in faith.  However, my study Bible notes that his defense of Christ is still based on our law and hence this is not yet a public profession of faith (see John 19:38-39).  In accordance with the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).   The Pharisees claim that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee, but in this, my study Bible says, they show at once their blind hatred and their ignorance of the Scriptures.  The prophet Jonah was from Galilee, the town of Gath Hepher, only three miles from Jesus' home in the town of Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).

The temple officers explain their failure to arrest Jesus with the vehement statement to the rulers,  "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Once more, it is now Christ's words that make such a difference to people, even these officers who are not those learned in the Scripture like the Pharisees and scribes.  St. John Chrysostom's words come back to us, reminding us of the impact of truth on an open mind (and conversely, the complete lack of impact truth may make on a closed and prejudiced one).  But this emphasis on the remarkable power of Christ's words is one that we have heard emphasized before in St. John's Gospel.  In St. Peter's confession of faith, he first prefaces by saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (see John 6:67-69).  Now we read a stunning statement by those who are not disciples, but are instead temple police, sent to arrest Jesus as if He were a criminal.  So the text is clear in showing us that the power of Christ's words is not understood merely from an intellectual appreciation of them, or from first knowing Scripture, but there is another component within us that responds to His "words of eternal life."  All of the rest, as St. Chrysostom's commentary indicates, is of little use when a mind is closed to begin with.  Certainly those among the most well-trained and educated minds of the past have formed the Church and its theology, which is made very clear through the lives of the early saints of the Church.  For the early patristic scholars, coming out of a pagan civilization, and themselves enriched through classical education in philosophy, literature, and all other subjects available to them, if our Lord was the Person who is Truth (see John 14:6), then whatever serves truth may be honored as serving Christ (truth, beauty, and goodness being hallmarks of the Divine).  So in such cases, the brilliant minds of past and present whose intelligence and education contributed to our understanding of Christ did so only where faith was also present.    We see the difference between Nicodemus and nearly all of his fellow Pharisees; it is Nicodemus who is also growing in faith, and will come to an even greater dedication to Christ by the time of His Passion and death.  It is under faith, then, that our talents, skills, experience, and education are organized within one principle, to serve the Lord.  God will take all of the differentiated aspects of our lives and personal formation, and use those skills and talents to God's purposes.  This we can see in the countless examples of saints from all countries and backgrounds, of every century, whose work is always surprising and impactful on the lives of those around them.  These policemen are similar to the centurion who will oversee Christ's Crucifixion, in that they come to faith and insight through their openness to faith and the truth of Christ, even though they are loyal to the ones who sent them.  Through the faithful action of Cornelius the Centurion, the impact upon the world is incalculable (Acts 10 - 11:18).   In consideration of these things, let us consider how essential to life is our faith, and what potential impact it can have around us in shaping our lives and actions.  We may consider the learning of skills, development of talents, gaining of an education, and all other forms of development to be the most important and decisive elements of our flowering as persons.  But what the Gospels seem to teach us is that so much depends on our ability to truly hear and know the things of God.  Jesus Himself often proclaims in His preaching, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Matthew 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9; Luke 8:8; 14:35).  A heart open to the words He teaches us is one capable of grasping the truth in the words, and this is the powerful teaching couched in today's reading.   The people at the festival echo like a Greek chorus all the possible understandings and interpretations of Christ's words and acts, but they are unknowing, confused, and they reflect a time in Israel of great uncertainty.  But those who can hear are stunned by His words, magnetic in their appeal to their hearts.  Let us understand the reality of truth, and the challenge to hear even in the confusion and uncertainty of today. 

 

 

 

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?

 

 

 

 

 

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. 

 

 

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 

 

Our current readings are taking place in Jerusalem, at the Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Succoth or Sukkot), an eight-day autumn festival commemorating the time Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai.  It is the final year of Jesus earthly life and ministry.  On Saturday, 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.   My study Bible comments that the last day, that great day of the feast is the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  Many of the elements of this Feast provide a backdrop and context for Christ's teachings in the passages we read through chapter 10.  Here, my study Bible explains, the drawing of water provides the context for the Lord's teaching, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  On the last day, water was drawn from the pool of Siloam (meaning "Sent," as we shall read in chapter 9) to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, as purification and also in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7).  Christ's words and teachings tie in, magnify, and illuminate the spiritual events of ancient Israel which are manifest and made full in His presence (see Matthew 5:17).  My study Bible says that the living water of which Christ speaks 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 explains that the Prophet refers to the expected Messiah, the Savior whom Moses foretold would come (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).  Bethlehem in Judea was the town from which the Christ was expected to come (see Micah 5:2).  The public thinks of Jesus as One born in Nazareth of Galilee; they don't know of His birth in Bethlehem (see Luke 2:3-5).

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."  As we read earlier (see verse 32), the chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast.  This is now the last day of the Feast, but no arrest has been made.  My study Bible explains that the officers had been converted by the Lord's teaching.  It cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, that the Pharisees and the scribes who had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  But these officers, on the contrary, 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."  My study Bible notes that Nicodemus has spoken with Jesus (John 3:1-21), and had increased in faith since then.  However, 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).   My study Bible notes also that the Pharisees are showing their blind hatred and ignorance of the Scriptures in their reply to Nicodemus, for the prophet Jonah came from Galilee, the town of Gath Hepher, which was only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25). 

 

 Nicodemus, who will eventually become an open and active believer in Christ, is quoted as saying to the others in the Council, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  Nicodemus is himself a Pharisee, as we read in John's chapter 3.  We read in today's reading of the chaos and impending calamity that surrounds Jesus' presence at this time.  The people are on all sides concerning opinion about Jesus.  We are told that there was a division among the people because of Him.  In Friday's reading, we were told that "there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, 'He is good'; others said, 'No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.'  However no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews [meaning the antagonistic religious leaders]."   So into this mishmash of chaos and confusion, and conflict of opinions and motivations, we find Nicodemus.  In some ways, Nicodemus might be said to be reflecting every one of us who struggles for faith.  We might be very much engaged by Christ and His teachings.  Although Jesus is not a religious authority within the structures of the establishment, clearly He was a compelling teacher and preacher, with a growing ministry of followers and disciples.  There is a strong notion about truth, and the nature of truth, that underlies the narrative, the story of what we read:  we read that the people are of mixed and conflicting opinion, no one is sure what to believe, there are all kinds of rumors that swirl -- some possibly spread deliberately, some perhaps simply mistaken and confused.  The members of the Council who oppose Jesus do so perhaps unfairly:  after all, He healed a man on the Sabbath.  It is a fair question to ask if this is truly a sin or a violation of the law (as Jesus in His own defense gives His own examples of blameless violations of the Sabbath).  But the conflict is clear; Jesus represents a problem for those who feel He undermines their absolute authority.  We can also read this in the fear we're told the people feel, who do not speak in front of the authorities who have the power to cast anyone out.  And so, we come back to Nicodemus, who is in some way in the midpoint of his faith journey as we reach toward the end of the festival, and officers are sent for Jesus' arrest.  Nicodemus takes root into the law he knows, the faith he loves, and he asks, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  My study Bible has a couple of useful quotations that would seem to apply here, found in commentary on other passages.  It quotes St. Mark the Ascetic as saying, "Do the good you know, and what you do not know will be revealed to you" in commentary on Mark 4:24, a teaching regarding discernment and how we "hear."   In chapter 9, we will read of the blind man who has been healed by Christ, and is then questioned with hostility by the leaders.  We're told that he answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see" (John 9:25).  My study Bible comments that this healed man becomes a model of witnessing; his answer to people much more educated than he is provides the solution when we are unsure of the completeness of our knowledge. He admits what he does not know, but follows up with what he does know. It says that the formula, "That I don’t know, but what I do know is this," is foundational to witnessing one’s faith to others.  So we look to Nicodemus, who has not yet reached the point of a public confession of faith in Christ.  He is taking faith in what he does know:  he knows the law, he knows that it is good, that there are procedures in place for assuring that justice is done, and that actions are based in truth.  We know he is on a journey which will take him much farther along in faith in Christ, and that, together with another man of the Council, Joseph of Arimathea, he is commemorated in the Church.  But for now, let us look to Nicodemus as a sort of "Everyman" in the midst of a confusing and unclear battle of known and unknown forces surrounding him in Jerusalem at this time, and in the story of Jesus.  He knows what he knows; he has gone to Jesus by night for teaching and so has found some level of trust in Christ.  But for now, he attempts to certify what is true, to hold back the tide of rage and anger and political machination with a reverence for the law he knows is good, a search for truth, an attempt at justice and at judging good judgment.  He is seeking to do, in the way he knows how, as Christ taught:  "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment" (John 7:24).  Many of us might find ourselves in similar circumstances, but we should do as we see Nicodemus doing (and we will watch his journey of growth and eventual risky public position that openly breaks with leaders by helping with the burial of Christ; see John 19:39).  He roots himself in what he knows to be good, he speaks the truth he knows as does the healed blind man.  He does the good he knows, as St. Mark the Ascetic teaches, and he will wait and respond farther along to what is revealed to him.  So, for today, let us see him as our model for witnessing and for truth.  Unfortunately, the Pharisees respond with an untruth that reveals their rage.  But even the officers who were ordered to seize Christ can hear the power and truth in His words, and are unable to act.  In today's reading, let us note that Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit, whom He also calls the Spirit of Truth, and consider how central that is to everything that we witness, and every person who must seek truth for themselves, in our own struggle to find our way through uncertainty and confusion. 

 

 

 

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.

Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?

The Ladder of Divine Ascent, 12th century.  St. Catherine's Monastery, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt

 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.  Jesus answered and said to 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."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"  Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." 

- John 4:1-15

Yesterday we read that Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.   And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.   Jesus is traveling northward toward Galilee, to get away from the scrutinizing eyes of the Pharisees who zealously guard their religious authority.  Samaria is the region north of Jerusalem, between Judea and Galilee.  My study bible points out that the Old Testament does not mention Jacob's well, but we do know that Jacob lived in the area (Genesis 33:19).  Wells were significant, my study bible says, both because of their rarity and also their value in desert life.  Therefore, wells were to symbolize life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  This well is maintained as a shrine to this day, and pilgrims can drink from it.  That Jesus is wearied from His journey shows us His full humanity.  This is desert country, and the period is at least late spring or perhaps early summer, after the Passover and Christ's time spent afterward in Judea; the sixth hour is noon. 

A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.   In the tradition of the Church, this woman is known as St. Photini (more about her in the next readings).  My study bible explains that the Samaritans were a mixed race of both Jews and Gentiles, and traditional enemies of the Jews.  Although they worshiped the God of Israel and were also awaiting the Messiah, they accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch or Torah) as their Scriptures.  They had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, which the Jews destroyed in 128 BC.  (In tomorrow's reading, we will see her reference this dispute over the location of the temple.)  We may find Jesus' command strange, "Give Me a drink."  But in the customs of the time, what is unusual about it is simply that He, a Jewish man alone with this Samaritan woman, would speak to her at all.  His request for water is meant deliberately to draw her out.

Jesus answered and said to 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."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"  Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."  My study bible explains that living water in the ordinary sense of the term means fresh, flowing water.  That is, water from a stream or spring rather than a pond or a cistern.  Jesus uses this term to indicate the grace of the Holy Spirit which leads to eternal life (7:37-39).  My study bible says that this gift not only remains in a person, but it is so abundant that it overflows to others.  The woman misunderstands Him, and she asks, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  But this is a spiritual reflection that teaches us something about Christ, that Jacob, in His light, is a "type" of Christ, as Jacob received the vision of the divine ladder (Genesis 28:12), which is fulfilled in Christ -- in His Incarnation, He is the living ladder between heaven and earth.  Moreover, as Jacob gave this well for earthly life, my study bible says, now Christ gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal life.  We notice that through His words, Christ has drawn in this woman to great curiosity about the water He speaks about.  In the following readings, He will continue to explain His message.

Jacob's ladder was the vision given to Jacob in a dream, of a ladder between heaven and earth, upon which angels ascended and descended (see Genesis 28:10-22).  It is the story of the promised land, the holy place where God dwells.  In today's story, God has come to this well, not only blessing the place and the people who are looked down upon and cast away by the Jews, but more importantly, illuminating and enlightening the people, and casting away false belief.  The name of this woman, St. Photini, means "illumined" or "enlightened one."  We will read more about her tomorrow.  But what is important is that, through this visitation of Christ, Jacob's vision of the ladder is fulfilled, as well as his words that, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!" (Genesis 28:16-17).  The Lord is indeed in this place, and where He is there is the gate of heaven, which He will open to the people through this woman listening to Him at the well, as He teaches about the "living water" which He will give.  In that sense, Jesus is both the well and the ladder -- for it is He who has the gift of the living water to give to others.  The notion of the ladder as an image of spiritual journey toward God was an important one to the early Fathers of the Church, and later was developed into an understanding of monastic asceticism, particularly in the book of The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John Climacus.  Jesus Himself refers to Jacob's ladder earlier in John's Gospel, when He tells Nathanael, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man" (John 1:51).  So everything in this story in today's reading can be approached with this understanding in mind, that Jesus comes as fulfillment of the promises and visions of the Old Testament, that He is the ladder dreamed of by Jacob, and that God is present here at this well, and promising an abundance of living water as gift for those who ask.  In tomorrow's reading, we will find that, like the "ladder" of monastic ascent in asceticism, there are truths required of us in receiving this water and this blessing, a kind of humility in which we are willing to go forward, to find instruction, an honesty about ourselves and where we need to go.  All of this remains for us to see, and even to experience for ourselves in our own journey with Christ.  For today, let us picture this scene in the hot desert climate, at noon, of the weary traveler (Jesus) who promises a gift of water that will become in those who receive it "a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  God remains with us and this water remains a gift for us.  He still reaches out to offer it to those who will receive the gift, and make the journey to the life He offers.