Rivers of Living Water Will Flow From Those Who Believe In Jesus (Jn. 7:32-39)

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring about him to this effect, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent guards to arrest him.  33 So Jesus said, “I will be with you only a little while longer, and then I will go to the one who sent me.  34 You will look for me but not find [me], and where I am you cannot come.”  35 So the Jews said to one another, “Where is he going that we will not find him? Surely he is not going to the dispersion among the Greeks to teach the Greeks, is he?  36 What is the meaning of his saying, ‘You will look for me and not find [me], and where I am you cannot come’?”  37 On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.  38 Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: ‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.’”  39 He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The Pharisees and chief priests heard the crowd in the Temple disagreeing over whether Jesus was the Messiah or not and they sent guards (Levitical police officers) to arrest him.  This was the first official move taken by members of the Sanhedrin against Jesus.  Jesus, knowing that his hour had not yet come and that he would not be arrested (Jn. 7:30), continued to address the crowd.  He told the Jews that he would soon be going back to the Father, they will look for him but not find him, and where he is going they cannot come (vv. 33-34).  The Jews were further confused (vv. 35-36) because they thought he might have been speaking about going to the Jews living outside of Palestine among the Greeks or going to teach the Greeks themselves.  However, there was some truth to their discussion because Jesus included the Gentiles and all who accepted him in his plan of salvation.  

Jesus’ reference to water (vv. 37-38) was significant because, on the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the priests circled the altar seven times with water drawn from the spring of Siloam.  Through the ritual, the priests were asking God to continue to provide the autumn rains.  Jesus claimed that he was the Spiritual Rock, the source of living water (Jn. 4:109; Ps. 105:41; Is. 12:3), implying that the ritual performed by the priest could not effect salvation.  Verse 39 pointed the reader forward to Jesus’ crucifixion as the Holy Spirit did not come until after Jesus ascended to heaven.  Only those who believe in Jesus can receive the Holy Spirit and salvation.  

Almighty God, guard our minds and guide our steps so that we may understand and walk in your truth.  Give us hearts of love and compassion that we may lift up those who are bowed down and encourage those who have lost their way.  This we pray through Christ our Lord.  Amen!

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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.

                Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.