NL 425: Living Water

image: “Electric water valve water effect” by LASZLO ILYES from Cleveland, Ohio, USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

John 7:37-52

February 20, 2022

John 7:37-52

Initial Thoughts

  • John 7 according to The Twible, by Jana Riess: “JC’s brothers urge him to attend a festival to show of his miracles and get all famous, but that’s not his style. He’s on the QT.”

Bible Study

  • Context is EVERYTHING: The Last Day of the Festival

    • Festival of Booths (cf. 1 Kings 8:2)

    • “The Festival of Tabernacles (or Booths) originally celebrated the completion of the harvest, but eventually also came to commemorate God’s protection of Israel in the wilderness.  In New Testament times, the festival had grown to an eight-day celebration centered at the Temple… During a second procession, the priests processed from the Temple to the pool of Siloam to draw water, returning through the Water Gate to pour the water on the altar as a libation…” (Gail O’Day,New Interpreter’s Bible, v. ix, p. 542)

    • “Originally a harvest festival, it came to be associated with the eschatological hope for a time when God's life-giving presence would flow out in rivers from the temple, like water from the rock in the wilderness.” Meda A. A. Stamper - Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary - Feasting on the Word – Year A, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season After Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16).

    • Jesus’ second festival/Passover in Jerusalem

      • Passover/Cleansing the temple in John 2:13-22

      • Passover/Festival of Booths John 6-7

      • Final Passover - John 14-18

    • Next week - Jesus will heal the blind man at the pool at Siloam

  • Living Water

    • recurring theme in John

      • Baptism by John (1:32-34)

      • Water into Wine (2:1-11)

      • Nicodemus (3:5)

      • Living Water at the Well (4:7-26)

      • Water from Jesus (19:34)

    • Jesus re-imagining the ancient festival, pointing to the source of living water as himself, and those that believe - not the Temple.

      • Jesus is the water from the rock

      • Similar to Jesus declaring himself Manna from heaven (John 6:48-51) Just as those who “eat of the bread of life” will “never be hungry” - those who drink from “living water” will never be thirsty (John 4)

    • Similar play on words as John 3 with Nicodemus

      •  the connection between Spirit (Pneuma), Water and womb/heart/seat of emotion and being (Koilia)

      • The greek word, “koilia” translated as “womb” in 3:4 is translated heart here

  • Scripture?

  • Source of Living Water

    • Greek says, “Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water”

      • “κοιλια ("stomach" or "womb" 7:38)  Elsewhere in John and throughout the Gospels/Acts, this word refers to womb.  (See John 3:4 and the first encounter with Nicodemus or Luke 1:41).” Rob Myallis, Lectionary Greek

    • Punctuation makes it unclear who the water is flowing out of.  Is it flowing out of Jesus, or out of the one who believes?

      • “The early church was divided. Origen, Chrysostom, Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine punctuated the verses so that the believer was the source of living water; Justin and Hippolytus… identified Jesus as the source.” (Gail O’Day, New Interpreter’s Bible, v. ix, p. 623)

      • NRSV points to the source as the believer.

      • NIV says the water will flow within the believer.

      • CEB points to the source as Jesus.

    • While the translation and even the Greek are unclear- perhaps there is good new in the ambiguity- perhaps living water flows from both Jesus AND the believer

      • “I am in my Father, you in me and I in you” 14:20

      • “As you Father are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us” 17:21

      • Both of these passages not only speak of the unity between God, Jesus and believers but also the promised gift of the Spirit (14:16-17; 16:7)

  • Gift of the Spirit

    • Explicit understanding of relationship between Jesus and the Spirit -- Gift of the spirit only comes after life, death, resurrection, and ascension

      • “The Fourth Evangelist is not denying the Spirit of God present in the OT.  Indeed, the Spirit of God descended on Jesus at his baptism (1:34). The Fourth Evangelist is saying that the Spirit as it is known in the life of the church did not yet exist, because the Spirit of God is redefined in the light of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension” (Gail O’Day, New Interpreter’s Bible, v. ix, p. 624)

Thoughts and Questions

  • Pentecost is about the gift of the Spirit - take a new approach that is more Jesus focused and holistic: For those who are thirsty- Jesus is the font of living water. For a thirsty world - believers are the living water. What good news/living water of Jesus is flowing through you? 

  • Living waters flowing from the rock/temple/jesus/church is an image of life giving abundance- how do we embody that abundance and “life-giving” focus?

  • Translational issues aside, it seems that by placing this text on Pentecost, the lectionary is doing some interpretation.  The believers now have the same living water that once was associated only with Jesus.  

    • Belief in Jesus is clearly an important part of the good news according to John.  Belief precedes receiving the Spirit.  All who are thirsty are invited to come, all who believe, drink.  Drinking the living water is equated with belief in Jesus.  

  • In the next passage, Jesus’ credibility is questioned by the leaders because he came from Galilee.  They don’t think anything good could come from that place.  Nicodemus reappears, and is beginning to wonder, but he is shouted down.  What prevents belief?  What keeps us going thirsty? Prejudice, stubbornness, fear, can all keep us from drinking the living water.

Year 4Eric FistlerJohnComment