John 7:32-39

³²The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about Him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest Him. ³³Jesus said, "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the One who sent Me. ³⁴You will look for Me, but you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come." ³⁵The Jews said to one another, "Where does this Man intend to go that we cannot find Him? Will He go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? ³⁶What did He mean when He said, 'You will look for Me, but you will not find Me,' and 'Where I am, you cannot come'?" ³⁷On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." ³⁹By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest Jesus, in addition to or among the group trying to seize Him from v30. By saying that He was about to go where no one could find Him, Jesus was primarily addressing those attempting to seize Him – His enemies, the Pharisees; He meant that He was about to go to heaven, after He had accomplished redemption. It is as if He had said, “You will never hinder My Father from receiving Me into His heavenly glory once I have completed the work for which He sent Me. Not only will I be glorified in My Father’s presence and before all creation after My death, but you can’t experience it, because of your wickedness.” For us, we need to seek the Lord while He may be found, because there will come a time when it is too late. Isaiah 55:6; Hebrews 3:7-8,15; 4:7 The crowd did not understand but wondered if Jesus’ statement – You won’t find Me – was meant to imply that He could not be seized. Was He about to depart their region for good, to find the Jews scattered among the Greeks, or barbarians – to teach them instead? They weren’t sure, and they exhibit their stupidity by thinking along these lines; they weren’t the least bit threatened by Jesus’ utterance about being unable to come where He goes (John 13:33,36-37). Jesus said plainly, “I go to the One who sent Me.” Why would they think He was going to Greece or other countries?

Here, between v36 and v37, we have a time gap. We go from the middle of the weeklong Feast to the last and greatest day. Did Jesus just slip away for a day or two to avoid arrest? He shows no fear of death by returning, as He knew when His time would arrive. Would you like to know your time? Why/why not? Regardless, John builds up the story to this climax, and he sets the stage. Allow me to explain:

It’s the great event of the Jewish calendar. Rabbis used to say that if you’ve never rejoiced at the Feast of Tabernacles, then you’ve never rejoiced. It was of great value to be at the Feast of Tabernacles and to see the ritual – in remembrance of the water from the rock during the Exodus (Numbers 20:2-13) – that would take place. For seven days the priests would go to the Pool of Siloam and they would be carrying golden pitchers; they would fill those pitchers with water and then make their way through the streets of Jerusalem towards the Temple courts and they would be singing songs of praise to God. The streets would be crowded with tens of thousands of people from all over Judea and Galilee and the Diaspora, or Dispersion, who would make their way to Jerusalem. On those seven days, they would gather in the streets to watch this procession as the priests carried these golden pitchers towards the Temple. And then one of the priests would take the pitcher and pour out water and a regular offering of wine before the Lord, beside the altar of sacrifice in the Temple where the daily sacrifice would be offered. This was to symbolize the blessings of the Messianic Age, when life-giving water would stream out over all the earth, just as the water flowed from the rock in the wilderness. And the people of God would wave their branches and they would cry out, “God is our Savior; let us draw water from the wells of salvation.”

And then on the last day of the feast, having done this once on day one, twice on day two, etc., they would go around the altar seven times, and then the chosen priest would pour out the water and wine before the Lord by the altar. And he would raise his hand and the whole congregation would fall silent. It was the climax of the Feast of Tabernacles. And at that moment of silence on this occasion, Jesus stands up and cries out loudly, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” Can you imagine it? “Whoever believes in Me as the Scripture has said, ‘streams of living water will flow from within Him.’” Other translations render the quote this way: “Out of His heart will flow rivers of living water.” So in essence, Jesus is saying, “Only I can fulfill this reality – I am the true Rock from which the water of life flows.” And, in order to illustrate His claim from the Scriptures, He alludes to a passage – commentators disagree over which one – Isaiah 12:3; 44:3; 55:1; 58:11; Zechariah 14:8, and applies it to Himself. Jesus is saying, “Moses offered pictures and symbols, but I offer the reality. This Feast of Tabernacles ritual that you’ve been doing for centuries is all about Me!” Are you thirsty for the waters that lead to salvation? If you are, it is because the Spirit of God has graciously kindled that thirst in you. And if you are, be pleased to know that Christ – the fountain of life – offers an inexhaustible and abundant flow, so that our desires for His drink will never be disappointed (John 1:16; 4:14; 6:35 are in view). We drink from His fountain by faith – to come and to believe are synonymous, as we saw in chapter 6.

In order to make clear just what Christ is saying, John then tells us in v39 that Jesus is speaking of the Holy Spirit, whom He would send out into the world. The Messianic Age would be one in which the Spirit would flow out over all the earth – echoing a multitude of Old Testament Scripture passages, such as Jeremiah 2 (especially v13) and Ezekiel 34-37 – and bring life to the nations. And, just as the water flowed from the rock in the wilderness (Numbers 20:2-13), so the Spirit would proceed from the true Rock, giving life to all God’s people. As a result of the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus to the right hand of God, as a consequence of the Father delighting in all that Jesus offered and accomplished, He pours out the Spirit of Jesus. It’s not accidental that John records Jesus’ cry on the cross: “I am thirsty” (John 19:28). He took our thirstiness upon Himself in order that our thirst might be quenched by faith in Him. To those who are thirsty He hands the thirst-quenching Spirit.