The focal text begins and ends with the crowd divided. Some even wanted Jesus arrested (v. 32), but it ended up without anyone “laying a hand on him” (v. 44). After this incident, some of the chief priests and Pharisees got upset with the temple police for not arresting Jesus. They asked the police why they had not accosted Jesus (John 7:45). The police said they wanted to give Jesus a fair hearing (John 7:51). Some of the crowd remain unconvinced; they thought Jesus was a fraud (John 7:47).
In the midst of this back-and-forth bantering, Jesus made it clear that those who believed in Him would be drinking living water (v. 38), water that would flow and relieve the thirst that comes from guilt, sin, and even death.
Notice something in John 7:38. Jesus speaks of people who believe in Him. That is different from those who simply believe Him. I may believe what someone says, but if I believe in someone, I trust that person’s values, that person’s actions, that person’s promises, that person’s significance. That is what Jesus has invited us to do: not just believe what He says, but believe in Him.
These verses maintain the biblical images of spiritual water to satisfy the thirsty. What is my thirst? Is it for assurance of forgiveness? Is it for confidence in a heavenly future? Is it for strength for living in troublesome times? Is it for divine insight into my relationships? Is it for some level of healing? Our Lord invites us to believe in Him and to drink of the water that will assuage that thirst.
I live out in the country and my water comes from a well. My sister lives in a city and her water comes from a giant public reservoir. We both have water, but how we get it differs. We are invited to believe in Jesus, the Living Water, but the route we have taken to get to that belief may vary from one another. But, there is joy from drinking from that same divine Fountain!
What Someone Else Has Said: Jürgen Moltman (The Way of Jesus Christ, Fortress Press) has written: “The peace of Christ is personally experienced through faith in the depths of the individual heart...But if this peace of soul is Christ’s peace, then it points every soul it touches beyond its own confines to the community of all created being in the cosmos...The peace of Christ is universal...”
Prayer: As you prepare this lesson, let your prayer begin: “Almighty, ever living God, in Christ Jesus You have called me into love, and I am grateful. You have invited me to drink from an ever flowing fountain of love, and I am grateful...”
