The majority of John chapter 7 revisits and expounds on Christ’s interactions with the Jews in chapter 5, and explanations on the relationship between the two chapters were highlighted in the post on chapter 5. The one verse we will expound on now is John 7:38, and verse 39 explains verse 38.
The concept of living water is rooted in the Old Testament. It would help us if we understood what it is. Before we get started, I remember a statement by William Barclay that John in writing Revelation was immersed in the Old Testament. In studying the gospel of John, I am struck by the number of references Christ made to the Old Testament. This, then, explains why John was immersed in the Old Testament. He learned it from Christ!
Isaiah 58:11: And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. [This is the most direct prophesy to which Christ refers, though it is not word for word.]
Jeremiah 2:13: For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.
Jeremiah 17:13: O LORD, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the LORD.
Zechariah 14:8: And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
John Lightfoot (1675), one of the best Christian scholars on Judaism, discusses on this verse the offering of water from Siloam during the Feast of Booths (our Pentecost). The offering of water was a foreshadowing of the fountain of living waters prophesied to come. In addition to the references above, the Old Testament prophecy was a collection of verses such as Psalms 36:8-9, Isaiah 44:3-4, and Joel 2:23. In John 7:38, Christ is alluding to the ritual during the Feast of Booths and reciting Old Testament prophecy of the gift of the Holy Spirit to come.
That the Pharisees, scribes, rulers, and Jews did not make the connection Christ brings to mind signifies just how lost and hard-hearted they were. They knew the law and prophets, yet did not connect the dots. This is apparently because of their blindness and darkness, which was only made worse when Christ exposed the dullness of their hearts and righteousness by works. Instead of repenting, they sought to kill Christ, which only cemented their blindness and hardened their hearts. They brought judgment upon themselves for their refusal to believe.
We know that this happened because they would not even listen to the voice of reason. Nicodemus re-appears in verses 50-51 to appeal to the need for a trial before condemning Christ to death. He was dismissed.
The source of the fountain of living water is God alone. In our review of chapter 3, we looked at Christ’s reference to Isaiah 44:3 and Ezekiel 36:25-27 (see also Ezekiel 47:1-12). The Old Testament looked forward to a day when God would pour out His Spirit upon the people. Proverbs 1:23, Joel 2:28 With God as the source of fountains of living water, we become a channel and a conduit for living water through baptism by fire in the Holy Spirit and the new nature imparted to us, which enables us to live unto righteousness. When our lives embody the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25), God’s fountain of living water flows through us to a parched world. See Song of Solomon 4:15 and 1 Corinthians 10:4.
We can also bring to mind water flowing from a rock in the wilderness (Psalm 78:15-16). God is the source of living water. It is sustenance and grace to make us complete in Christ and complete the tasks He lays before us, until we enter through the gates of heaven. Even there, fountains of living water will flow eternally. Revelation 22:1 In the wilderness, God had greater tasks in mind for the people, including stamping out evil and expanding righteousness throughout the world (evangelism).
Thus, we can understand that the fountain of living water, which has its source in God, is not only a reference to God pouring out His Spirit upon the people (marked by Pentecost and foreshadowed by the Feast of Booths), it is a form of evangelism and blessing to the world as well. Living water makes us whole, complete, perfect, and purified. Living water flowing through us is a blessing to the world.
Considering now that the Pharisees, scribes, and rulers hated Christ for healing on the Sabbath, we can understand that they could not be a vessel of living water to the world. Their refusal to be a conduit of the Holy Spirit into the world became the very basis for the crucifixion.
Christ refers to the man made whole on the Sabbath and by this is highlighting that living waters were not flowing from the innermost being of the Jews to the crippled man. Instead, their condemnation of Christ for breaking Sabbath laws exposed their self-righteousness and self-deception.
I know people who follow strict regulations to which they ascribe righteousness and salvation. Those same people would defraud another person or mistreat store employees if something does not go right. This was also the whole problem in Gnosticism, and the problem is perpetuated in double predestination and eternal security. If we are saved and safe in Christ according to our own estimation, then a multitude of unrighteous behavior is excused. This is the same issue Christ exposes in John 7. Living water flows from our innermost being only when the Holy Spirit has complete control over our hearts and bodies – motives, words, and actions.
We know that we are controlled by the Holy Spirit when our lives reflect the fruit of the Spirit. The majority of people I have known to live in Christian perfection express such humility at the mountains of progress they still need to make. The more the light of Christ shines upon our hearts, the more we see just how undone we are.
The less the light of Christ shines upon our hearts the more we deceive ourselves into believing that our self-righteousness secures us eternally.
The same fate Christ exposes in John 7 need not be so for us. See Hebrews 6:6, where the writer refers to crucifying Christ yet again by our sin after once believing on Christ. “O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” Psalm 34:8
Give your hearts over to the Holy Spirit. Surrender to the baptism by fire. Allow the Refiner’s fire to purge the sin and dross from your hearts. Abandon all self-righteousness and self-deception. Then, see how the Holy Spirit will make you a blessing to the world around you.
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