John 7 - NIV First Century Study Bible

7:1–24 The Festival of Tabernacles (Hebrew sukkot). The Jewish people lived in temporary structures or booths during this eight-day festival as they remembered the wilderness wanderings and celebrated the fall harvest (see Lev 23:33–43). The Mishnah records that during the festival a chosen priest would proceed to the Pool of Siloam with a golden pitcher, draw water from the pool and return to the temple. Wine, together with the drawn water, was poured on the altar while praying, “Save us now . . . bring us prosperity.” The people would follow the priestly procession while singing the Songs of hallel (Ps 113–118) and then beat their palm branches on the ground in the temple. (Mishnah Sukkah 4:5–5:8.) According to Zechariah, God will one day call all nations to worship him during the Festival of Tabernacles—and those who refuse will receive no rain (see Zec 14:16–18). During the first century ad, the festival had Messianic overtones. The Zealots minted coins with palm branches as a symbol of their resistance to Roman occupation.

7:15 Without having been taught. This is an interesting window into how Jesus was perceived by his contemporaries—especially in Jerusalem, where studying with a highly regarded sage or rabbi would have given Jesus more credibility.

7:37 Last and greatest day. During the sacred procession of water, the priest marched around the altar seven times on the final day of the festival. The Mishnah and Josephus record how the light from giant menorahs in the temple flooded the city streets of Jerusalem. As the Torah commanded, the people celebrated joyfully (see Dt 16:14). “Men of piety and good works used to dance before them with burning torches in their hands, singing songs and praises. And countless Levites [played] . . . instruments of music.” (Ibid., 5:4.) On such a day, with all the ritual, praise and celebration, Jesus announced that he could provide the source of “living water.” Jesus may have been alluding to Zec 14:8, where Zechariah predicted, “Living water will flow out from Jerusalem.” Or perhaps Jesus was referring to the story of Moses drawing water from the rock (see Nu 20).

7:38 From within them. This literally reads “from the belly,” the center of being in the ancient mind. The Dead Sea Scrolls directly connect God’s Spirit with water: God “will cleanse him [the righteous] of all wicked deeds . . . like purifying waters He will shed upon him the spirit of truth.” (Dead Sea Scrolls, 1QS 4:20–21.) In rabbinic literature, water is a symbol for wisdom, an aspect of God’s Spirit. Rabbi Akiva said, “The disciple who is beginning can give only water it has received; the more advanced disciple is a spring giving living water.” (Quoted in Brown, John I–XII, 29:321.) Believers who drink from Jesus’ well will have the Spirit of God flowing out from them. The Greek is somewhat ambiguous as to whether Jesus is the source of this water or if the believer is the source (having drunk from the well). The Gospel of Thomas reads, “Jesus said to them: ‘I am not your teacher. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring that I have tended.’ ” (Gospel of Thomas, 13.) In this view, Jesus was saying believers have the same access to the Spirit—to God as the source of all life—as he does.