Coptic Orthodox Answers

In name of Father and Son, the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.

Welcome to Coptic Orthodox Answers Deep Dive. We are studying together the Gospel of John. We are at chapter 7. We saw the last couple of times how Christ did not want to go to the Feast of Tabernacles from the beginning, because He wanted to avoid performing miracles. He had rather went in the middle and taught. At the same time, the Jews that lived in Jerusalem wanted to kill Him, because He has made Himself equal to the Father, and also He had healed on the Sabbath. Today, we'll complete chapter 7, God willing.

So verse 37 says:

'' 37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ''If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.'' '' (John 7:37)

So, you know, this Feast of Tabernacles lasts 7 days. Some say that the Jews extended the feast to an 8 th day and that was potentially the 8 th day. And on that 8 th day, they had a water ceremonial, which I will explain in a few minutes. So here, before we get to the detail of this ritual, we find that Christ stood and cried out. The standard posture at the time for the Jews was actually sitting down when they spoke. So, the fact that He stood up and He cried out is an emphasis of the importance and seriousness of the message that Christ is about to say.

Maybe I can tackle the ritual portion right now without too much detail not to bore you. So, the Jews were divided into three groups: one would stay at the temple; a second group would go and collect branches to adorn in the altar; and the third group would follow a priest. This priest would have a golden goblet in his hand and he would walk all the way to the pool of Siloam. He would gather some water and come back at the temple in the courts of the priest and he would pour that water into a silver funnel. At this point, he would have other priests accompanying him and each one of them would have some wine. And as soon as he would pour the water, a chorus would chant a few psalms.

If you noticed, the main character in this ritual is the priest carrying the water and the central focus is the pouring of the water in that servile funnel. And as the priest is doing this or about to do this, Christ stands and cries out and says: If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.

Here, Christ wants to draw a parallel between the Old Testament and Himself or the One Trinitarian God. In the same way, He drew a parallel between the manna and Himself, being the true bread that came down from heaven that truly gives life. He does the same here, because they are in the Feast of Tabernacles, which is a commemoration of the 40 years in

the wilderness where and when they drank from the water from the rock. And Christ is pretty much saying here: I will give you this water; I am this rock; this water is the Holy Spirit. Therefore, He's using this ritual that is currently happening in front of their eyes to draw them from Judaism to Christianity to explain to them that I will send you the Holy Spirit who will abide in you and if you have the Holy Spirit in you, you will never thirst again.

Unfortunately, this message is somewhat weakened for us today, because we have tap water accessible for us at all times in our homes. But we have to go back to their background to understand how they lived. And when we do this, we understand that this message was extremely powerful for them, because it was a heavy burden for them to walk maybe, you know, during the heat of the day or in the morning or in the evening to go to the well and take this water, it was heavy burden for them. So, when they hear someone saying you will never thirst again, the message is much more powerful.

At the same time, there's a spiritual message for us here. We all thirst for something and God is obviously that spiritual water. We might be thirsting for truth, for spirituality, for purpose, for true life, for true love, for true joy. Whatever we are thirsting for, let us draw back to God. He is the one and only answer.

Then, verse 38, He says:

38 ''He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'' (John 7:38)

Here the Scripture He's referencing is obviously portions of the Old Testament. You can go read it if you want: there's Isaiah 44:3, Isaiah 58:11, Ezekiel 47:1-12, Joel 3:18. So, referencing the Scripture, here, the Old Testament, He said: Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. So here, He's talking about the ones that would follow Him: Christians. When they follow Him, He will give them His Holy Spirit, and therefore, we become a source of living water to others as well.

'' 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.'' (John 7:39)

So here, St. John is speaking at the end of the 1 st century, right?, after, you know, the events have developed, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the Ascension and so on, and the givin' of the Holy Spirit and Pentecost, and he's describing or he's pretty much saying what is it that God meant when He said all of these things. And notice, he says: For the Holy Spirit was not yet given. So, nobody had the Holy Spirit at that time yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified. So, the salvific work was not achieved completely for us to have been given the Holy Spirit at that point in time when Christ was speaking.

Verse 40:

'' 40 Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, ''Truly this is the Prophet.'' (John 7:40)

Prophet here probably comes from Deuteronomy 18:15 where the Jews had an understanding that a certain prophet would come and he's somewhat related to the messianic, you know, person, whomever that is. They weren't very sure who he was and what he would do. So, they had this mysterious person that they called the prophet.

'' 41 Others said, ''This is the Christ.'' But some said, ''Will the Christ come out of Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?'' (John 7:41-42)

Obviously, as you know, Christ is born in Bethlehem. However, He was raised in Nazareth, in Galilee, in the province of Galilee, and that is causing confusion to some.

'' 43 So there was a division among the people because of Him. 44 Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.'' (John 7:43-44)

So, we can see here that there is division. And if you notice, the division always comes from a lack of understanding or a lack of knowledge, or it comes from the current state of the heart, meaning for some people, what they see and what they hear is enough for them to understand that He is the truth, He is the Messiah, because their heart is ready for that. For others, regardless of what happens, they still will not accept. Maybe the truth is too costy for them or maybe it's simply a lack of knowledge. And therefore, we always have the right, and not only the right, but we have the responsibility to know our faith and to live our faith and to teach our faith.

Notice how St. John does not mention where Christ is actually born and the reason for this is that he's writing at the end of the 1 st century and therefore, he knows that the people already understand where He is born through the synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke.

Moving on to verse 45:

'' 45 Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, ''Why have you not brought Him?'' 46 The officers answered, ''No man ever spoke like this Man!'' '' (John 7:45-46)

So here, the Pharisees and chief priests sent the officers to arrest Christ. But as Christ was speaking, He's always surrounded, obviously, by a crowd and He speaks for hours at a time. So, understanding that the Middle-Eastern crowds are very prone, you know, or very ready for a riot at any time, and generally speaking, they're quite vocal, the officers were wise in waiting until the Christ... the crowd dispersed after Christ finished His sermon for them to

arrest Him. But what happens is that as they're listening, they're convicted by the words that He's mentioning and therefore, they're not able to arrest Him. So then, they say: The officers answered, ''No man ever spoke like this Man!''

'' 47 Then the Pharisees answered them, ''Are you also deceived? 48 Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? 49 But this crowd (...) does not know the law is accursed.'' '' (John 7:47-49)

There's a nice point to consider here. These officers could've lied to the Pharisees and chief priests, but they chose not to. They could've blamed it on the crowd, but they chose not to. They were very truthful and honest, and therefore, they were convicted by the words of Christ.

So St. John, in this chapter, he contrasts that specific group with the former Jews earlier in the chapter that heard similar words, yet their reaction was to take Christ and to kill Him. And therefore, we understand that different groups or different people react to the words of Christ differently, depending on the state of their hearts.

Now going back to verse 47 and 48... It says:

'' 47 Then the Pharisees answered them, ''Are you also deceived? 48 Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?'' '' (John 7:47-48)

Notice here the pride and the self-confidence: they become their own standard. And because of this, although the truth is right there in front of them, they cannot recognize Him. Pride is truly a poison that leads to destruction. Avoid it.

Verse 50:

'' 50 Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, 51 ''Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?'' '' (John 7:50-51)

Obviously, it required much courage for Nicodemus to say these words, to stand up, you know, for Christ, and therefore, he teaches us, as Christians today, to stand up for the truth, regardless of the costs.

'' 52 They answered and said to him, ''Are you also from Galilee?...'' '' (John 7:52)

This is pretty much an insult. And notice their response, because what he's saying is true; what he's saying is actually from the Old Testament law. But their response is insult and therefore, St. John wants to demonstrate that the Pharisees did not care about the truth. They cared about themselves and their status. And therefore, they're insulting Nicodemus, because to them, Galilee was a second-class province, if you will.

'' 52 ...Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee. 53 And everyone went to his own house.'' (John 7:52-53)

Remember: Know your faith, live your faith, and teach your faith. And glory be to God forever and ever. Amen.

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Remember: Know your faith, live your faith, and teach your faith.