“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”John 7:37b-38
Jesus has returned to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, it is six months before His death. The previous time He was in Jerusalem He healed a man on the sabbath, upsetting the Pharisees that perceived this to be a grievous insult to Jewish law. The Jewish authority had already begun plans to kill Jesus.
The feast, or holiday, was a seven day event celebrating the end of harvest. It comes in September/October on our modern day calendars. In this scripture the Pharisees had just led the ritual of water drawing from the pool of Siloam. In the ceremony, water is offered to God as a sacrifice. So when Jesus says that He is Living Water, He is drawing attention to a personal, active God, not a god impressed with empty gestures.
A final note: Some living things need oxygen while others breath carbon dioxide. God designed our planet beautifully for this exchange of breath, but regardless of our breathing needs, we are common in our dependance on water! The Bible speaks often of Jesus being the Living Water. He is a reviving, transforming spring and you cannot LIVE without Him.
Have a Great Monday!
Gretchen