7:39 - 8:11 The gift of the Spirit

March 10, 2021

Read John 7:39 - 8:11

How do we receive the living water which Jesus promises (7:38-39)? He says, “Come to me and drink”. To believe in Jesus is to come to him, and the one who comes to him and believes in him “will never go hungry… will never be thirsty” (6:35). The source of this heavenly supply is the Holy Spirit, as John now makes clear (39). It was on the cross that Jesus was glorified (12:23-24), for it was through his death that his saving work would be completed and the Spirit would be given to – and received by – all who believed in Jesus (Ezek.36:25-27; Zech.14:8; Acts 2:38-39).

Once again, Jesus’s words caused a mixed reaction among the listeners at the Feast, with many people wondering if he might be the Christ (40-44; 7:30-31). The biggest stumbling block was that they thought Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, not Bethlehem, the proper birthplace for the Messiah (42). This is another example of the irony that John likes to use, by which an objection is made that he does not answer because he knows that his readers already understand that the basis of that objection is in fact incorrect (6:42; 7:27; 7:35).

At the same time, many were impressed by Jesus, including the temple guards who had been sent to arrest him, to the annoyance of their masters (45-47; 7:32)! The Pharisees were smug in the assurance that no one significant had believed in Jesus (48-49) but John reminds us that Nicodemus, though still not openly committed, was at least interested and sympathetic (50-51; 3:1). The Pharisees, like many of the crowd, dismissed Jesus because “a prophet does not come out of Galilee” (41, 52). In fact, the prophet Jonah had come from Gath Hepher near Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25). Prejudice closed their hearts to believing in Jesus.

(Note: The lovely story in 7:53-8:11 is recognised as an authentic incident from the life of Jesus. But it is not included in any of the earliest manuscripts of John’s gospel. Because it was added there later, the continuity of thought between John 7 & 8 is easily missed.)