Lent 2023: John 7:37-53

The Promise of the Spirit

37 On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” 39 He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The People Are Divided over Jesus

40 When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, “This truly is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some said, “Surely the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? 42 Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Messiah comes from David’s offspring and from the town of Bethlehem, where David lived?” 43 So the crowd was divided because of him. 44 Some of them wanted to seize him, but no one laid hands on him.

Debate over Jesus’s Claims

45 Then the servants came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him?”

46 The servants answered, “No man ever spoke like this!”

47 Then the Pharisees responded to them, “Are you fooled too? 48 Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd, which doesn’t know the law, is accursed.”

50 Nicodemus—the one who came to him previously and who was one of them—said to them, 51 “Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it?”

52 “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you?” they replied. “Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

53 Then each one went to his house.

—John 7:37-54

Read & Journal

Read John 7:37-53, which took place during the Festival of Shelters, a festival that commemorated the time when the Israelites wandered in the desert and lived in shelters. Dig deeper into the passage with these journal prompts:

• What does this passage teach you about Jesus? His character? His purpose?

• Who is Jesus interacting with in this passage? What do those interactions reveal about him or his character?

• During the Festival of Shelters, the Jewish religious leaders took part in a water ceremony and led the people in prayers for rain. For seven days, the priest would bring a pitcher of water to the altar, and on the final day, the ceremony was repeated seven times as the Jews were remembered how God had eased their thirst in the desert. Knowing this, what was Jesus saying when he invited all who were thirsty to come to him?

• Jesus declared that he was the source of living water and the fulfillment of the ceremony. Why was that something that would have angered the Pharisees?

• The Pharisees thought they had the exclusive rights to the truth, and they resisted Jesus because he didn’t fit into their understanding of the truth. When have you discounted people or situations because they didn’t meet your picture of how God should work? What have those instances taught you?

• To the Jewish religious leaders, the Kingdom of God was for an elite few, and Jesus was offering it to everyone. When it comes to the gospel, which are you more like? Why?

• Jesus said that the living water was the Holy Spirit, which he would give to all who believed. Spend some time in prayer today, thanking God for specific ways the Holy Spirit has been a source of hope and joy throughout your life.