João 7
Marvin Vincent · Citado em PreceptAustin
João 7
Vincent explains "(theoreo) was more than simple seeing. The verb means looking steadfastly, as one who has an interest in the object, and with a view to search into and understand it: to look inquiringly and intently. (Ed Note: And even with a sense of amazement.) Theoreo in John - Jn. 2:23; Jn. 4:19; Jn. 6:19; Jn. 6:40; Jn. 6:62; Jn. 7:3; Jn. 8:51; Jn. 9:8; Jn. 10:12; Jn. 12:19; Jn. 12:45; Jn. 14:17; Jn. 14:19; Jn. 16:10; Jn. 17:24; Jn. 20:6; Jn. 20:12; Jn. 20:14 John 7:4 "For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." BGT John 7:4 οὐδεὶς γάρ τι ἐν κρυπτῷ ποιεῖ καὶ ζητεῖ αὐτὸς ἐν παρρησίᾳ εἶναι. εἰ ταῦτα ποιεῖς, φανέρωσον σεαυτὸν τῷ κόσμῳ. KJV John 7:4 For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. NET John 7:4 For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself does anything in secret. If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." CSB John 7:4 For no one does anything in secret while he's seeking public recognition. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." ESV John 7:4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world." NIV John 7:4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." NLT John 7:4 You can't become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!" NRS John 7:4 for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show yourself to the world." NJB John 7:4 no one who wants to be publicly known acts in secret; if this is what you are doing, you should reveal yourself to the world.' NAB John 7:4 No one works in secret if he wants to be known publicly. If you do these things, manifest yourself to the world." YLT John 7:4 for no one in secret doth anything, and himself seeketh to be in public; if thou dost these things -- manifest thyself to the world;' GWN John 7:4 No one does things secretly when he wants to be known publicly. If you do these things, you should let the world see you." there: Pr 18:1,2 Mt 6:1,2,5,16 23:5 Lu 6:45 show: John 18:20 1Ki 22:13 Mt 4:6 Ac 2:4-12 John 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries TO BE WELL KNOWN EXPOSE YOURSELF! For (gar) - What is this term of explanation explaining? Do we see a subtle attempt by the brothers to put a bit of a "guilt trip" on Jesus? Brian Bell says that "They try to double-dog-dare Him to go down! [Anybody have older brother's...ok then!]" No one (oudeis - absolutely no one) does anything in secret (kruptos) when he himself seeks (zeteo) to be known publicly - Jesus was not seeking to be know publicly but personally, as people's personal Savior (His purpose = Lk 19:10+). One writer said that “Public” was considered anything in the presence of ten Israelites. The Living Bible paraphrases it "You can’t be famous when you hide like this! If you’re so great, prove it to the world!" F F Bruce - “It was widely believed that when the Messiah came he would make himself publicly known in some spectacular way.” (Borrow The Gospel of John) If You do these things, show (aorist imperative - manifest) Yourself to the world - If introduces a first class conditional statement, one which is assumed to be true (He did do miracles). Jesus' brothers give Jesus another command to do this now! If they only had understood to Whom they were issuing these commands! Jesus however would not be manipulated by man's opinions and wisdom (Jas 3:15-16+). Guzik -Jesus’ brothers told Him to prove Himself the Messiah on a bigger platform, Jerusalem – the center of Judaism. Tasker points out that Jesus' brothers " imagined His glory to be limited to demonstrations of His miraculous powers, whereas in reality it could only be supremely displayed by His crucifixion.” (Borrow The Gospel according to St. John : an introduction and commentary) Warren Wiersbe on the advice of Jesus' half-brothers - These men certainly had the world's point of view: if you want to get a following, use your opportunities to do something spectacular. Jerusalem would be crowded with pilgrims and this would give Jesus the ideal "platform" to present Himself and win disciples. No doubt the brothers knew that the multitude of disciples had deserted Jesus (John 6:66). This was His opportunity to recoup His losses. Satan had offered a similar suggestion three years before (Matt. 4:1ff). Jesus had already turned down the crowd's offer to make Him King (John 6:15), and He was not about to yield to them in any way. Celebrities might ride to success on the applause of the crowd, but God's servants know better. By doing miracles during the feast, at the "official city," Jesus could muster a crowd, reveal Himself as Messiah, and overcome the enemy. The suggestion, of course, came from hearts and minds blinded by unbelief. (Borrow The Bible Exposition Commentary) THOUGHT - Sometimes when you are right with God, you will have to ignore suggestions from those who aren’t, even in your own family. John 7:5 For not even His brothers were believing in Him. BGT John 7:5 οὐδὲ γὰρ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπίστευον εἰς αὐτόν. KJV John 7:5 For neither did his brethren believe in him. NET John 7:5 (For not even his own brothers believed in him.) CSB John 7:5 (For not even His brothers believed in Him.) ESV John 7:5 For not even his brothers believed in him. NIV John 7:5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him. NLT John 7:5 For even his brothers didn't believe in him. NRS John 7:5 (For not even his brothers believed in him.) NJB John 7:5 Not even his brothers had faith in him. NAB John 7:5 For his brothers did not believe in him. YLT John 7:5 for not even were his brethren believing in him. GWN John 7:5 Even his brothers didn't believe in him. John 1:11-13 Mic 7:5-6 Mk 3:21 John 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: John 1:11-13+ He came to His own (IN THE PRESENT CONTEXT, HIS OWN KIN), and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. Mark 3:21+ (NOT ONLY UNBELIEF BUT THOUGHT JESUS HAD LOST HIS MIND) When His own people (WHICH WOULD INCLUDE HIS BROTHERS) heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.” Mk 3:31-34 Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” 33 Answering them, He *said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He *said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! UNBELIEVING BROTHERS OF JESUS For (gar) - What is this term of explanation explaining? This explains why His brothers addressed Him the way they did in the previous passages. (Ouk = Absolutely) Not even His brothers were believing (pisteuo) in Him - They "believed" in His miracles, but not in His claim to be the Messiah Who would save souls from hell. In fact, even the hostile Jewish leaders did not dispute His miracles. How could they. Lame men were walking. Deaf men were talking. Demonic possessed men were now in their right mind. This ironic twist of unbelieving brothers of Jesus had been prophesied in Ps 69:8 "I have become estranged from my brothers and an alien to my mother’s sons." This is amazing for the brothers even saw the "miracle" of His perfect obedience to His parents, something that at the very least must have frustrated them. His brothers did come to believe in Him after the resurrection (see Acts 1:14+; 1Co 15:7+) THOUGHT - Don't be surprised that sometimes the most difficult people to convince concerning the Truth of God are your own family members. One other poignant lesson is that you can grow up in a Christian home and go to church every week and even know a lot about Jesus, but not personally believe in Him as your Savior and Lord. I spoke to a man named David this morning and asked if he was a believer to which he replied "Yes. I have gone through confirmation and been baptized." When I ask him if he was "in the Word" regularly, he was startled and confused, because he had no concept of reading the Word of God regularly. After a few more minutes of conversation about belief in Jesus as the only way to eternal life, he became uncomfortable and was crystal clear that he knew ABOUT Jesus, but sadly he did not truly KNOW Jesus (cf Mt 7:23+). Warren
João 7
Vincent - The word koilia is often used in the Old Testament for the innermost part of a man, the soul or heart. See Job 15:35; 32:19; Proverbs 18:8; 20:27, 30. The rite of drawing and pouring out the water pointed back to the smitten rock in the desert. In Exodus 17:6+, "there shall come water out of it," is literally, "there shall come water from within him." The word belly here means the inmost heart of the believer, which pours forth spiritual refreshment. Compare 1 Corinthians 10:4; John 4:14. Water (5204)(hudor) often describes literal water (in rivers, in fountains, in pools, in the flood, in any of the earth's repositories, as the primary element, out of and through which the world that was before the deluge, arose and was compacted, of the waves of the sea) in Mt 3:11; Mk 9:41; 14:13; Jn 5:3, 7; Heb 10:22; 2 Pet 3:5 ; Rev 1:15. In other passages hudor is used figuratively (see Dictionary of Biblical Imagery below) -- water in Jn 4:10-11, 14; 7:38; Rev 7:17; Ref 21:6; 22:1, 17. In John 19:34+ "blood and water came out" indicated that Jesus' blood had coagulated, with the heavier blood coming out first and then the more watery serum - the red cells settle to the bottom, leaving the cell free serum on the top (I'm a pathologist). Gives us English words like hydrant. Friberg - water; (1) literally, as a physical element used for drinking ( Mk 9.41) and cleansing (Lk 7.44); found in springs (Jas 3.12), wells (Jn 4.7), rivers (Rev 16.12), pools (Jn 5.7), lakes ( Mt 14.28), seas (Rev 14.2), floods (2Pe 3.6); (2) used symbolically in baptism (Mt 3.11), ceremonial washings (Jn 13.5; cf. Mk 7.3-4); (3) used metaphorically; (a) to represent spiritual realities living water, i.e. what gives eternal life (Jn 4.10; cf. Jn 10.14); (b) plural, to represent the many peoples of the earth (Rev 17.15) (BORROW Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament) Gilbrant - Old Testament Background - From the very outset of Israel’s history water played an important part in the life of the people. Water, being a mainstay of existence, was easily adopted to describe in figurative terms need, dependency, and existence. Thus in the patriarchal narratives we read of the digging of wells (Genesis 21:25,30; 26:15,18) whose supply proved mandatory in the arid regions of the Middle East. During the wilderness journeyings Israel received water in a miraculous way (Exodus 17:5f.). This became a fundamental example of God’s faithfulness throughout the history of Israel (e.g., Deuteronomy 8:15f.; Psalm 78:14f.). Its recollection evoked praise and thanksgiving (Psalms 42:7,8; 74:15). After Israel entered the Promised Land the people began to depend upon regular rainfall. In contrast to Egypt, whose primary source of water was irrigation of the Nile, Canaan was a land that “drinketh water of the rain of heaven” (Deuteronomy 11:10,11). The requirement of regular rainfall was met when Israel obeyed the commands of the Lord (Deuteronomy 11:13-15). If the people worshiped other gods, the Lord withheld rain from the land (verses 16,17; cf. Deuteronomy 28:12; 1 Kings 17:1; Isaiah 3:1; Jeremiah 5:23,24; Ezekiel 4:16,17; Amos 4:7,8). Water is often mentioned in conjunction with bread as one of the essentials for the maintenance of life (Genesis 21:14; Proverbs 25:21; Ezekiel 4:17). Prophecies concerning the end time speak of the abundant rains that will drench the land and make the desert into a garden rich in water. Here the literal and figurative meanings overlap. The Messianic Age will usher in material and spiritual blessing (Isaiah 32:15 combines the outpouring of the Spirit from on high with the fact that the desert will become fertile soil; see also Isaiah 12:3; 30:22-25; 35:1,6,7; 41:17-20; 44:3,4; 49:10; 58:11; Jeremiah 31:9,12; Ezekiel 36:25-27; 47:1-12; Joel 3:18; Zechariah 14:8; cf. Numbers 24:5-7). Water also played an important role in the cultic practices of Israel. Exodus 29:4 notes that the sons of Aaron were to wash before entering the tabernacle. Water was used in leprosy cleansings (Leviticus 14:2-9). Leviticus 8:6,7 refers to a “water of cleansing” used to set apart the Levites. Water was even used as a drink offering (1 Samuel 7:6; 2 Samuel 23:14-17). Water’s power and violent capabilities often form images in the Old Testament. It may symbolize God’s power, His judgment or wrath, or as a broad symbol it may represent disaster and distress (Genesis 49:4; Isaiah 59:19; Psalm 69:2,3; Isaiah 30:20, etc.). New Testament Usage - Thus, the background for the New Testament understanding and usage of hudōr more closely follows the Old Testament usage (over 450 times in the Septuagint) than that of secular Greek. In the New Testament there are about 80 instances of hudōr; of these, more than half occur in the writings of John (24 in his Gospel, 18 in Revelation). Both the literal and figurative understandings are attested in the New Testament. Many instances of hudōr, both literal and figurative, occur in religious contexts in the New Testament. John the Baptist baptized “in water”; similarly, early and later Christian baptism took place in water (e.g., John 1:26; Acts 8:36-38; 1 Peter 3:20,21). Jesus’ first miracle recorded in John’s Gospel involved changing water into wine (John 2:7f.). The person giving a cup of cold water to a follower of Jesus will not lose his reward (Mark 9:41). As Jesus conversed with the Samaritan woman He told her of the “living water” that He came to give. This was unlike mere “water” of the kind she drew from Jacob’s well (John 4:10f.). The water Jesus gives is a fountain springing up in the one who believes. On the last, great day of the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus stood up and cried out that any who were thirsty should come to Him and drink. From the one believing in Him (some interpret this as meaning that from Jesus himself) would flow streams of living water (John 7:37,38). On the first 7 days of the Feast of Tabernacles, water was poured into a bowl beside the altar. This water symbolized the water which God had provided the Israelites in the past (particularly the water from the rock in the desert). It also represented a prayer for rain for the next year (Morris, The New International Commentary, 4:420). John notes that Jesus made His proclamation on the last (eighth) day of the feast, on which (see Morris, p.422) no water was poured. Thus Jesus’ exhortation is that much more significant. At a time when the people were concerned for their health, Jesus turned their attention to the emptiness of their souls and offered the Holy Spirit, the “living water.” The imagery comes from the rock in the desert out of which flowed life-giving water. The believer, filled with the Spirit, not only finds complete satisfaction for his own soul, but becomes a source of life for all those around him. The turning of water into a bitter and poisonous drink is among the most severe of the judgments of the last days (Revelation 8:10,11). But those who remain faithful until the end will drink of the waters of the fountain of life—freely! (Revelation 21:6; 22:17). The river of life’s clear waters flow from “the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1f.). (Complete Biblical Library) Hudor - 76x/67v - Matt. 3:11; Matt. 3:16; Matt. 8:32; Matt. 14:28; Matt. 14:29; Matt. 17:15; Matt. 27:24; Mk. 1:8; Mk. 1:10; Mk. 9:22; Mk. 9:41; Mk. 14:13; Lk. 3:16; Lk. 7:44; Lk. 8:25; Lk. 16:24; Lk. 22:10; Jn. 1:26; Jn. 1:31; Jn. 1:33; Jn. 2:7; Jn. 2:9; Jn. 3:5; Jn. 3:23; Jn. 4:7; Jn. 4:10; Jn. 4:13; Jn. 4:14; Jn. 4:15; Jn. 4:46; Jn. 5:3; Jn. 5:4; Jn. 5:7; Jn. 7:38; Jn. 13:5; Jn. 19:34; Acts 1:5; Acts 8:36; Acts 8:38; Acts 8:39; Acts 10:47; Acts 11:16; Eph. 5:26; Heb. 9:19; Heb. 10:22; Jas. 3:12; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 3:5; 2 Pet. 3:6; 1 Jn. 5:6; 1 Jn. 5:8; Rev. 1:15; Rev. 7:17; Rev. 8:10; Rev. 8:11; Rev. 11:6; Rev. 12:15; Rev. 14:2; Rev. 16:4; Rev. 16:5; Rev. 16:12; Rev. 17:1; Rev. 17:15; Rev. 19:6; Rev. 21:6; Rev. 22:1; Rev. 22:17 Hudor in Septuagint - Gen. 1:2,6-7,9-10,20-22; 6:17; 7:6-7,10,17-20,24; 8:1,3,5,7-9,11,13; 9:11,15; 16:7; 18:4; 21:14-15,19,25; 24:11,13,17,32,43; 26:18-20,32; 30:38; 37:24; 43:24; 49:4; Exod. 2:10; 4:9; 7:15,17ff,24; 8:6,20; 12:9; 14:21-22,26-29; 15:8,10,19,22,25,27; 17:1-3,6; 20:4; 23:25; 29:4,17; 30:18-21; 32:20; 34:28; 40:12; Lev. 1:9,13; 6:28; 8:6,21; 9:14; 11:9-10,12,32,34,36,38,40,46; 14:5-6,8-9,50-52; 15:5-8,10-13,16-18,21-22,27; 16:4,24,26,28; 17:15-16; 22:6; Num. 5:17-19,22-24,26-27; 8:7; 19:7,9,13,17ff; 20:2,5,8,10-11,13,17,19,24; 21:5,16,22; 24:6; 27:14; 31:23; 33:9,14; Deut. 2:6,28; 4:18; 5:8; 8:7,15; 9:9,18; 10:7; 11:4,11; 12:16,24; 14:9; 15:23; 23:4,11; 32:51; 33:8; Jos. 3:8,13,15-16; 4:18,23; 7:5; 11:5,7; 15:7,9; 18:15; Jdg. 1:15; 4:19; 5:4,19,25; 6:38; 7:4-6,24; 15:19; 1 Sam. 7:6; 9:11; 26:11-12,16; 30:11-12; 2 Sam. 5:20; 12:27; 14:14; 17:20-21; 21:10; 22:12,17; 23:15-16; 1 Ki. 12:24; 13:8-9,16-19,22-23; 17:4,6,10; 18:4-5,13,34-35,38,44; 19:6; 22:27; 2 Ki. 2:8,14,19,21-22; 3:9,11,17,19-20,22,25; 5:12; 6:5,22; 8:15; 18:31; 19:24; 20:20; 1 Chr. 11:17-18; 14:11; 2 Chr. 18:26; 32:3-4,30; Ezr. 10:6; Neh. 3:26; 8:1; 9:11,15,20; 12:37; 13:2; Est. 1:1; 10:3; Job 5:10; 8:11; 11:15; 12:15; 14:9,19; 22:7,11; 24:18; 26:5,8,10; 27:20; 28:25; 29:19; 34:7; 37:10; 38:30,34; 41:34; Ps. 1:3; 18:11,15-16; 22:14; 23:2; 29:3; 32:6; 33:7; 42:1; 46:3; 58:7; 65:9; 66:12; 69:1,14-15; 74:13; 77:16,19; 78:13,16,20; 79:3; 81:7; 88:17; 93:4; 104:3,6,10; 105:29,41; 106:11,32; 107:23,33,35; 109:18; 114:8; 119:136; 124:4-5; 136:6,16; 144:7; 147:18; 148:4; Prov. 5:15-16,18; 8:23; 9:17-18; 18:4; 20:5; 21:1; 25:25-26; 30:4,16; Eccl. 2:6; 11:1; Cant. 4:15; 5:12; 8:7; Isa. 1:22,30; 3:1; 5:13; 8:6-7; 11:9; 12:3; 15:6,9; 17:12-13; 18:2; 19:5-6; 21:14; 22:9,11; 23:3; 24:14; 28:2; 30:14,20,22,25,28,30; 32:2,20; 33:16; 35:6-7; 36:16; 37:25; 40:12; 41:17; 43:2,16,20; 44:3-4,12; 48:21; 49:10; 50:2; 51:10; 54:9; 55:1; 58:11; 63:12; Jer. 2:13,18,24; 6:7; 8:14; 9:1,15,18; 10:13; 13:1; 14:3; 15:18; 17:8; 18:14; 23:15; 31:9; 38:6; 41:12; 46:7-8; 47:2; 48:34; 50:38; 51:13,16,55; Lam. 1:16; 2:19; 3:48,54; Ezek. 1:24; 4:11,16-17; 12:18-19; 16:4,9; 17:5,8; 19:10; 24:3; 26:19; 27:26,34; 30:16; 31:4-5,7,14-16; 32:2,13-14; 34:18-19; 36:25; 47:1ff,8-9,12,19; 48:28; Dan. 12:7; Hos. 2:5; 5:10; 6:8; 10:7; 11:10; Joel 1:20; 3:18; Amos 4:8; 5:8,24; 8:11-12; 9:6; Jon. 2:5; 3:7; Mic. 1:4; 7:12; Nah. 1:12; 2:8; 3:8,14; Hab. 2:14; 3:10,15; Zech. 9:10-11; 14:8 Dictionary of Biblical Imagery - Water Because water is an element essential to life, its meaning and evocativeness are universal. Yet the significance of water was heightened for biblical writers, who lived in a region where water was scarce and drought (see Dry, Drought) a constant threat to life. Water figures in the Bible in three main ways—as a cosmic force that only God can control and govern, as a source of life, and as a cleansing agent. We can also detect a polarity at work in the six hundred biblical references to water: water can mean both life and death, blessing and affliction, order and chaos. Cosmic Waters. Water was important in the cosmology of the ancient world, where the sea was associated with the primal waters, or the waters of chaos, suggested in Genesis 1:2 by the term deep. The Hebrew word tehoïm here is etymologically related to the Tiamat, the name of the sea monster from whose carcass the world was carved according to the Babylonian cosmogony (see Cosmology). The Genesis account acknowledges no trace of resistance to God’s purpose from his materials, and one does not need to assume that the deep is a kind of reservoir of raw materials. Even so, biblical poetry makes occasional reference to a cosmic battle between God and the monster of the sea, or chaos, variously identified as Leviathan, Rahab, serpent and dragon (Ps 74:13-14; 89:10; Is 27:1). In the biblical vision the original creation and God’s continuing providential oversight of his world are presented in terms of the mastery of water by the divine word. The original creation has the creatures called into existence by divine fiat or utterance. This created order is preserved as God maintains the sea within bounds (Job 38:11) and so, by implication, restrains the background threat of chaos. Though storms may appear to threaten cosmic order, God is himself the Lord of the storm, with all the elements of nature, water in particular, firmly under his sovereign control (cf. Ps 29). Noah’s flood at several points reflects the ancient understanding of the cosmic waters. The flood is the return of the waters of chaos, with the creation in a sense undone, making way for the new creation—the world renewed after judgment and the preservation of righteous Noah with his family. In the references to the windows of heaven being opened and the fountains of the deep breaking forth (Gen 7:11), we are to understand that the waters of chaos encompass the created order, ordinarily restrained overhead by the crystalline dome of the firmament and sealed off underfoot by dry land. The rich ambiguity of the waters of chaos or the deep is apparent on other biblical occasions. The common background belief was that a great reservoir of primal water lay beneath the earth (indeed the conviction that the water cycle included such a central abyss of subterranean water, common to classical culture as well as the Near East, did not begin to fade in Europe until late in the seventeenth century). When Jacob blesses his sons on his deathbed, he assures Joseph of “the blessings of the deep that lies beneath” (Gen 49:25 NRSV, cited again in Deut 33:13). Here the deep is the grand reservoir of water that supplies the springs of surface water, including, presumably, even the fountain of Eden’s garden. This positive valence for the primal waters is assumed by the psalmist when sea monsters and all deeps are invited to praise the Creator (Ps 148:7). The injunction is also extended to the “waters above the heavens” (Ps 148:4 NRSV). The cosmic waters loom large in 2 Peter, a letter notable for its diversity of water imagery. The encouragement to believers stresses the divine word which has always ruled the waters of contingency and chaos. Scoffers foolishly ignore the fact that “by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished” (2 Pet 3:5-6 NRSV). Water in the Landscape of the Holy Land. The geography (or hydrology) of the Holy Land is rich with figurative significance. As a semiarid landscape with marginal rainfall in many sectors, the Holy Land is typified by careful exploitation of water both stored and free-flowing (“living”). The Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias), thirteen miles by eight at its maxima, lying in a heart-shaped bowl dating from volcanic activity in the Cenozoic era, is a fresh-water reservoir without which the culture of the area is scarcely imaginable. The Jordan River flows from its southern edge and nourishes the countryside all the way to the Dead Sea in Judea. The river is today the feeder for extensive drip-irrigation projects, which involve a technology shared by Israel with neighboring Jordan. Apart from the environs of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River, and a few fertile plains, the Holy Land is dependent on springs, wells and cisterns. The frequent experience of thirst and the anticipation of water (Ps 42:1-2), the need to husband water resources, the labor of drawing and carrying water, the contrast of fresh and long-stored water-all these are recurrent features of biblical experience. While strategically placed wells and springhouses could provide continually renewed water, cisterns captured and stored run-off water. The latter was usually used for livestock and domestic utilities. Jeremiah draws on this contrast to distinguish true worship from idolatry. The former acknowledges God as the fountain of living water, while the latter relies on one’s own cisterns, which in fact do not even hold water (Jer 2:13). Since the drawing of well water was a laborious task usually reserved for women, we are not surprised to learn that the Samaritan woman whom Jesus meets at Jacob’s well (see Well, Meeting at the) is responsive to Jesus' offer of a living water that carries the promise of being miraculously replenished (Jn 4). In the Israelites' wanderings in the wilderness, they made extensive use of famous springs such as the one at Kadesh-Barnea, and the victory at Jericho involved the capture of one of the great oases of the ancient Near East. Jericho may be the oldest city on the planet, twice as ancient as the pyramids of Egypt. Known from early times as a city of palm trees, it is situated well below sea level around a massive natural spring. When finally in possession of the city of Jerusalem, the Israelites undertook repeated and ingenious efforts to ensure adequate fresh water for the central fortress (Zion’s hill). The future providence that will eternally transcend such precarious dependency is celebrated by both Ezekiel and Zechariah in their prophecies that Zion and its temple will miraculously become water sources. Ezekiel even has the Dead Sea being freshened as living water from the city produces a paradise on earth: “Wherever the river goes every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes” (Ezek 47:9 NRSV). The striking images of fecundity, strongly reminiscent of the swarming waters described in Genesis 1, imply nothing less than a new creation, perpetually nourished out of Zion. When Zechariah adds to this picture the details that the miraculous fresh waters will flow west as well as east, we glimpse the promise that the great deeps (seas) of the whole earth will be freshened as part of the ultimate taming of nature by God’s providence. Water and Weather. Rains in the Holy Land are seasonal, with light rains coming in fall and spring and the bulk of the precipitation falling in the months of December through February. Summers are extremely dry. Rain is commonly seen by biblical writers as evidence of special providence, with the return of rains after a prolonged dry spell associated with God’s new advent and the withholding of rains a sign of divine displeasure (1 Kings 8:35; Amos 4:7). Hosea urges a diligent quest for God, certain that “he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth” (Hos 6:3 NRSV). The seasonal nature of the rains was in part responsible for the long-term seductiveness of Canaanite religion for the people of God. The Israelites arriving from the wilderness were nomadic herds people, while the resident Canaanites were experts in settled agriculture, an expertise couched in the practices of Baal-worship. In Canaanite myth Baal had vanquished the fractious power Sea-and-River and so became the dispenser of the tamed waters vital to agriculture. By the time of the exodus Baal was firmly established in Canaan as the god of the winter rains and storms and hence of the primary rainfalls of the countryside. In biblical faith the Lord of Israel was resolutely honored as the God of storms and rains (Ps 29; Jer 10:13; Zech 10:1), but the magical practices of Baal worshipers were a persisting temptation to the Israelites as they came late to settled agriculture. In the NT, Jesus discounts any strict equating of the supply of rain with people’s moral state. In keeping with the Sermon on the Mount’s stress on the fullness of providence—one that is primordial, continuing, responsive and perfecting of the recipient-Jesus urges his listeners to be unstinting in their love and giving, “so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he ... sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (Mt 5:45 NRSV). Waters of Affliction. Notwithstanding Jesus' words about the Father’s gracious supply of rain, in the OT it is common for divine judgment to involve the withholding of rain. God’s sovereignty over life and death is implicit as well in the allotting of the waters of affliction, ordinarily pictured as the destructive waters of the sea which threaten to inundate. God’s waves have gone over him, laments the psalmist (Ps 42:7). In one of the more vivid images of Scripture, Jonah describes from the whale’s belly how the waters have closed in over his head: “The deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped around my head at the roots of the mountains” (Jon 2:5-6 NRSV). Jonah of course experiences a kind of death, immersed as he is in the destructive element, which he identifies with Sheol or the grave (Jon 2:2). Yet in the Hebrew vision there are not separate powers which preside over life and death, as is the case with Egyptian, Greek and Roman pantheons. One God is Lord over all the powers. Isaiah presents the divine pronouncement, “I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things” (Is 45:7 NRSV). Included in the divine dispensation of water is the meting out of affliction and judgment. Ceremonial Water. In the holiness code of Israel, water was an essential means of cleansing, since defilement could come in a host of ways: through contact with the dead or with one of the body fluids, or by the eating of forbidden foods, or by contact with lepers. The Mosaic rituals prescribed in the Pentateuch are a veritable handbook of how to use water in washing food, utensils and clothing, as well as in bathing. Jesus' studied neglect of such rituals as washing before eating brought down on him the wrath of the Pharisees, whose earnest perfectionism found it easier to monitor externals than attitudes (Lk 11:37-41). Jesus' emphasis on the inclusiveness of the divine invitation created conflict with a code that stressed careful segregation and quarantines to avoid superficial contamination. Reflecting his attention to motives—the inward reality—Jesus asks, “Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?” (Lk 11:40 NRSV). Cleaning the outside is inadequate. The most significant form of ceremonial cleansing was of course baptism. Jesus' cousin John came out of the wilderness preaching a message of baptism unto repentance. In Christian baptism the immersion in water symbolizes both cleansing and a passage from death to life (Col 2:12). Perhaps the equation of descent into water with death is based on the premise of reversion to watery chaos (a form of dissolution) that precedes the new creation and new life (echoing the imagery of the creation story). Jesus tells Nicodemus that spiritual birth involves both water and the Spirit, implying a role for baptism and also for the explicit agency of the Holy Spirit. Jesus' words to Nicodemus imply a necessary conjunction of natural and supernatural, of physical water and the invisible work of God Himself cleansing the heart unto new life in the Spirit. Water and the Spirit. John 7 records the appearance of Jesus at the temple during the Feast of Tabernacles, an annual celebration that included the transportation of water over a period of seven days from the Pool of Siloam to the temple, in commemoration of the miraculous waters of Meribah provided in Israel’s wilderness experience (Num 20:2-13). Against the backdrop of that richly significant ritual, Jesus announces that anyone who is truly thirsty should come to him and drink (Jn 7:37). Moreover, believers in Jesus will find that rivers of living water will flow out of their own heart (Jn 7:38). This water, the writer is careful to explain, is the promised Holy Spirit. This passage draws on two strands of traditional symbolism. The first is of miraculous spring or fountain as a special providence for the community. The second is of inner fountain as the movement of God in the personal depths. Fresh (living) water is miraculously provided notably at the rock of Horeb, where Moses strikes the rock and taps into a spring. God supplies living water even though the murmuring Israelites have complained bitterly about the rigors of their exodus. The Sinai region, like much of Greece, is characterized by a layer of limestone that allows for underground water to issue in springs. If in Greek tradition springs became associated with the inspirations behind the arts, in Hebrew tradition springs issuing in the desert became the sign and symbol of special divine help for God’s wayfaring people. Isaiah, rejoicing in the prospect of the return from exile, presents God saying, “I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys ... so that all may see and know, all may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it” (Is 41:18, 20 NRSV). Characteristically, Isaiah sees the miracle-working power of God as one with his creative power, and this power creates and sustains an ever more inclusive community. Fountains and springs also provide a traditional language for the movement of God’s Spirit within the individual. The refreshment of one’s spirit, the surge of new strength, the impulse of joy are all evidences of God’s effectual presence. Isaiah offers the powerful assurance that those who pour themselves out for the hungry and afflicted will be satisfied with good things, with renewal of strength and joy: “The Lord will ... make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail” (Is 58:11 NRSV). The prophet had earlier conjoined new strength with God’s presence and salvation. The comforted ones will say, “The Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Is 12:2-3 NRSV). Spiritual life and inner fountain are also identified in Jesus' offer to the Samaritan woman: “The water that I give will become ... a spring of water gushing up to eternal life” (Jn 4:14 NRSV). The assurance in all this is that God’s Spirit within is experienced as a mysterious ever-renewed source, upwelling in fullness of life. Jesus as Lord of Waters. In the NT’s affirming of Jesus as Lord and Messiah, a notable claim is the ascription to him of the same divine power over water that the OT had reserved for God alone. In commanding the raging sea to be still (Lk 8:22-25), Jesus exercises a power akin to that displayed in the original taming of the waters of the deep, the power that later miraculously delivered the Israelites at the edge of the Red Sea. It is no wonder that the disciples ask, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?” (Lk 8:25 NRSV). John Milton reflects this equivalence in the creation scene of Paradise Lost when he has the preincarnate Son of God command the tempestuous chaos, “Silence, ye troubl’d waves, and thou Deep, peace” (8.216). A similar event is described in Matthew’s account of Jesus' walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee (Mt 14:22-33). After Jesus gets into the disciples' boat, the wind ceases, and they worship him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God” (Mt 14:33 NRSV). In a culture steeped in centuries of associating divinity with power over water, it was inevitable that Jesus' mastery of the element would imply divine status, including elements of omniscience. A minor miracle recorded by Matthew (Mt 17:24-27) suggests that Jesus has intimate knowledge of both the sea and its contents. When a coin is needed to pay the temple tax, Jesus gives instructions on catching a fish that will have the needed coin in its mouth. A more fully developed miracle implying mastery of water is descried by John at the close of his narrative. The risen Christ finds several of the disciples back at their fishing and prepares a charcoal fire on the shore. Jesus instructs them to cast their net on the right side of the boat, and the catch all but breaks the net. Here the sea is associated with bounty rather than with destruction and chaos, and the risen Christ knows and is free to dispense this bounty. In keeping with John’s emphasis on Jesus as the very wellspring of life and goodness, it is appropriate that Jesus provide a resurrection breakfast in the way he does. In John’s Revelation, Jesus is again closely associated with water. When John sees the exalted Christ standing among the seven golden lampstands, he hears a voice “like the sound of many waters” (Rev 1:15 NRSV). The simile suggests the mighty roar of confluent streams, but in this joining of utterance with the imagery of water a profound resolution is effected. Again and again in Scripture, word and water are in tension, with the divine word quelling and taming water. But just as the waters of the deep are tamed as they flow from the throne of God in the New Jerusalem as a resource for eternal life, so here the subliming of water is implicit in the voice of the heavenly Christ. His word forever vivifies, like life-giving streams. Summary. The richness and multiplicity of meanings inherent in the Bible’s imagery of water can be brought into focus if we simply catalog some of the most memorable references to water: the fertile waters that swarm with living creatures in the creation story (Gen 1:20-21); the stream that waters the face of the ground in Eden (Gen 2:6, 10); the flood of waters that destroys life in Noah’s time (Gen 7); the plain of the Jordan that “was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord,” which Lot chose (Gen 13:10 NRSV); Rebekah’s watering the camels of Abraham’s servant (Gen 24); the water of the Nile turned to blood (Ex 7); the Israelites' dry land passage through the Red Sea, in which the Egyptian army drowned (Ex 14); the miraculous water from a rock during Israel’s wilderness wanderings (Ex 17:6; Num 20:11); the streams of water that nourish the productive tree to which the godly person is compared (Ps 1:3); the evocative “still waters” of Psalm 23:2, the “deep waters” of the lament psalms (e.g., Ps 69:1-2, 14); God as cosmic gardener watering his creation (Ps 104:13-16); the stolen water of the temptress in Proverbs 9:17, the “cold water to a thirsty soul” to which good news from a far country is compared (Prov 25:25); drawing water from the wells of salvation (Is 12:3); the water gushing from the temple in Ezekiel’s vision (Ezek 47); Amos’s picture of justice rolling down “like waters”; and “righteousness like an everflowing stream” (Amos 5:24 NRSV). Add to these the cup of cold water offered in the name of a disciple (Mt 10:42); the “spring of water gushing up to eternal life” that Jesus offers to the woman at the well (Jn 4:14 NRSV); the contaminated water described in the apocalypse (Rev 8:10-11; 11:6); the “river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev 22:1 NRSV); the water of life that anyone who is thirsty may take as a gift (Rev 22:17). Dictionary of Biblical Imagery Oswald Chambers - The Far-Reaching Rivers of Life —John 7:38 A river reaches places which its source never knows. And Jesus said that, if we have received His fullness, “rivers of living water” will flow out of us, reaching in blessing even “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) regardless of how small the visible effects of our lives may appear to be. We have nothing to do with the outflow— “This is the work of God, that you believe…” (John 6:29). God rarely allows a person to see how great a blessing he is to others. A river is victoriously persistent, overcoming all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, but then comes to an obstacle. And for a while it is blocked, yet it soon makes a pathway around the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, only later to emerge again even broader and greater than ever. Do you see God using the lives of others, but an obstacle has come into your life and you do not seem to be of any use to God? Then keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you around the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never focus your eyes on the obstacle or the difficulty. The obstacle will be a matter of total indifference to the river that will flow steadily through you if you will simply remember to stay focused on the Source. Never allow anything to come between you and Jesus Christ— not emotion nor experience— nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source. Think of the healing and far-reaching rivers developing and nourishing themselves in our souls! God has been opening up wonderful truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is another indication of the wider power of the river that He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has developed and nourished in you mighty, rushing rivers of blessing for others. (See More comments by Oswald Chambers on Living Water) John 7:39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. BGT John 7:39 τοῦτο δὲ εἶπεν περὶ τοῦ πνεύματος ὃ ἔμελλον λαμβάνειν οἱ πιστεύσαντες εἰς αὐτόν· οὔπω γὰρ ἦν πνεῦμα, ὅτι Ἰησοῦς οὐδέπω ἐδοξάσθη. KJV John 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) NET John 7:39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.) CSB John 7:39 He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been received because Jesus had not yet been glorified. ESV John 7:39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. NIV John 7:39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. NLT John 7:39 (When he said "living water," he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.) NRS John 7:39 Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified. NJB John 7:39 He was speaking of the Spirit which those who believed in him were to receive; for there was no Spirit as yet because Jesus had not yet been glorified. NAB John 7:39 He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. YLT John 7:39 and this he said of the Spirit, which those believing in him were about to receive; for not yet was the Holy Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified. GWN John 7:39 Jesus said this about the Spirit, whom his believers would receive. The Spirit was not yet evident, as it would be after Jesus had been glorified. BBE John 7:39 This he said of the Spirit which would be given to those who had faith in him: the Spirit had not been given then, because the glory of Jesus was still to come. RSV John 7:39 Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. NKJ John 7:39 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. ASV John 7:39 But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: for the Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified. MIT John 7:39 He spoke this concerning the spirit that those who believed in him would receive. For his spirit was not yet received, because Jesus was not yet glorified. But this He spoke: John 14:16,17,26 Pr 1:23 Isa 12:3 32:15 44:3 Joe 2:28 Lu 3:16 Lu 24:49 Ac 1:4-8 2:4,17,38 4:31 Ro 8:9 Eph 1:13,14 4:30 of the Spirit: John 7:12 1:21,25 6:14 De 18:15-18 Mt 16:14 21:11 Lu 7:16 Ac 3:22,23 for the Spirit was not yet given: John 16:7 Ps 68:18 Isa 32:15 Ac 2:17,33 2Co 3:8 because Jesus was not yet glorified: John 12:16 13:31,32 14:13 17:5 Ac 3:13 John 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries NOTE: CLICK FOR IN DEPTH COMMENTARY ON JOHN 7:39 John 7:37-39 Commentary - about 97 (8x11) pages Related Passages: Luke 24:49+ “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you (THE HOLY SPIRIT); but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power (dunamis - SUPERNATURAL POWER) from on high.” Acts 1:8+ but you will receive power (dunamis - SUPERNATURAL POWER) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Jesus ascended & at Pentecost His Spirit descended on those who had believed But this He spoke of the Spirit (pneuma) - What did Jesus just promise? Rivers of living water, His figurative description of the Holy Spirit. Westcott on Spirit aptly says "It is impossible not to contrast the mysteriousness of this utterance with the clear teaching of St. John himself on the 'unction' of believers (cf "you have an anointing from the Holy One" = 1 John 2:20+), which forms a commentary, gained by later experience, upon the words of the Lord." Whom those who believed (pisteuo) in Him were to receive (lambano) - Literally, "whom they were about to receive," which is a clear prophetic reference to Pentecost. In Jn 1:11-12+ "He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." Note that to receive Jesus is to believe in Jesus. Note that believed is not in His signs but in Him! Every soul that believes in Jesus receives the Spirit of Christ at the time of their new birth! There is a false teaching that one can be born again but still needs to seek the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9+ demolishes that lie, Paul writing "However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." Could it have been stated any clearer? (Rhetorical). For the Spirit (pneuma) was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (doxazo) - Note that there are two terms of explanation (for...because), both of which are relatively easy to query (see interrogate with the 5W/H questions). When Jesus went up, He sent the Spirit down (see diagram above). Acts 2:33+ says “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear." Leon