(37) "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. (38) He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. (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. (40) Some of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, said, This is of a truth the prophet. (41) Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, What, doth the Christ come out of Galilee? (42) Hath not the Scripture said that the Christ cometh of the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was? (43) So there arose a division in the multitude because of Him. (44) And some of them would have taken Him; but no man laid hands on Him.
(45) "The officers therefore came to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why did ye not bring Him? (46) The officers answered, Never man so spake."
Golden Text.—"Never man spake like this man." Verse 46.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS
(1) As the people from all parts were assembled in Jerusalem, what did Jesus cry unto them? What annual gathering was this? Verse 37. Note 1. (2) What promise did He utter? Verse 38; John 4:13, 14. Note 2. (3) What explanation of verse 38 is given in verse 39? Why had not the Spirit yet been given in its fulness? Note 3. (4) What did some of the people think about Jesus, when they heard His words? Verse 40. Note 4. (5) What did others say? Verse 41. (6) What query was raised about the birthplace of Christ? Verse 42. Note 5. (7) What effect did this have on the minds of the people? Verse 43. (8) What were some in the crowd disposed to do? Verse 44. (9) What was said to the officers who failed to arrest Jesus? Verse 45. Note 6. (10) What did the officers say in defense of their failure? Verse 46. Note 7.
NOTES.
1. "The feast" here mentioned was the Feast of Tabernacles, about the middle of October, and about six months before the crucifixion of Christ. On that last day of the feast the priest had performed the ceremony which represented the smiting of the rock in the wilderness and the issuing of water therefrom. That rock was the figure of Christ, hence the significance of His words, giving the people to understand that He was the Christ.
2. Verse 38 is explained by verse 39. And that which flows from the believer is that which he receives from Christ. So, on sending out His disciples, He said, "Freely ye received, freely give." Matt. 10:8. Note also Isa. 12:2, 3 and 44:2-4.
3. "The Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified." They "were to receive" it in the future, when He should be glorified. Hence, the giving of the Spirit, which had not yet taken place, referred to the full outpouring which began on the Day of Pentecost. Jesus again told them, on the night of His betrayal, "If I go not away, the Comforter [which was the Holy Spirit] will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send Him unto you." John 16:7. They were not yet ready for this endowment, for they did not yet fully believe in Christ. They did not believe that He would die, and be raised again from the dead. But it will not do to say that there was no measure of the Spirit in the earth; for it was with the prophets (Acts 1:16; 1 Peter 1:10, 11). John the Baptist was "filled" with it (Luke 1:15), and it "abode" with Christ (John 1:32). Jesus also imparted it to His disciples after His resurrection, in sufficient measure for them to understand the scripture concerning His death, resurrection, and departure (Luke 24:44-47; John 20:22); but the beginning of what might be called the dispensation of the Spirit was not until the Pentecostal outpouring. See Acts 1:1-8; 2:1-4, 16-18, 32, 33.
4. "That prophet" refers to the prophet mentioned in Deut. 18:15-18. The people did not understand that Moses referred to Christ, but supposed that he foretold some great prophet that would precede or appear contemporaneously with Christ. See John 1:19-25.
5. The scripture referring to the place of Christ's birth was turned against Jesus, because the critics were ignorant of the fact that He was born in Bethlehem, altho reared in Nazareth.
6. The angels of God protected Jesus from harm, even from official arrest, until His work was done, and His time had come. Even Satan himself could do no more than tempt Him. The tempter understood the scripture that guaranteed this protection. See Matt. 4:6.
7. The testimony of the officers harmonizes with the record in Matt. 7:28, 29: "The multitudes were astonished at His teaching; for He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes."
