JOHN 7:37–39
RIVERS OF LIVING WATER: THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT
BRIEF INTERPRETATION
Text – John 7:37–39
37 On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture says: ‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.’”
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.
Historical and Jewish Context
These words are spoken on the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles, a day marked by a solemn water-drawing ritual at the Temple. Water was poured in thanksgiving for God’s provision in the wilderness and in prayer for future blessing. The ritual symbolized life, purification, and messianic hope. By crying out publicly, Jesus places Himself at the center of the feast’s deepest meaning. Jewish Scriptures often associated water with God’s Spirit and future renewal, making Jesus’ proclamation both familiar and radically transformative.
Catholic Theological Perspective
This passage reveals Jesus as the source of the Holy Spirit. Catholic theology understands that the Spirit is given as a result of Christ’s glorification through His death, resurrection, and ascension. Faith in Christ opens the believer to an interior outpouring of divine life. The “rivers of living water” signify not only personal renewal but also missionary fruitfulness, as believers become channels of grace for others. This promise finds fulfillment at Pentecost and continues in the sacramental life of the Church.
Parallels in Scripture
Isaiah 55:1 – Invitation to the thirsty.
Ezekiel 47:1–12 – Life-giving water flowing from the Temple.
Zechariah 14:8 – Living waters flowing from Jerusalem.
John 4:14 – Water springing up to eternal life.
Acts 2:1–4 – Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Key Terms
Thirst – Human longing for God.
Come to me – Invitation to faith in Christ.
Living water – Life of the Spirit.
Believe – Opening the heart to grace.
Glorified – Christ’s Paschal Mystery.
Catholic Liturgical Significance
This Gospel is proclaimed during Ordinary Time and frequently during Pentecost celebrations. The Church uses this passage to teach about the gift of the Holy Spirit, especially in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
Conclusion
John 7:37–39 reveals Jesus as the fulfillment of Israel’s hope for divine life. From Him flows the Spirit, offered to all who believe. The promise of living water transforms thirst into abundance and believers into bearers of grace.
Reflection
What thirst in my life leads me to Christ?
Am I open to the work of the Holy Spirit within me?
Do I allow the Spirit to flow through me to others?
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, source of living water, satisfy the thirst of my soul. Pour Your Holy Spirit into my heart, renew my life, and make me a channel of Your grace for others. May I live always in the joy and power of Your Spirit. Amen.
DETAILED INTERPRETATION
(Jn 7:37) On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me”
On the last and greatest day of the feast
The Jews celebrated three pilgrim feasts every year. The Israelites, who lived in the Kingdom of Judah, must go to the Temple of Jerusalem for these feasts. They were the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Passover), the Festival of Weeks (Pentecost), and the Festival of Tabernacles (Deut 16:16). Out of these, the feast mentioned here is the Feast of the Tabernacles. This feast lasted seven days. The Jews added an eighth day later as the “greatest day.” The last day of the feast was the greatest day of the celebration when Jesus taught the passage.
The Feast of Tabernacles
The Jews called the Feast of Tabernacles also as the Feast of Booths and Sukkot. This feast started on the 15th day of the seventh month, Tishri of the Hebrew calendar (late September to mid-October) and lasted for seven days. It began and ended with a special Sabbath day of rest and worship, thus making up eight days. During the seven days of the feast, all Israelites left their homes and lived outside in temporary tents or booths made of tree branches to remind them how their ancestors lived in tents for 40 years in the wilderness after God delivered them out of Egypt (Lev 23:39-43). It also was a feast of Messianic expectation when the Israelites prayed for the new Joshua (Jesus) to come and establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. By the month of Tishri, the Israelites have completed the fall harvest. So they thanked God for the continued provision of rain and crops for them.
The Feast of the Tabernacles correlates with many Biblical events. King Solomon dedicated the Temple during the Feast of the Tabernacles (1 Kgs 8:2). When the Israelites returned from Babylon to reconstruct the Temple of Jerusalem, Ezra read the Word of God to the Jews in the seventh month. They then revived the feast of the Tabernacles that the Israelites had dropped from the days of Joshua (Neh 8). Some Bible scholars associate the birth of Jesus with the Feast of Tabernacles referring to John 1:14, “the Word made his dwelling among us.” They believe that his second coming to establish the earthly kingdom will also happen on that feast day.
Jesus stood up and exclaimed
Jesus taught about the living water at a large gathering in the Temple when the ritual of the feast was going on. So, he had to stand up at an elevated position, and “cry” as a proclamation so he could get the attention of all and they could hear him.
Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink
Jesus pointed to the water the priest poured on the altar as part of the feast’s ritual, to instruct the people on the spiritual drink he offered to the faithful. The ritual of the Feast of Tabernacles included a solemn procession with music every day morning from the Temple under the leadership of a priest to the pool of Siloam. He would fill a golden vase with water and carry it back to the Temple in procession. The people accompanied him holding branches of trees they had used for making the tents and sing joyful songs. The priest then poured the water on the western side of the altar of burnt-offering. In the meantime, another priest would pour wine as a drink-offering on the eastern side of the altar. During this time, the pilgrims would move around the altar singing Praises of Hallel (Alleluia) 113–118. They repeated this seven times on the seventh day, remembering the procession done around the wall of Jericho carrying the Ark of the Covenant, causing its fall and the conquest of Jericho. So, this ritual of offering water on the altar was symbolic of God supplying them with water from the rock in the wilderness and the rain they have been receiving for an abundant harvest.
The thirst that Jesus referred to here was not the physical thirst. He had told the Samaritan woman who offered him water from the well: “Whoever drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give will never be thirsty; for the water that I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:13-14). Our spiritual thirst is for the grace of God. Jesus quenches this thirst with the Holy Spirit, who will help us overflow with excellent works for God in this world. It will lead us to eternal life.
(38) “And let him who believes in me drink, for Scripture says: Out of him shall flow streams of living water”
The living water reminds us of the miraculous water from the rock God provided the Israelites in the desert on two occasions (Ex 17:6 and Num 20:11). In the gospel context, living water means the Holy Spirit. Those who are baptized will exude the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
(39) Jesus was referring to the Spirit which those who believe in him were to receive; the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified
The Spirit had not yet been given
Though Holy Spirit had already been active on various occasions in the world, the Spirit’s descent on the apostles on the Pentecost day was to empower them for the special mission of Jesus. The Holy Spirit dwelt on the Ark of the Covenant when it was in the Temple of Jerusalem that King Solomon built. God discontinued this presence just before the Babylonians destroyed the Temple. It did not return to the Temple rebuilt under the leadership of Zerubbabel and later by King Herod the Great. The Holy Spirit came back at Pentecost (Jn 20:22) and remains with the church.
Jesus had not yet been glorified
The Holy Spirit was scheduled to come on the apostles after the glorification of Jesus. That was through his passion, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven followed by taking his place at the right hand of the Father.
MESSAGE
1. God tested Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years before their entry under the leadership of Joshua to the Promised Land. We are also in the world of trial with our expectation of entering the fullness of God’s kingdom under the leadership of the new Joshua, Jesus. Israelites considered 40 years as one generation and a period of testing. Let us be watchful that we do not fall into Satan’s snares to ignore God and to oppose God’s representatives as many Israelites did in the wilderness.
2. God, who kept the Israelites in the wilderness alive by supplying them water and food even by unnatural means, is providing all our needs on time even without our asking. Like the Israelites who thanked God through the feast of Tabernacles, let us also thank God for all the favours we receive from God.
3. Jesus has given us his Holy Spirit at the time of our baptism. Let us cooperate with the Spirit of God in us so that good words and actions come out of our hearts to the people around.