According to the Gospel of John, Jesus stood up on the last day of the feast, the Great Day of the feast, and declared that, if a man thirst, he should come to him. The thirsty should come to Jesus, because out of his (Jesus’) innermost being would flow living waters to him that believes (John 7:37-38). This is very close to what Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well. In other words, whoever drinks of the water Jesus offers shall never thirst, because it, vis-à-vis the Fountain/Christ in us (cp. Colossians 1:27), shall be a well in him (the believer), springing up to everlasting life (John 4:13-14).
What Jesus seems to be referring to is the rock that Moses struck, and out of it came water for the people (Exodus 17:5-6). In order for life to flow from Jesus to the people, he must, also, be “struck” (viz. his crucifixion; cp. 1Corinthians 10:4). Notice what Jesus said:
“If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).
One would search in vain to find “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” in the Old Covenant text. Although there is scriptural support of the idea in several places, an exact quote or even a close quote is lacking. However, if we allow for as the scripture says to refer to what Jesus said immediately before that phrase: He that believes, we have an exact quote in the book of Isaiah:
“Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste” (Isaiah 28:16).
So, reversing the phrases for the sake of clarity: “As the scripture says: he that believeth on me (Isaiah 28:16), out of him, vis-à-vis out of Christ, shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38), which the thirsty believer may drink (John 7:37) and live forever (cp. John 4:13-14).
The narrator of the Gospel of John then explained what Jesus meant, saying he spoke “of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39). Thus, as I said above, before the living water (the Holy Spirit) could be given, Jesus had to be struck or crucified (Hebrews 2:9).
It seems the atmosphere surrounding Jesus was very volatile. One moment the people wanted to support him and the next they were defending the Jewish authorities. After Jesus’ claim in John 7:37-38, many wanted to believe he was either the Prophet who should come (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) or the Messiah, the son of David (John 7:40-41). Nevertheless, there were also those (perhaps the Jewish authorities, themselves) who sowed doubt, saying Jesus was born and raised in Nazareth, but the Messiah would come out of Bethlehem. So, there was a constant swing back and forth, for and against Jesus’ support (John 7:42-43), which is probably the reason why the officers were unable to find a prudent time in which to take him (John 7:32, 44), because the wrong time could set off a riot among the people.
After they returned to the Jewish authorities empty handed, the chief priests and Pharisees asked why they didn’t seize him, but all they could say was they never witnessed anyone speaking like Jesus did (John 7:45-46), which wasn’t so much a testimony of support, as it was a statement of how Jesus was able to move the multitude one way and then the other. Nevertheless, the Jewish authorities understood the officers’ reply, as a testimony of support, and they asked, if the officers were mad. After all, none of the religious experts in the Law believed Jesus, and the people who do are cursed, because they know nothing of the Law (John 7:47-49).
Nicodemus, who went to Jesus by night (John 3:1-2), spoke up in Jesus’ defense, asking if the Law judged a man without a hearing (John 7:50-51), to which the other authorities asked, if he, Nicodemus, was also one of Jesus’ disciples. Then, as if to end the argument with insurmountable wisdom, they declared no prophet comes out of Galilee, and Nicodemus could search the scriptures himself, if he wished to prove them wrong (John 7:52-53).
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