(2) I Will Pour Out My Spirit

Reading: John 7

The backdrop of John 7 is the week of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkah). The drama comes in three acts. It begins in verse 2, “Now the Jew’s feast of tabernacles was at hand.” It was one of the three feasts every male was required to attend. It is curious then why Jesus did not participate at first but then it says in verse 14, “now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.” Then on the final seventh day[1] of this feast John records the final act in verse 37-38,

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, 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.”

The week was tense and confrontational. It started with his unbelieving siblings (v. 3-8) and followed with the throngs murmuring and disputing whether he was the Christ or not (v. 11-12, 26-27, 31-32, 40-43). Overshadowing all of this was the threat of death. The Jews were seeking to kill him (v. 1, 13, 25, 30, 32, 44) and everybody knew it (v. 25).

Amidst all this tension was the glorious feast of tabernacles (booths or sukkah) which took place in September or early October. It celebrated the final ingathering of the harvest. It was a great time of rejoicing. Jerusalem would be packed and abuzz with visitors from around the world. They considered it to be the greatest of all the feasts. Scattered around the city in courtyards and streets the people would construct temporary booths of palm and myrtle branches and live in them for the week.

At this time the feast had come to include libations, that is, a pouring out of liquids in sacrifice (e.g. 1 Sam. 7:6). The Bible never mentions this as part of the feast of tabernacles. We only learn of it from other Jewish sources like the Talmud and Josephus, but it all aligns with what happens here in John 7. Maybe this is why it is called “the Jew’s feast” (v. 2). 

Every morning for seven days, starting at daybreak, the people would assemble at the temple grounds. They would be dressed in festive array. Everybody would take a palm branch in their hand. At 9:00AM the shofar blew to announce the beginning of the day’s ceremonies. The Levitical choir would chant the Hallel Psalms (113-118) throughout the various ceremonies of the day. Rabbinic sources say the singing and shouts of joy were so loud that it could be heard as far away as Bethlehem.

Edersheim describes the events like this,

“…the festive multitude would divide into three bands. Some would remain in the Temple to attend the preparation of the Morning Sacrifice. Another band would go in procession ‘below Jerusalem’ to a place called Moza, where they cut down willow-branches, with which, amidst the blasts of the Priests’ trumpets, they adorned the altar, forming a leafy canopy about it. Yet a third company were taking part in a still more interesting service. To the sound of music a procession started from the Temple. It followed a Priest who bore a golden pitcher, capable of holding three log[2]. Onwards it passed, probably, through Ophel, which recent investigations have shown to have been covered with buildings to the very verge of Siloam, down the edge of the Tyropoeon Valley, where it merges into that of the Kedron. To this day terraces mark where the gardens, watered by the living spring, extended from the King’s Gardens by the spring Rogel down to the entrance into the Tyropoeon. Here was the so-called ‘Fountain-Gate,’ and still within the City-wall ‘the Pool of Siloam,’ the overflow of which fed a lower pool. The Pool of Siloam was fed by the living spring farther up in the narrowest part of the Kedron Valley, which presently bears the name of ‘the Virgin’s Fountain,’ but represents the ancient En-Rogel and Gihon. 

When the Temple-procession had reached the Pool of Siloam, the Priest filled his golden pitcher from its waters. Then they went back to the Temple, so timing it, that they should arrive just as they were laying the pieces of the sacrifice on the great Altar of Burnt-offering, towards the close of the ordinary Morning Sacrifice service. A threefold blast of the Priests’ trumpets welcomed the arrival of the Priest, as he entered through the ‘Water-gate,’ which obtained its name from this ceremony, and passed straight into the Court of the Priests. Here he was joined by another Priest, who carried the wine for the drink-offering. The two Priests ascended ‘the rise’ of the altar, and turned to the left. There were two silver funnels here, with narrow openings, leading down to the base of the altar. Into that at the east, which was somewhat wider, the vine was poured, and, at the same time, the water into the western and narrower opening.”[3]

At this time there would be a continual chanting of Psalm 118:25 to the priestly instruments, “Save now, we beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, we beseech thee, send now prosperity.” As they repeated these lines, they shook their palm branches towards the altar. Once all the water was poured out the priest would hold aloft the golden pitcher to the jubilation of the crowd.

This was repeated every day, but on the last day, the great day of the feast called Hoshannah Rabbah (lit. the Great Salvation), the ceremony was a little different. When the priest arrived with the golden pitcher and climbed the altar, the crowd would be ecstatic. Slowly, the priest would walk around the altar seven times, carrying the pitcher full of water and on the seventh time, the shofar would sound, and the crowd would go deathly quiet in anticipation of the pouring out of the water.

This was the moment. The only moment of silence where Jesus could be heard by all. As the water is being poured out Jesus stands up and with a loud voice cries,

“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.”

Suddenly, instead of the regular outbursts of singing and joy, there was rather a division among the people. Many of them said, “of a truth this is the Prophet”. Others murmured and questioned, “Is this the Christ?” “Shall Christ come from Galilee?”

What Jesus said was not lost on the Jews. The Rabbis associated this pouring forth of the water with the Messiah and God’s salvation as the prophet Isaiah said (12:2),

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for Yah Yahweh is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”

The ceremony reminded the Jews of the latter-day promise that in the Kingdom “living waters would go forth from Jerusalem” (Zech. 14:8). This is why they poured the water out at the altar.

But John comments here in verse 39 just so the reader would not be mistaken about Jesus’ intent,

“(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.)”

What we want to do in this study is to understand this more. It’s a very difficult verse. Commentators (including Christadelphians) are divided on what this means. How should this verse be punctuated? Is it talking about the spirit flowing like a river out of a believer or just out of the Lord Jesus? What scripture is being referenced?[4] Does this have any relevance for us or is it only applicable to those in the first century?

John 7:38

The original Greek text has no punctuation. It is therefore the task of the translator to decide where the periods and commas go. As you know, this can make a big difference.

In the KJV and most other translations, it is punctuated to give the sense that the river will flow out of the believer in Jesus.

On the other hand, we can get a difference sense if we take the first part of the Jesus’ saying and stop it with a period.

“If any man thirst, let him come unto me.”

Now take the next part as another sentence. Move the verse marker before “drink”.

“And drink, he that believeth on me.”

Notice the emphasis on “me”. This makes the two sayings parallel and gives the indication that the “his” in the next part is Jesus himself. 

“As the scripture hath said, out of his (Christ’s) belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

This makes sense, for the invitation is for those who thirst to drink from the river that Christ will give and not to be a source of that water. This spake he concerned the Spirit that those who believed would receive, not give.

The word “belly” is interesting. The Greek word literally means “stomach” or “womb” and is translated that way for the most part in other places. In a related sense, it means the innermost part of a person. Christ, from his inner self, is then the source of these living waters gushing forth into a river. He is the giver of the Spirit.

We still have the problem of identifying what Scripture he is quoting. There is no exact wording to be found. There are some that come very close and could be the source of what he is talking about. We’ll look at those, but first let’s consider an Old Testament allusion. What sort of echo do you hear when talking about a sudden burst of water flowing out into a river to quench thirsty souls. What does that remind you of? Would it surprise you that Jesus is making an Exodus allusion to when Moses struck the Rock in the wilderness and water came out? It has to be. The Gospel of John has many of these Exodus types. Paul recognizes this too in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4,

“Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;  (2)  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;  (3)  And did all eat the same spiritual meat;  (4)  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”

There is an order here that is faithfully followed in Exodus and John. 

It’s important to notice the emphasis Paul puts on “all”, that is everyone, drank of the water but with “many of them God was not well pleased” (v. 5). That Rock was Christ. They all drank from that river, but it was no guarantee of salvation.

Paul says that Rock was Christ. It was a spiritual Rock that followed them. That’s a curious thought. A Jewish tradition says that the rock was round and actual followed them through the wilderness by rolling. Another thought may be that the water flowing forth from the rock followed them. That’s hard to say as I can find no scriptural backing for it. We do know that there was a rock at the beginning of the journey and one at the end. They both clearly point to the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, but the details are different.

Psalm 78:15-16 puts these two rocks together.

“He clave the rocks (tzur) in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths.  (16)  He brought streams also out of the rock (selah), and caused waters to run down like rivers.”

The first incident is typically of the crucifixion of Jesus (serpent rod, strike the rock). Is it coincidence that in John 7 they sought to kill Jesus as they did to Moses in Exodus 17:4. The main question of Exodus 17 is found in verse 7, “Is the Lord among us?” which is the same question the people had in John 7:11,41.

The second incident in Numbers is the life-giving water from the resurrected Lord (rod that budded is resurrection, speak to the Lord in prayer). In this way, the rock followed them spiritually through the journey. Moses this time speaks unadvisedly with his lips, not giving God the glory and smites the rock again. Moses therefore becomes a type of the law, that cannot save, and of those who have crucified the Son of God afresh. That is a phrase found in Heb. 6:6 and has an interesting context for us to consider (Hebrews 6:4-8 ESV),

“For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit,  (5)  and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,  (6)  and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.  (7)  For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.  (8)  But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.”

The context is about the miraculous powers of the Holy Spirt which in verse 7-8 are compared to rain. Therefore, the flowing of a river and the coming down of rain are both analogies of the spirit. It is important to see this as we continue our studies and talk about the pouring out of the spirit. In John 7 Jesus talked about the giving of the Holy Spirit as a flowing river but when the time came in Acts 2 it is poured out like rain. Peter quotes the prophet Joel to describe what they were experiencing on the day of Pentecost. It is found in Joel 2:28-29,

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:  (29)  And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.”

Now this pouring out of the Lord’s spirit is likened by Joel to rain in verse 23,

“Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately (ESV, for your vindication), and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.”

There are two rains here. The former or early rain started in October. It was an important first rain for the soil and the planting of seed to sprout. The rains would taper off through the months but there would come another period of needed rain in the springtime called the latter rain. This is why Peter quoted Joel because they were experiencing the former rain. There is another greater rain to come in the kingdom. Isn’t it interesting then that there were two miraculous outpourings of water in the wilderness? 

This is why the Hebrews passage talked about the Holy Spirit in the first century as a taste of the power of the age to come. We do not live in that age. It is over. But there is an age to come when the spirit will be poured out again. Our hope is to be partakers of an even greater share of this spirit when made incorruptible and immortal. 

In all cases Jesus is the source of this outpouring. In Acts 2:33 Peter says this,

“This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.  (33)  Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.”

Now we can see how the words of the Lord Jesus in John 7:38 were fulfilled. He has poured out or shed forth the very power of the Spirit given on the day of Pentecost. Out of his belly flowed rivers of living water. He had to first be glorified before this could happen. The purpose was for the vindication or witness of God’s word and the building up of the ecclesia. But it was only a taste of the powers of the age to come. The glorious and abundant rivers of living water will be fully experienced in the kingdom of which we have a promise of being partakers. While in this age we do not experience miracles, signs and wonders it is of no doubt that we will be partakers of this powerful Holy Spirit in the age to come.

What Scripture?

This brings us to the point of considering some other passages that Jesus might have had in mind when in John 7:38 he cried, “As the scripture hath said, out of his (Christ’s) belly shall flow rivers of living water.” Where is a scripture that is anything like this?

There’s a wonderful passage in Isaiah 32 that is very close to these sentiments. In verses 1-2 it says,

“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.  (2)  And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”

This is a kingdom promise. The king can be none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. The princes? The saints who rule with him. “The man” of verse 2 is Jesus Christ[6] who is as rivers of water in a dry place, the shadow of a great rock (selah the rock of Num. 20:8) in a weary land.

The chapter goes onto describe the desolation and barrenness of the land for many years. In the language again of thorns and thistles versus fruitful plants (Heb. 6:8), Isaiah says in verses 13-18,

“Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:  (14)  Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;  (15)  Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.  (16)  Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.  (17)  And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.  (18)  And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;”[7]

This is the great future outpouring of the spirit in its full power. Not only will the kingdom of God be a fruitful beautiful place, but it will be a land abundant in the powerful things of the Spirit of God, in righteousness and true judgment. The true rest of the Lord.

Isaiah especially loves the language of rivers in the desert. Our minds usually go to the natural beauty and fruitful abundance in the kingdom. This is true, but Isaiah’s message was always on something greater, a spiritual revival of his people. Consider the passage in Isaiah 44:1-4,

“Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:  (2)  Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.  (3)  For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:  (4)  And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.”

This pouring out of God’s spirit upon his people in the kingdom is going to be so abundant that it will create a river. This is a spiritual blessing. A change of mind and attitude. A cleansing of the nation. That which brings healing. So, this blessing of the living waters in the kingdom will be both physical and spiritual.

What is this spirit that is pouring out on the children of Israel in the kingdom? Zechariah 12:9-10 fill in some details.

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.  (10)  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”

This is interesting. It is not a spirit of power and signs and miracles. It is a spirit of grace and supplication. They will be given a new heart when they realize what they did to God’s Son. Jesus will show them the wounds in his hands, and they will mourn. This repentance will bring healing. The supplications will cleanse their conscious. Is this why Zechariah goes onto say in 13:1,

“In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.”

You’ll see, in both of these passages, that the spirit poured out and the fountain that opens are for the same “house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem”. It is repentance that brings forgiveness and cleansing. This is the spirit that will now be in Israel when they remember their past deeds and will loathe themselves (Ezek. 36:24-33; 39:26-29). Spiritually this will be done for them and physically it will be represented by real living waters that flow from Jerusalem. Zechariah picks it up again in 14:8-9,

“And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.  (9)  And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”

These living waters really are then a type of the word of the Lord that shall issue out of Jerusalem, the political capital. Out of Zion, the religious center of the world, will go forth a law for all nations.

It is so appropriate then to envision the river that will flow from the temple in the kingdom age. These typical waters will flow from the altar itself. Ezekiel has the fullest description of this in chapter 47:1.

“Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.”

Our altar is the Lord Jesus Christ (Heb. 13:10; 1 Cor. 10:17-18). Isn’t it appropriate then that at the feast of tabernacles they would pour the water (and the wine) at the base of the altar. The Jews knew this scripture. These living waters then are symbolic of the spirit issuing from Christ. These waters go forth eastward down into the desert and heal the dead sea (v. 8). The waters bring the dead sea back to life, teeming with fish (v. 9-10). Not only that, but there are trees planted by this river that bring forth their fruit in season to heal the nations. These trees are the righteous saints which are provided by the spirit that issues from Christ.

There is no indication in these visions that baptism will be a part of the kingdom. There is here though an interesting aspect that anyone of the nations that come to the temple must pass through the waters. Ezekiel wades into these waters that are at first ankle high but by the end it is a mighty river that you would have to swim to get across. This is on the south side of the temple. To get into the south gate you had to go through the water.

Does this then explain the restrictions found in Ezekiel 46:9?

“But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.”

This means that everyone would have to pass through the waters. They would physically have to go through the living waters issuing forth from the altar to enter. We may not have the example of baptism in the new age but nonetheless the lesson of being born of water and Spirit is still there for the nations.

Ezekiel, the Sons of Korah in Psalm 46, Isaiah, Joel, Zechariah and John in Revelation all see these living waters issuing from Zion. Imagine sitting by the banks of this river. The living waters clear as crystal flowing by. What a great hope and glorious promise we have from the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

“If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and [let him] drink, he that believeth on me. As the scripture hath said, out of his (Christ’s) belly shall flow rivers of living water.”