37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 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. 40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” (John 7:37-52 – English Standard Version)
After exercising, we may get thirsty. To quench our thirst, we may drink water, coke, or something refreshing. Our thirst can be temporarily relieved. Next time after exercising, we get thirsty again. Jesus offers drink that would satisfy our thirst forever. Whoever believes in Him, his/her heart will flow rivers of living water. People have different preferences in choosing the drink that can effectively satisfy their thirst. The choice can based on their past experiences, assumptions, influences of others or expectations. When Jesus offers one solution, the living water, people have different reactions. Some of the people think Jesus is the Prophet, some of the people think He is the Christ, some of the people don’t really know who Jesus is. Based on what Jesus says and does, people is trying to judge who Jesus is. People brings their expectations to Jesus and determine whether Jesus fit their expectations. The only way to recognize Jesus as our Christ is to allow ourselves to know him rather than trying harder to know about him. In the former case, our understanding is based on Jesus, while in the latter, “Jesus” is based on our understanding.
