What does John 7:37 mean?
Jesus is in Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths, also known as the Festival of Tabernacles. During this week-long celebration, Israel remembered the intervention of God during their wandering in the wilderness. This is described in the book of Exodus. As part of this holiday, priests would carry water from the Pool of Siloam to the altar, remembering God's provision of water for Israel (Exodus 17:1–7). The last day of the feast is the "great day," when the priests would recite Psalm 118:25 while making seven circuits around the altar. This backdrop is crucial for understanding why Jesus spoke these words at this time.Jesus' words connect to His claim of being the ultimate cure for spiritual hunger and spiritual thirst (John 6:35). The incident of water from the rock, like the priests' ritual, is only meant to be a symbol. Those events are intended as foreshadowing of Jesus' eventual ministry. This comment from Christ is also echoed in His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar (John 4:10–14).