Before we get into the subject of Living Water, I want to give another analogy to emphasise why the Jewish or Hebrew foundations of our faith are so important.
Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’ was painted in 1498 and over the centuries it fell into a terrible state. Some of the paint was flaking off and it had become damaged from pollution and humidity. It was in such disrepair that in 1977, Pinin Barcilon was asked to undertake a restoration effort of the masterpiece.
She had 500 years worth of dust, grime and deterioration as well as mold, candle soot and worst of all, a number of failed attempts at restoration from the 1700’s. Heavy coats of varnish, glue and poor attempts by other painters filling in the gaps with their own interpretations had to be removed.
Every square inch of the painting was photographed and months and months of preparation work was undertaken before anyone even touched the painting. Once the work commenced, a particularly productive day may have revealed a section of the painting the size of a postage stamp but it wasn’t until 1999 that the final work was completed. The restoration of the ‘Last Supper’ took 22 years.
The essence of the scene was unchanged but the gloomy shadows were gone, the Apostle Andrew was no longer sullen, Jesus’s face glowed, the Apostle Matthew had blond hair not black, the Apostle Peter’s beard and nose were properly clear, the Apostle Thomas had his left hand restored and the vibrant colours of the master were finally revealed, after being hidden for centuries. You can see the before and after photos online to see the difference the restorers made.
It was the same picture but with far greater clarity and vibrancy than had been seen for half a millennia.
Learning about the Hebrew roots of our Christian faith is essentially the same, it reveals greater depth of significance and insight than is realised from simply reading and studying the Bible with a western worldview. It’s like taking a 2 dimensional black and white drawing and transforming it into a 3 dimensional, colour animation. It’s the same picture but vastly richer and more significant.
Another analogy is of watching a scary movie without sound effects or music, the image is the same but with the music and sound effects, the impact and connection to the image is totally different.
One more analogy to emphasize the point…it’s the difference between listening to a transistor radio in mono sound compared to listening to the same song but in stereo sound on a quadraphonic sound system. It’s the same song but a vastly different listening experience.
Today I want to have a look at something Jesus said, but when we look at the context of what He said, it takes on a lot more significance and what He was saying would have shocked the Jewish crowds because of the implications. First of all, a little ancient history is necessary.
In 701 BC, King Hezekiah built a water tunnel in Jerusalem to protect his citizens in Jerusalem, just in case they were ever besieged by their enemies. Today, it’s open to the public to walk through. The tunnel still has water running through it, fed by the Gihon Spring and while the water only reaches to a person’s mid-calf, the tunnel is completely black until you come out into daylight at the end.
Once you emerge from the tunnel and make your way toward the street you come upon the Pool of Siloam. Archaeologists have revealed only a portion of the pool as the remainder of it lies under land belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church who refuse permission to excavate the remainder of the site at this stage, but it’s believed this ancient pool is approximately 49 x 61 metres. When it was excavated, coins from the 2nd Temple era were discovered embedded in the plaster walls confirming it as the real Pool of Siloam.
Also discovered alongside this pool was a first century street, a main thoroughfare that would have been the very last portion of road that pilgrims making their way to the Holy City would have walked on their way up to the Temple to celebrate the mandatory feasts of the Lord each year. It’s very likely that the Pool of Siloam was one of the water sources that these same pilgrims would have used for spiritual cleansing before entering the Temple proper.
Every night during the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), the High Priest would make his way down to the Pool of Siloam (with a great deal of fanfare and ritual) where he would fill one of the golden pitchers used in Temple service and he would then take this ‘living water’ from the Pool of Siloam back to the Temple to offer it on the altar in the Temple as a water libation (offering).
This was all part of the ceremony, the ritual if you will and it was all very significant. We’re going to finish looking at this ceremony and why the words of Jesus were so significant in the next program.
Shalom
Mandy
(These studies are based on the book ‘Walking In The Dust Of Rabbi Jesus: How The Jewish Words of Jesus Can Change Your Life’ by Lois Tverberg)
