35
The Jews said among themselves, "Where does this man intend to go so that we won't find him? Does he mean that he'll live with the Jews who are scattered among the Greeks and that he'll teach the Greeks?
36
What does he mean when he says, 'You will look for me, but you won't find me,' and 'You can't go where I'm going'?"
37
On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus was standing [in the temple courtyard]. He said loudly, "Whoever is thirsty must come to me to drink.
38
As Scripture says, 'Streams of living water will flow from deep within the person who believes in me.'"
39
Jesus said this about the Spirit, whom his believers would receive. The Spirit was not yet evident, as it would be after Jesus had been glorified.
40
After some of the crowd heard Jesus say these words, they said, "This man is certainly the prophet."
41
Other people said, "This man is the Messiah." Still other people asked, "How can the Messiah come from Galilee?
42
Doesn't Scripture say that the Messiah will come from the descendants of David and from the village of Bethlehem, where David lived?"
43
So the people were divided because of Jesus.
44
Some of them wanted to arrest him, but they couldn't.
45
When the temple guards returned, the chief priests and Pharisees asked them, "Why didn't you bring Jesus?"
46
The temple guards answered, "No human has ever spoken like this man."
47
The Pharisees asked the temple guards, "Have you been deceived too?
48
Has any ruler or any Pharisee believed in him?
49
This crowd is cursed because it doesn't know Moses' Teachings."
50
One of those Pharisees was Nicodemus, who had previously visited Jesus. Nicodemus asked them,
51
"Do Moses' Teachings enable us to judge a person without first hearing that person's side of the story? We can't judge a person without finding out what that person has done."
52
They asked Nicodemus, "Are you saying this because you're from Galilee? Study [the Scriptures], and you'll see that no prophet comes from Galilee."
53
Then each of them went home.