The Fountain of Living Water

By Dan & Brenda Cathcart

Moed Ministries International

The video version of this teaching is available at:

https://youtu.be/nitE4HQl2Is

Scripture reading: John 8:1-11

At the end of last weeks teaching, we observed Yeshua in the Temple courts declaring that He was the living water following the highly anticipated and powerful Ceremony of Water Pouring during the Feast of Sukkot.  For Yeshua to make such a public pronouncement, when he vowed to attend this pilgrimage feast in secret, was a dangerous thing to do.  Many political and religious leaders in Judea sought to have him arrested or killed.  But even with the danger at the hands of His enemies, Yeshua returned to the temple the next day.

John 8:2 NKJV 2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.

In the Temple courts, Yeshua began to teach openly, and crowds of people gathered around him to once again hear the words of the Master.  This certainly drew the attention of the authorities.  Was this their chance to arrest Him?  Was this their chance to put an end to this up-start teacher who challenged the authority of the religious leaders?  What was their plan?  How would they trap Him into making a serious mistake?

Just the previous day, Yeshua had declared publicly the He was the Fountain of living water. Living water was celebrated and remembered at this Feast and spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 2:13 NKJV 13 "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water.

As Yeshua was teaching in the Temple courts that morning, He was approached by a group of the Pharisees and Torah scholars, dragging a single young woman with them.

Most of us are familiar with the story of the woman caught in adultery in John chapter eight.  This account, although a powerful illustration of the grace extended to sinners by God, is disputed among Bible scholars as to it’s origins.  This account is not contained in the earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of John and its style and language is a departure from the rest of the Gospel of John, more fitting with that of the synoptic Gospels. Never the less it is included and provides a powerful lesson in righteous judgment based on Torah principles and law.

As Yeshua was teaching the crowds in the Temple courts, He was interrupted by the Pharisees and scribes, He was told by them of the “sins” of this woman.

John 8:3-5 NKJV 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 "Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?"

It is obvious that these Pharisees wanted to catch Yeshua in a no-win situation.  Regardless of His answer to their question, He could not escape their carefully considered trap.  Or so they thought.  How should Yeshua answer this challenge?  At the end of the story, we see that Yeshua sends her on her way without punishment for her sin of adultery.  Is that in keeping with the Torah that demands that such a person be stoned?

Leviticus 20:10 NKJV 10 'The man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.

And in

Deuteronomy 22:21 NKJV 21 "then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father's house. So you shall put away the evil from among you.

Many in today’s Christian circles will argue that this incident perfectly illustrates that Yeshua came to replace the old law of wrath and punishment for a new law of love, mercy and forgiveness; That this “new law” absolves this woman caught in the act of adultery of the punishment required under the “old law.”  But is this interpretation consistent with the broader teachings of the Master?  Yeshua Himself told His disciples that He did not come to do away with the Torah of Moses.

Matthew 5:17-18 NKJV 17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

The manner in which the Pharisees phrased their challenge to Yeshua was calculated to trap Him.  No matter how He answered them, He would provide them grounds to accuse Him.  If Yeshua were to answer, “Put her to death as the Torah commands”, then they could accuse Him before the Roman authorities since the only Jewish authority authorized to enact capital punishment, the Sanhedrin, was forbidden under the current Roman rule from enacting such punishment.

If on the other hand, Yeshua said, “Show some love and let her go”, they could then accuse Him of advocating lawlessness, or in other words, ignoring or “doing away with” Torah law!  So how was Yeshua to answer them?

John 8:6 NKJV 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

I can just imaging those whom Yeshua was teaching and the gathered crowds around him rendered silent as Yeshua Himself engaged in a short stare-down of the accusing Pharisees before He then stoops down to write in the dust of the ground with His finger.  After this Yeshua stood to give a short answer and then, once again stooped to write in the dust.

John 8:7-8 NKJV 7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

By asking the accusers of this woman, if they are without sin themselves, then they should be the ones to carry out the prescribed punishment for this woman; they should cast the first stone! Yeshua was in effect telling them that, “If you are a clear and righteous witness, then carry out your Torah duty!”.  According to the Torah, it was the eyewitnesses who were charged with carrying out the sentence in a capital crime.

Deuteronomy 17:7 NKJV 7 "The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.

Was it Yeshua’s words to the accusers or His actions of writing in the dust of the ground which convicted them and caused them to leave the scene?  What could Yeshua have written in the dust that could have been more powerful than his mere words?

John 8:9-10 NKJV 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?"

Did Yeshua just get this young woman off the hook by a technicality?  It was a common practice by the Sanhedrin to avoid the death penalty if at all possible.  It is recorded in the Talmud that, “A Sanhedrin which executed a person once in seven years was called murderous.”[1]  In most cases avoiding the death penalty was accomplished by disqualifying the witnesses.  The court would automatically disqualify relatives of the accused, an enemy, and anyone with a shady reputation.  The Jewish sage and commentator Maimonides comments on what a qualified witness is:

“The wicked are unacceptable as witnesses according to scriptural Law, as written in Exodus 23:1 “Do not join hands with a wicked person to be a corrupt witness.” The Oral Tradition interprets this as meaning: “Do not allow a wicked person to serve as a witness.”[2]

Yeshua freed this woman from the punishment of the Torah, but He did so from within the provisions of the Torah itself!  Instead of Yeshua Himself openly disqualifying the witnesses against this woman, He allowed each of the accusers to disqualify himself by the very same Torah!

First Fruits of Zion in their work, The Chronicles of the Messiah summed it up this way:

“Contrary to the opinion that this story shows how our Master disregarded the Torah in favor of a new order of live and grace, the story actually shows how He used the commandments of the Torah to save the woman.  The commandments regarding the witnesses are part of the Torah too.”[3]

By this manner Yeshua was able not only to save this woman from a certain death, but also escape the seemingly clever trap set by the Pharisees against Him.  Unlike the accusing Pharisees, in their zeal and determination to destroy the work and ministry of the Master, Yeshua showed a genuine compassion for this woman. She answers Yeshua’s question about where her accusers were:

John 8:11 NKJV 11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

Yeshua used the Torah to save her and set her on a pathway to a redeemed life!

But what about the accusers?  What was so powerful about Yeshua’s response to their accusations that would cause them to quietly walk away?  If these “witnesses” and accusers of this woman were quick to use the Torah against her and to trap Yeshua, then Yeshua was prepared to hold them to the letter of the very same Torah and to their own literal and narrow interpretation of it.  His answer to them has many facets and fascinating implications.

As we have seen through our recent studies, the political and societal situation in Judea and Jerusalem at this time was anything but peaceful and stable.  Corruption and greed were rampant, and the religious leadership was not immune to it.  The Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees and teachers of the Law reflected the worst manifestation of the evils condemned by the prophets. Isaiah writes of God’s response to this in

Isaiah 1:15-17 NKJV 15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. 16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.

Even though they had a form of godliness going through all the rituals of Temple worship and daily living prescribed in the Torah, they were corrupt in all the ways that really mattered. We see that same pattern of corruption from the very beginning of Yeshua ministry when He first goes up to Jerusalem for the Passover and throws out all the moneychangers.

John 2:13-16 NKJV 13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"

These Pharisees and teachers of the Law were in fact, in several ways, violating the very same Law they were trying to entrap and accuse Yeshua of violating!  In other words, they themselves were sinning and Yeshua was pointing out their sin and the mockery they were making of the Torah!

We have identified that this incident took place on the eighth, or final day of the Feast of Sukkot or Tabernacles.  This day was known as Shimeni Atzerat which is observed as a Sabbath.  The entire Feast is a time of celebration and rejoicing. The rejoicing on the eighth day takes the form of the Torah itself rejoicing in God’s salvation. It was a day for studying the scriptures, teaching one’s disciples, holding discussions among the Rabbis and dancing through the temple with the Torah scroll itself.

Besides the violation of civil law that these accusers were engaged in, they were also clearly violating the Torah in two specific ways.  First; they only brought the woman for judgment where the Torah says to bring both.

Leviticus 20:10 NKJV 10 'The man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.

Second, they did not bring witnesses.

Deuteronomy 19:15 NKJV 15 "One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.

The woman’s accusers; these Pharisees and teachers of the Law; those who certainly should have known the Law, violated the intent of the rejoicing of the Torah by breaking the Sabbath. On this day on which the Torah itself is said to be rejoicing, they grieved both the written Torah by breaking its commandments and the Living Torah of Yeshua by subverting the Torah to their own ends.

Yeshua sees through their trap and answers them in the only way possible.  The first thing that Yeshua does is to stoop down and write in the dust with His finger.  He then stands and says to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." As we saw in John eight, verse seven, before He again stoops down to write in the dust.  What could Yeshua have written in the earth that would cause them to eventually acknowledge that they were sinning?

Let’s look back at the events of the previous day. The Ceremony of Water Pouring was an integral part of the daily celebrations during the seven-day Feast of Sukkot or Tabernacles, and just the day before Yeshua has openly declared that He was the Messiah, the fountain of Living Water!  These Pharisees would have been very familiar with a passage of scripture from the prophet Jeremiah

Jeremiah 17:13 NKJV 13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake You shall be ashamed. "Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, The fountain of living waters."

The Hope of Israel is a name for the Messiah! Again in

Jeremiah 14:8 NKJV 8 O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble, why should You be like a stranger in the land, and like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?

The Feast of Tabernacles is the third feast celebrated within a three-week period. First is the Feast of Trumpets, celebrated on the first day of the month of Tishrei; the second is Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement on Tishrei ten. One of the themes for the feasts of Trumpets and Yom Kippur, is examining one’s life to ensure that one’s name is written in the Book of Life and not the Book of Death for coming year. The rejoicing at the Feast of Tabernacles is rejoicing and celebrating in God’s salvation; of being written in the Book of Life. 

On this day, following the seven days of the Water Pouring ceremony, the Jeremiah 17:13 passage would be fresh in their minds.  And just the day before, Yeshua declared that He was the Fountain of Living Water; the most powerful and direct public declaration yet that He was the Messiah!

We can only speculate what exactly Yeshua wrote in the dust of the ground that day when confronted by these Pharisees and teachers of the Law.  But with this incident on the day following Yeshua’s public declaration that He is the Messiah, the very Fountain Living Water, it is quite possible that the first thing He wrote was the Jeremiah 17:13 scripture followed by the names of the accusers!  Did Yeshua write their names in the earth? Were they forsaking the Fountain of Living Water as it says in Jeremiah?

Once again Yeshua proved Himself as the Messiah by executing righteous judgement! It is only after mercy and longsuffering are exhausted that judgment takes place.  Yeshua Himself said that He came to call sinners to repentance, but when he comes again it will be for the ultimate salvation of those who love Him and for the ultimate judgment of those who don’t.

Study questions:

1.      What new insight did you gain by watching this video? How do you respond to this new insight? How will you realign your life based on this new understanding?

2.      Jeremiah 2:13 contrasts the fountain of living water with broken, man-made cisterns.  How does this point out the contrast between Yeshua and the woman’s accusers in John 8:1-11?

3.      How is the passage in Isaiah 1:15-17 reflected in Jewish society during the time of Yeshua?

4.      The prophets frequently refer to Israel as an adulterous wife.  How does Yeshua’s handling of this whole incident illustrate the promise of redemption for Israel?

5.      Jeremiah 17:13 says that those who forsake the fountain of living waters will be written in the earth.  Discuss the similarities of this scripture to this incident with the woman caught in adultery in John 8, The words of God to Adam in Genesis 3:19, and the disposition of Korah in Numbers 16:30.  What other places in scripture present the same or similar theme?

© 2018 Moed Ministries International

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[1] m.Makkot 1:10; b.Makkot 7a

[2] Hilkhot Edut 10:1

[3] FFOZ The Chronicles of the Messiah. D Thomas Lancaster. Vol. 3, P935