First, a little history:
In the second temple period (the time when Jesus lived), Jews celebrated the Feast of Booths (sometimes called Sukkot, or the Festival of Tabernacles) in a unique way. In the morning of each of the 8 days of the festival, the priests would gather water from the pool at Siloam, mix it with new wine from the harvest, and pour it over the altar in the temple. The water would flow down the temple steps and out into the courtyard beyond. Then at night the priests would light four large menorah's in the Court of Women, just outside the inner court of the temple, and the glow of these lamps would radiate the temple area. (Just as a side note, the Court of Women is also where the treasury was located. This detail is important).
These two ordinances were significant symbols to Jews during this holiday week.In John 7 and 8, Jesus is speaking to the Jews, and John writes, "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. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"Then, in chapter 8 (after a side-step episode) it says, "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." A few verses later, John gives us an important detail, namely that Jesus said this "in the treasury," hence, the Court of Women.
Get it? Most of the symbols Jesus used in his teaching had an immediate, physical context. This happens not only all throughout John, but in the other three Gospels as well. Jesus was a master of situational teaching!
