The Hoshanah-Rabbah Ceremony
On the seventh and final day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the Temple services reached a climax. The anticipation of rain was at its annual high. Jewish tradition held that it was on this day that God declared whether there would be rain for the coming year's crops. Consequently, on this final day of the feast, the Temple water-pouring ritual took on great importance. Water was the foremost thought on every one's mind.
On the other six days of this feast, the silver trumpets gave THREE blasts. On this day the trumpets gave THREE SETS OF SEVEN blasts. On the other six days, the priests made but ONE circuit around the altar. On this day, the priests made SEVEN. As they marched around the altar, they sang the Hosanna verse (Psalm 118:25) and the people waved palm branches. For these reasons, the day was known as Hoshanah Rabbah, or "Great Hosanna". Thoughts of rain for the coming year and messianic fervor (Psalms118) were at their highest pitch.
The year was around A.D. 30. It was Hoshanah Rabbah, the last day, the great day of the Feast of Tabernacles. As the people intently watched the priests conduct the service, a loud voice rang out from the crowd. The priests glared in consternation, and the people whipped around in great surprise to see who dared interrupt the service. They saw a young Galilean in His early 30s, the one whom many held to be a great rabbi, a prophet, or even the Messiah. He boomed:
John 7:37-39 - If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. [38] He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. [39] (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
John 4:14 - But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The sound of His words produced silence, then ecstasy. The religious leadership was infuriated, indignant, and threatened. Some wanted to kill Him.
John 7:44 - And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.
The authoritative claim was understood by all, believed by some, spurned by others. Some thought He was claiming to be "THE PROPHET," that Moses had predicted would appear within Israel. He was. However, in their theology, they believed the prophet was not the same individual as the Messiah. Some believed He was claiming to be the Messiah - and, of a truth, He was. However, still others debated this notion with, "Has not the Scripture said that the Christ (the Messiah) comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem. So John recorded, "There was a division among the people because of Him."
John 7:40-44 - Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. [41] Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? [42] Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? [43] So there was a division among the people because of him. [44] And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.
The fall out among the religious was great. The Priests and Sadducees called an emergency meeting. It was a meeting of the chief priests, those 24 priests who were head over the 24 divisions of the priesthood (1 Chron. 24:1-19). They were aristocratic Sadducees who controlled the TEMPLE worship. The Pharisees controlled the SYNAGOGUE worship. These two groups, usually at great odds over theology and engaged in religious power struggles, were united in their hatred of Jesus.
They summoned the officers to give an account as to why they had not arrested Jesus. The officers were Levites who patrolled the Temple compound and enforced Temple law. They were the security force, the Temple guard, whose responsibility it would have been to arrest Jesus for interrupting the service. A few days earlier, the officers had been commanded to arrest Jesus (John 7:14, 30-32), but not they had missed the perfect occasion. In their arguments they had been stunned by his statements and spoke in summation the greatness of the Feast of Tabernacles:
John 7:46 - The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.