I Who Speak to You Am He

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him. (John 4:16-30 ESV). I just can’t seem to find a good stopping place when it comes to focusing on the unnamed characters of the Biel who played such an incredible role in the life and ministry of Jesus. Today we look at the Samaritan woman Jesus met at Jacob’s well. We do need to remember that some our nameless but memorable Bible characters in these readings are outsiders who with a variety of motives. Many of them really came just to see this “new” prophet of Israel; however, this woman is someone who went a step further. Having met this representative of Israel’s God and listened to words so intriguing, so searching, the woman went off to persuade her friends and neighbors in their turn to “come and see.” She who had come and seen then went and told. She left her water jar there with Jesus, but she would soon be back, bringing others. Perhaps the most significant exchange that Jesus had with her was not in the convicting declaration of her past failures. Surely everyone in the town knew of those. That would have been the reason she came to the well at such a late hour. Undoubtedly she wanted to avoid all of those who would have caused her any further emotional pain. I believe that when she declared her belief that a messiah was coming and Jesus simply said, “I who speak am he” that she must have been filled with all sorts of wonderful emotion. For her this was a moment of great victory. Her fear was turned to ease. She found such joy and courage she could not care what anyone in her hometown thought of her any longer. She had been set free from her shame and guilt. No wonder she invited them to come and see such a man. Perhaps we need to hear those words again. Walk in that freedom that Jesus is indeed who he claims to be!