25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
The woman was still confused. She viewed God through her heretical religion. She had not yet grasped that Jesus was the Messiah.
Jesus confirmed His Messiahship in these verses. This was the ultimate climax of truth for the woman—Jesus revealed Himself as the great “I am,” the Messiah.
4:25
The woman said to Him,
The woman responded to Jesus’ statement about worship with the Samaritan expectation of a coming political messianic leader.
“I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ).
“Messiah” means the anointed or returning one. “Christ” also means the anointed one or the Messiah.
“When He [emphatic] comes, He will tell us all things.”
The Samaritan expectation that the Messiah would reveal “all things” probably came from Deuteronomy 18:15. Emphasis on “He” suggests that only the political Messiah would be able to establish the terms of worship.
4:26
Jesus said to her,
It was unusual for Jesus to reveal Himself as the Messiah during this period because the idea was charged with political implications for the Jews. However, Jesus disclosed the truth of who He truly was to the woman at the well because it would not cause as much turmoil as it would if He revealed this to the Jews.
“I [emphatic] who speak to you am He.”
This is one of the great “I am” statements in the gospel of John. The word “He” is not in the Greek text. The announcement by Jesus that He was the great “I am” must have been a shock to the woman. She was standing face-to-face with the Messiah Himself.
Our Lord used “I am” 23 times. The “I am” of this verse may be a reference to Isaiah 52:6. This is a plain affirmation of Christ’s deity. It is an allusion to the special name for God—”Yahweh” (Ex 3:12, 14). Yahweh is God as self-revelation (Jn 8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 18:5).
Since Jesus identified Himself to the woman as the “I am,” this self-identification with God constituted an invitation to believe on Christ as the Messiah.
PRINCIPLE:
Jesus declared Himself clearly as God.
APPLICATION:
Jesus was unambiguous about declaring who He was. He was none other than God, the Messiah Himself. That He declared Himself to an immoral Samaritan woman rather than to the Jews is staggering. It is clear how we are to view who Christ was.
