Jn.4:26 – The woman *said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus *said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
This may have been the first time Jesus really came out and said it; “I am the Messiah”, and then also alluded to being the great “I am”. What is really quite stunning is that the first time He says this it is to a Samaritan, a Samaritan woman at that. This is the first attempt at reaching beyond the Jewish people, of course He chose to start His ministry to the Gentiles with the mixed race Samaritans, they were a mix of Assyrian and Jewish. To the Jewish world that was a terrible abomination. Jesus didn’t stop with just ministering to this woman at the well, He chose her to reach her people with the message of Jesus. There are all sorts of stories about this woman’s life and dare I say ministry. She is considered the first evangelist or even apostle to the gentile world. Here is how the New Covenant Commentary Series describes this.
“In John the word “I am,” used by Jesus for himself, indicates that he is the Christ, the revelation of the one God who is “I am that I am”. The prophet Isaiah uses this name to affirm both the uniqueness of Yahweh in relation to all other gods of Babylon and his relationship with his people as their God. By saying, “I am he,” Jesus expresses his uniqueness in comparison with other deities of the Samaritans, as the Messiah in whom the only God revealed himself. Jesus, the bearer of God’s presence, is the place where one can worship God. Jesus, as the new Temple, replaces the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and also the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim. Although the woman’s perception of Jesus attains its climax now, at first she had only a tentative belief in his messiahship.”
I think it is quite revealing that this incursion into the gentile world ended up with a discussion about the temple, of course temples are supposed to be the dwelling place of God on earth. What Jesus is getting at is that He is the temple of God. He is the place were the glory abides and is revealed. We are in the great day Jesus was describing that afternoon at Jacob’s well, the presence of the Lord is available everywhere, not just in some temple on earth. When you get this you will become one of the worshipers the Lord was seeking, those that worship in spirit and in truth.
