I who speak to you am He

 

 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain and  you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  

 

Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such 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" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

 

- John 4:16–26 

 

Yesterday we read that when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.  A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.  Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"  Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, no come here to draw."

 

 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain and  you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  My study Bible comments that since Jesus perceived she was living with a man without being married, and as He also knew of her string of husbands, this woman perceives that He is a prophet.  As the Samaritans did not accept any prophets after Moses, they expected only one prophet:  the Messiah foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-18).  Christ insight into people's hearts, which is reported many times in the Gospels, underscores His divine nature.  

 

 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."   My study Bible remarks that if Jesus was indeed the expected Prophet (as noted in the comment above), then He could settle this historical argument about where worship was to take place.  He refuses to answer this earthly question, and instead elevates the discussion to the way in which people should worship.  More importantly, He is turning the attention to the One worship:  God.  The Father is worshiped in spirit -- that is, in the Holy Spirit -- and in truth -- that is, in Christ Himself (John 14:6) and according to the revelation of Christ.  Jesus tells her that God is Spirit:  this means that God cannot be confined to a particular location.  My study Bible comments that those who receive the Holy Spirit and believe in Jesus Christ can worship God the Father with purity of heart.  Jesus states that salvation is of the Jews:  Here Christ affirms that true salvation comes from within Judaism.  My study Bible quotes St. Athanasius of Alexandria, who comments, "The commonwealth of Israel was the school of the knowledge of God for all the nations."  More importantly, Jesus is testifying that the Messiah, who was prophesied among the Jews, has now risen from among the Jews. We are to understand that while the gift of salvation in Christ is to all nations, it has come from within Judaism.  The hour, in Jesus' language across St. John's Gospel, refers to His death and Resurrection, and to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, inaugurating the worship of the new covenant.  

 

 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."  My study Bible notes that "I who speak to you am He" is literally translated from the Greek, ''I AM [εγω ειμι/ego eimi], who speak to you."   This I AM is the divine Name of God (Exodus 3:14).   Its use indicates a theophany, a revelation or manifestation of God.  The use of this Name by a mere human being was considered to be blasphemy, my study Bible explains, and was punishable by death (see John 8:58; Mark 14:62).  But, as Jesus is divine, His use of the Name is a revelation of His unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Christ is God Incarnate.

 

Once again, as in yesterday's reading and commentary, we have to ask the question: Why?  Why this woman?  Why here?  After we hear a bit about her story -- that she's living with a man who's not her husband, and that she's also had not just several, but five husbands in her past -- she seems an even less likely candidate for a revelation of God, a theophany!  But nevertheless, this is the story that we are given, and it is the story that we have.  Jesus chooses this moment, this place, and this woman to truly reveal Himself as He is in His divine identity.  He is the Holy One of God, the Son, the Lord, the I AM who was introduced to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:14).  And once again, we have to remark upon the truth that such acceptance of the Christ is impossible, on worldly terms, to predict.  How can we know where faith will take root and where it won't?  How can we know who will accept Christ and who will not?  It seems that, at least according to the Gospels, the least likely candidates accept, and the most likely (the educated and those who are steeped in the religious traditions and spiritual history of Israel, the religious leaders) do not.  So, we also have to ask, who is capable of perceiving the things of God?  How is the perception and understanding of faith different from the knowledge one can study?  How does study -- say such as the effort in this blog, or the reading of literature and commentary on the Scriptures -- help or possibly even hinder our faith in some cases?  These are important questions which the story of Jesus Christ illumines and opens up to us, and which we need to consider.  Where do we find our faith, in the midst of a world that in many cases thinks it has all the answers to life, or can make life better through machines and technology, and might just deny that such reality as presented here in the Gospels ever even existed?  In one sense, many might feel the world is at a kind of tipping point, or a place that seems to be further along the spectrum of the peace Jesus presents than ever before.  But "the world" has been in such places many times and many ways before now, as much as in Christ's own time than ever since.  We're still asked to make the choices for faith in the midst of a world that is full of the temptations and distractions of evil and what we might call "fallenness" as it was in the past.  Things may look and seem different in some ways or in appearances, but a quick thought about the past and the struggles of the faithful all along will dispel this idea.  We've always have times of struggle for our faith, and the Gospels -- and all of Scripture, including the Revelation, and particularly Christ's own prophecies of end times -- teach us that this is the way of the world in which we live.  Our faith is a struggle, and this is why we must be aware of temptations and pressures that distract us from the one thing truly necessary.  Let us rejoice that it is this person, this Samaritan woman, to whom Christ reveals Himself as the Lord.  It reminds and reinforces the concept taught to Nicodemus:  "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).  Let us never forget it, lest we despair of knowing our faith and the confidence it brings to us in the midst of troubles or distractions.

 

 

 

 

 

I who speak to you am He

 

 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  

 

The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such 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" (who is called Christ).  When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." 

 

- John 4:16–26 

 

Yesterday we read that when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.  A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.  Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"  Jesus answered said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."

 

  Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet."  My study Bible explains that since Jesus understood that she was living with a man without being married, and He also knew of her string of husbands, this woman believes that He is a prophet.  (This is similar to the reaction of Nathanael, when he understood that Jesus had seen into his heart at John 1:50).  The Samaritans did not accept any prophets after Moses, and therefore the only prophet they expected was the Messiah who was foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-18).  My study Bible comments that Jesus' insight into people's hearts, which is reported many times in the Gospels, underscores His divine nature. 

 

"Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."   My study Bible explains here that if Jesus was truly the expected Prophet (see comment above), then He is the one who could settle this historical argument between the Jews and Samaritans regarding where worship was to take place.  But Jesus refuses to answer this earthly question, and instead elevates the conversation to the manner in which people ought to worship.  More importantly, He turns attention to the One whom we worship:  God.  The Father, my study Bible notes, is worshiped in spirit -- that is, in the Holy Spirit -- and in truth -- meaning in Christ Himself (John 14:6) and according to the revelation of Christ.  Jesus declares that God is Spirit:  God cannot be confined to a particular location.  Those who receive the Holy Spirit and believe in Jesus Christ can worship God the Father with purity of heart, my study Bible says.  Jesus also declares here that salvation is of the Jews:   My study Bible notes that the Lord affirms here that true revelation comes from Judaism.  It quotes St. Athanasius the Great:  "The commonwealth of Israel was the school of the knowledge of God for all the nations."  Moreover, Jesus is testifying that the Messiah, who was prophesied among the Jews, has risen from among the Jews.  So, while the gift of salvation in Christ has come to all nations, it has come from within Judaism.  Jesus says, "The hour is coming . . .."   This "hour" refers to Christ's death and Resurrection and to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, inaugurating the worship of the new covenant.

 

 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."  The literal translation of Christ's final statement here is "I AM [Greek εγω ειμι/ego eimi], who speak to you."  "I AM" is the divine Name of God revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14.  My study Bible says that when Christ uses this name it is a theophany, a revelation or manifestation of God.  The use of this Name by a human being was considered to be blasphemy and punishable by death (see John 8:58; Mark 14:62).  But, because Jesus is divine, His use of this Name is therefore a revelation of the Son's unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  He is God Incarnate.

 

Jesus says to the Samaritan woman, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  We have to wonder, why this woman?  Why in this place?  Why should she be chosen for such a revelation?  Well, we don't know the answer to that, but we do know of her contributions that would follow in the Church.  (We will write more about her in tomorrow's reading and commentary.)  But let us observe what an unlikely candidate for such a revelation she seems to be based on appearances.  She not only is living with a man to whom she's not married, she has had a whole string of husbands.  Particularly in the context of Christ's time and place, this is something deeply frowned upon. Even in the most liberal of secular society today, five husbands would seem to be a large number, especially for a woman who still seems to retain some signs of youth.  She is a Samaritan woman, who does not seem to be an expert on Jewish religion, although Samaritans also followed the Torah.  Her understanding of the dispute between the Samaritans and the Jews seems to be limited to a focus on the proper location of the temple.  So from all conventional appearances, no one would suspect that this would be the person chosen by Christ to whom to reveal Himself.  But one very important lesson from today's reading is once again the revelation of Christ as the "Heart-knower."  He is the One who knows what is in a person, and has no need for anyone to tell Him (John 2:24-25).  It's possibly even more striking to consider that He is the One who asked her first to give Him a drink from the well, only to tell her about the "living water" that He had to offer.  She seems to be the least likely object for His revelation of divine truths, and yet she is the one who receives His instruction -- revealing Himself, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, even including the revelation of the type of worship being inaugurated in His new covenant.  This woman with a history of many husbands, and living with a man to whom she's not presently married, is the one to whom Jesus extends an offer of a new covenant, a new way to worship, and Himself as the object of that worship, the Messiah.  Perhaps, after all, this is just the right person to whom to reveal Himself.  For Christ has come to call -- in His own words -- not the righteous, but sinners, to repentance (Matthew 9:13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32).  This Samaritan woman will in turn call others, as we will see in tomorrow's reading.  Let us note that as Jesus introduces the power of the Holy Spirit into the conversation, that truly "the wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).  It is one more revelation of how God's mysterious power works and knows that which we cannot know, proving yet again we cannot second guess the working of God's power in the world.  Let us be delighted by such revelations of God midst the commonplace, and grateful for God's surprises.  The woman has faith that when the Christ comes, "He will tell us all things."  Jesus affirms her faith and tells her, "I who speak to you am He." 

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him

 

 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (thought Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea an departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  

 

So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.  A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.  

 

Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"  Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  

 

The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."  Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such 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" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

 

- John 4:1-26 

 

Yesterday we read that, after teaching Nicodemus by night, Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

 

  Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (thought Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea an departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  Samaria was the region to the north of Jerusalem; it was between the regions of Judea and Galilee.  Since the Pharisees now know that Jesus' ministry is growing, and that He has made and baptized more disciples than John the Baptist (who was himself a very popular figure), it seems likely He leaves the region of Judea and travels north to be further away from their scrutiny and influence.

 

 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.  A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  My study Bible says that the Old Testament does not mention Jacob's well, although Jacob did live in this area (Genesis 33:19).  Wells, it explains, were significant because of their rarity and their value in desert life.  Therefore, wells came to symbolize life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  This particular well is maintained as a shrine even now, and pilgrims can drink from it.  Jesus is wearied from His journey, showing His complete humanity.  The sixth hour is noon.  In the tradition of the Orthodox church this woman is identified as St. Photini.

Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. The Samaritans were a mixed race, and they were traditional enemies of the Jews.  Although they worshiped the God of Israel and they also awaited the Messiah, my study Bible says they accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Torah or Pentateuch) as their Scriptures.  They had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, which was destroyed by the Jews in 128 BC.

Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"  Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  Living water in the ordinary sense means fresh, flowing water; that is, from a stream of spring rather than from a pond or cistern.  My study Bible says that Christ uses this term to mean the grace of the Holy Spirit that leads to eternal life (John 7:37-39).  This gift not only remains in a person, but it is so abundant that it overflows to others.  The woman misunderstands Jesus and asks Him, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  In the Scriptures, my study Bible explains, Jacob is a type of Christ, as he received the vision of the divine ladder (Genesis 28:12), which Christ fulfills.  Moreover, just as Jacob gave this well for earthly life, now Christ gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal life. 

The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."  Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet."   As Jesus perceived that she was living with a man without being married, and He knew of her many husbands, this woman believes that Jesus is a prophet.  My study Bible explains that the Samaritans did not accept any prophets after Moses, so the only prophet they expected was the Messiah whom Moses foretold (Deuteronomy 18:15-18).   It says that Christ's insight into people's hearts, which is reported many times in the Gospels, underscores His divine nature.  

"Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."   My study Bible comments that if Jesus was indeed the expected Prophet (foretold by Moses, as explained above), He could settle the historical argument about where worship was meant to take place.  Jesus refuses to answer this earthly question, and instead elevates the discussion to the manner in which people ought to worship.  Even more centrally, He turns the attention to the One whom we worship:  God.  The Father is worshiped in spirit -- in the Holy Spirit -- and in truth; that is, in Christ Himself (John 14:6) and in accordance with Christ's revelation.  That God is Spirit means that God cannot be confined to a particular location.  My study Bible says that those who receive the Holy Spirit and believe in Jesus Christ can worship God the Father with purity of heart.  Jesus says that salvation is of the Jews, thus affirming that true revelation comes from Judaism.  My study Bible quotes St. Athanasius:  "The commonwealth of Israel was the school of the knowledge of God for all the nations."  More importantly, it says, Jesus is testifying that the Messiah, who was prophesied among the Jews, has risen from among the Jews.  While the gift of salvation in Christ is to all nations, it has come from within Judaism.  The hour refers the death and Resurrection of Christ, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which inaugurates the worship of the new covenant. 

 

The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."  I who speak to you am He is literally translated "I AM [Greek Ἐγώ εἰμι/Ego eimi], who speak to you."  "I AM" is the divine Name of God.  My study Bible says that its use indicates a theophany, which means a revelation of God.  The use of this Name by a human being was considered blasphemy and punishable by death (see John 8:58, Mark 14:62).  But, as Jesus is divine, His use of this Name reveals His unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit; He is God Incarnate.  

 

So how does Christ come to this woman, of all women, to reveal Himself?  In tomorrow's reading, we will come into more detail about this woman's eventual life (as St. Photini).  But for now let us consider what is happening in our reading for today.  Jesus seems to come to this place of Jacob's well, when she is there, entirely by happenstance. One must wonder what it means that it is the sixth hour.  Clearly, it means that at noon when the sun is high in the sky, and after a long day of traveling, Jesus is thirsty.  But this woman, who is there to draw water, would normally be one He, being a Jew, wouldn't even speak to.  Moreover, we will see (again, in tomorrow's reading) the startled response of the disciples when they come upon this scene, for it is potentially scandalous not only that Christ speaks to a Samaritan woman, but also that He speaks to her alone.  Just think, He the Teacher!  But this tremendous revelation also reminds us of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and that she is the one whose supplication initiated the miracle of the water turning to wine at the wedding in Cana.  Here, Jesus asks a woman for water, and it is another occasion to transform her understanding and ours to the image of "living water" as Christ uses it, for the image of the Holy Spirit.  So we see in this conversation an important reaching out in Christ's ministry not only to women but also to outsiders.  These significant factors add concrete meaning to Christ's words that "the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."   For if we are each the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19), with the Holy Spirit indwelling, then to worship in spirit and truth means that this capacity extends equally to women and to outsiders, although "salvation is of the Jews."  This is the new covenant spoken through Christ, to one who will become a part of that new covenant, for whom "new wineskins" are necessary (Mark 2:22).  So is this meeting by chance, or is it yet one more landmark moment of revelation, for the opening up of the gospel to the world, and a new revelation of God that builds on what was already known?  We cannot know the mind of God, but we understand that, as Jesus told Nicodemus, explaining the mysterious work of the Spirit:  "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).  Jesus extends our understanding by revealing God to us through His encounter with this woman, and opens our eyes to the potentials of worship in spirit and in truth, "for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."

 

 

 

 

 

The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him

 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such 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" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

- John 4:16-26

Yesterday, we read that when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.  A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.  Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"  Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."


 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet."  The woman believes Jesus is a prophet, as He sees into her life.  She's had several husbands, and at this point is living with a man to whom she isn't married.  My study bible says that the Samaritans accepted no prophets after Moses, but awaited the Prophet -- the expected Messiah whom Moses foretold (Deuteronomy 18:15-18).   God is the "knower-of-hearts" (see Acts 1:24, 15:8; also Psalm 17:3, 44:21).   This quality of Christ, already on display earlier in John's Gospel (1:48, 2:24-25), underscores His divine nature.

"Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  The historical dispute between the Samaritans and the Jews focused on the proper place of the temple -- where worship was to take place.  The Samaritans' temple on Mt. Gerizim had been destroyed by the Jews in the 2nd century BC.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  Jesus settles this dispute by focusing on the true manner in which people must worship, and turns her attention to the true nature of God.  The is worshiped in spirit -- in the Holy Spirit, and in truth -- in Christ Himself and according to His revelation.  By teaching that God is Spirit, Jesus confirms, in fact, that God cannot be confined to any particular location.  My study bible says, "Those who receive the Holy Spirit and believe in Jesus Christ can worship God the Father with purity of heart."  To teach that salvation is of the Jews affirms the context and lineage of Jewish spiritual heritage.  My study bible quotes St. Athanasius:  "The commonwealth of Israel was the school of the knowledge of God for all the nations."   What is happening here is that Jesus is testifying that the Messiah, as prophesied among the Jews, has risen from among the Jews.  The gift of salvation is for the world, but it has come to all nations from within Judaism.  The hour that is coming refers in John's Gospel to the death and Resurrection of Christ, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.   This inaugurates the worship of the new covenant.

The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."  In the Greek, Jesus says, "I AM [ego eimi], who speak to you."  This is the I AM of the Old Testament, the name of the Lord, the One who is (see Exodus 3:14).  It is the divine Name of God.  My study bible says that its use here indicates a theophany, a revelation of God Himself.  The use of this Name, it says, by a "mere man" was considered blasphemy and also punishable by death (see John 8:58, Mark 14:62).  In Jesus' divinity, the use of this Name reveals unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit; Christ is God Incarnate.

We may remark to ourselves that it is as "remarkable" as anything else in this text that Jesus reveals Himself as Christ to this Samaritan woman!  She's a woman, in the first place.  She's not Jewish in the second (but from among the traditional and despised enemies of the Jews).  And she's not a very "holy" woman either, having had many husbands and now living with another who's not her husband!  What's going on here?  (In our following reading, the disciples will be too dumbstruck to even ask.)   This example in itself is a teaching about salvation coming to the whole world, all the nations, and also about the One who is the heart-knower.  "Heart-knower" is the word used in the Greek, kardiognostes.  It's a good word to know.  As we will see in tomorrow's reading, she will bring others to Christ.  (She will also become a saint and martyr of the Church by tradition.)  But the revelation here should be astounding for all of us.  Every barrier is broken by Christ, and in it is a picture of liberation.  That is, true liberation, via spirit and truth, for all of us.  The One who sees into the heart, who knows everything about us, is not bound by time, either.  He sees into our potentials and our future.  In the Old Testament, the Lord tells Samuel, as he's searching for the one who will be made king:   "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."  (1 Samuel 16:7).    That's a refusal based on the heart; in today's reading, Jesus' revelation of Himself to this woman is an emphatic bestowal of grace, an opening.  Earlier we've been told that although many believed in His name at the Passover festival, having seen His signs, He did not commit Himself to any of them.  Here, He "commits" -- He entrusts His identity to this woman, far away from the misunderstanding and strife that will happen later in Jerusalem.  The importance of the heart really can't be overestimated.  In Scripture, the heart means the center of our being, the real place of all that we are.  It holds everything about us, and therein the Lord can read us like a book, knowing who we truly are and all that is within us.  It is also the basic place where we truly worship and pray, with the "mind in the heart" as the Orthodox say.  It's the place where we wrestle and struggle with God, with our own failings in the sight of God, with our reconciliation to God, to others, to ourselves.  All this goes to say that as we worship in spirit and in truth, so the heart is the place of the mediation of God for all that we do and choose to be.   It may be strange to consider, but in this way the heart becomes the location not only for what and how we think and feel and believe, but also for the relatedness we have to the world, and to the Kingdom, including the whole host of the communion of saints, the "great cloud of witnesses," as St. Paul will put it.  The revelation Jesus gives to the woman at the well teaches even more deeply than all the Scripture before it that God is truly with us at all times, the One by our side when called, the knower-of-hearts, who may help us through all things in so many ways.  Let us consider what it is to have a heart hardened to all of that, to be blinded to the reality of this Presence, to live as if there is no God who sees.  Let us consider what grace is and does in us and for us, and all the ways in which we may be missing out on what is offered.