Thursday, June 4: I, the one speaking to you — I am he

Read John 4:15-26

The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."

He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."

"I have no husband," she replied.

Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."

"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."

"Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."

The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."

Then Jesus declared, "I, the one speaking to you — I am he."

Reflect

The woman points out to Jesus some of the religious differences between her people, the Samaritans, and the Jews, from whom Jesus came. Jesus acknowledges these differences as important but points to a future where "true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth." How does all of this tie into his next statement, that he is the hoped-for Messiah, the Christ?

Respond

Stop now and consider the implications that this man, this Jesus, is not only a wise teacher and great moral example, but is also the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God. How does this truth affect your perception of him? How does it affect the way you live your life?

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