“I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
The woman would have noticed him as she approached the well. What did he want, sitting there waiting for her to arrive? Perhaps it was obvious: the heat of the midday, a long journey by foot. He was thirsty. He needed water, too.
“Will you give me a drink?”
Jesus, the Son of God, asked her for water to quench his thirst. She could have met his need. But more than that, if she knew who he was, she could have asked him to meet her need.
“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” Jesus urged her.
At first, she saw too many obstacles. The divisions between them were not small: Jew and Samaritan, man and woman, moral teacher and morally complicated history.
So often it’s the same for us. Jesus can meet our deepest needs but obstacles get in the way—differences in backgrounds, experiences that leave us guarded, and assumptions about Jesus and everything that surrounds him.
But, Jesus wants to break through those barriers. He initiates conversation with us, if we let him, without shaming us for our social circumstances. He waits for us to open up, without accusing us or correcting our experiences. He’s patient, not exasperated with our confused thinking.
Jesus’ intention is for us to truly know him:
At first the woman at the well misunderstood him and his words: “whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
She heard convenience. No more daily trips to collect water. No more heavy jars. But Jesus was speaking of something deeper—a life to be fully lived, dependent on him.
Then came the words that changed everything.
“I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Jesus revealed himself—not in the temple, not before the religious elite, but to an ordinary Samaritan woman who was searching for truth in her life.
When we have hearts that are thirsty, Jesus reveals himself to us, too.
This is the kind of Savior Jesus is. There is no accusation or correction. He’s not put off by complicated histories. He is not restricted by cultural barriers.
As we move towards Easter, let’s remember in that moment on the cross Jesus said “I am thirsty.”
Jesus poured out himself, suffered spiritual separation from God and physical pain, to quench our thirst.
Pray
Sit beside the well and have your own conversation with Jesus as he says to you, “whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
“I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Talk through your own barriers and misunderstandings with Jesus, and ask him to reveal himself to you, and quench your thirst.
This post is part of the Before the Cross series.
Next week: The Woman Caught in Adultery (John 8).
