I AM HE!

Passage: John 4:16-30

Key verse: 26

NIV

16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 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.”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.(A) 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain,(B) but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”(C)

21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming(D) when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.(E) 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know;(F) we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.(G) 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come(H) when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit(I) and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit,(J) and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

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

26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”(L)

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

27 Just then his disciples returned(M) and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.(N) Could this be the Messiah?”(O) 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

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ESV

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, (A)call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that (B)you are (C)a prophet. 20 (D)Our fathers worshiped on (E)this mountain, but you say that (F)in Jerusalem is (G)the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, (H)“Woman, believe me, (I)the hour is coming when (J)neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 (K)You worship what you do not know; (L)we worship what we know, for (M)salvation is (N)from the Jews. 23 But (O)the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father (P)in spirit and (Q)truth, for the Father (R)is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that (S)Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, (T)he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, (U)“I who speak to you am he.”

27 Just then (V)his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man (W)who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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1. Go, call your husband and come back (16-26) Jesus' love was very painful and not superficial as a surgeon uses a knife to heal the sick. He touched her sore spot saying, "Go, call your husband and come back." She said, "I have no husband." To her surprise Jesus knew her past sinful life having had 5 husbands and now living with a boyfriend. Still he didn't condemn her. She recognized Jesus as a prophet. She asked about a true place of worship. Jesus kindly opened her eyes that the place is not a big issue but to worship the right object in truth and in spirit. Her problem was that she worshiped her husbands mistakenly. Finally Jesus revealed the true object of worship for all is Jesus himself saying, "I am he!" Immanuel, God incarnated. 2. Leaving her water jar (27-3 ) When she tasted Jesus, the living water, her thirst was gone. She found the very object of true worship for which she really was longing. She left her water jar because her thirst was quenched. She ran into the village people whom she hated before to tell how she solved her life long thirst problem. She invited them saying, "Could this be the Messiah?" She meant, "This is the very Messiah! Come and see!" Her changed life was so powerful that all the village people came out to see Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for quenching one weary and thirsty soul. You are truly the Messiah, the Living Water! Use us to proclaim this good news!

One Word: You are the Messiah!