I Am He

"The woman said to him, 'I know that Messiah is coming (he 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 4:25-26 ESV)

The identity of the child born in Bethlehem stands as the central question of Christmas and of all human history. Who exactly was this infant laid in a manger? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones emphasized that our answer determines everything about our faith.

In his exposition of the Samaritan woman at the well, Lloyd-Jones draws attention to one of Jesus' most direct self-revelations. After five failed marriages and living with yet another man, this woman represents humanity's futile search for fulfillment apart from God. She had come to draw water—a daily, repetitive task symbolizing the temporary satisfactions we continually pursue.

The shocking nature of Christ's self-disclosure becomes apparent when we consider its recipient. He does not reveal Himself first to religious authorities or the morally exemplary, but to a socially marginalized woman with a checkered past. "I who speak to you am he"—the long-awaited Messiah reveals Himself to one deemed unworthy by societal standards.

Lloyd-Jones points out that this pattern persists throughout Scripture. The birth announcements came not to Jerusalem's elite but to lowly shepherds. The magi who traveled from afar found no recognition of the newborn king among Israel's scholars, despite their knowledge of prophecy. God consistently bypasses human expectations, revealing Himself to those who recognize their need.

This woman's response illustrates genuine faith. She leaves behind her waterpot—symbolizing her previous pursuits—to tell others about the Christ. The temporary is abandoned for the eternal; the physical thirst is forgotten in light of spiritual satisfaction.

The incarnation represents God's clearest self-disclosure. In Christ, we no longer have merely shadows and types but the full revelation of God's character and purpose. The baby in the manger is the eternal "I AM" clothed in human flesh—not merely a teacher or moral example, but the Christ, the Son of the living God.

This Christmas, hear afresh His declaration: "I who speak to you am he." Not a distant deity or philosophical abstraction, but a personal God who enters human experience to reveal Himself to those who know their need. The question becomes not merely who He is, but whether we will respond as the Samaritan woman did—leaving behind our waterpots to embrace the Living Water He offers.