John 4:26 I AM... He
Please can you recommend commentaries that examine the text John 4:26 I AM... He.
1) Its relevance and application for Christians today
2) Can it be considered a true I am saying of Jesus?
3) Why do so many commentators overlook this verse?
4) Is this not the key verse in John 4?
Thanks
P A
Comments
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From two commentaries, saved with Microsoft Word 2010 and I ticked compatibility with earler versions of Word: 3058.jn4.26.docx
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trulyergonomic.com
48G AMD octacore V9.2 Acc 120 -
Thank you, P A for a great rabbit trail that stopped abruptly at the first 'hole'. The first commentary I opened, peering down into the darkness, said that would have been completely incomprehenible to the woman. I'm not sure exactly why, since she seemed to have a better grasp of 'Jesus' compared to his other male debating partners who uniformly 'got it wrong' in John.
But then the commentary went on to explain that Jesus was using a known hellenistic revelation formula. Of course, the 'light' came on (what was I thinking?!) ... Samaritan women were very familiar with hellenistic literary (or verbal; hard to say since they're all dead) formulas, expressed with a subtle Galillean accent, under the heat of Palestine sun, in the shadow of 'the mount'.
But not to forget: the Samaritan Torah and the Logos two-book pre-pub are this month's winners!!
EDIT: Wow ... my Libronix image really 'pops'. I wonder if the Logos boys will order it taken down? Next thing you know people will want to upgrade to Libronix.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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Denise said:
EDIT: Wow ... my Libronix image really 'pops'. I wonder if the Logos boys will order it taken down? Next thing you know people will want to upgrade to Libronix.
I have to admit, it does look good on you, by the way did you get your hair cut lately/ It looks good too.
DISCLAIMER: What you do on YOUR computer is your doing.
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P A said:
... Jn 4:26 ...
4) Is this not the key verse in John 4?While this is the centre of the story, you could argue that the climax of the chapter is Jn 4:42 where she declares, "this is indeed the Savior of the world" (i.e. of peoples beyond the Jewish hope also).
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DISCLAIMER: What you do on YOUR computer is your doing.
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P A said:
Please can you recommend commentaries that examine the text John 4:26 I AM... He.
1) Its relevance and application for Christians today
2) Can it be considered a true I am saying of Jesus?
3) Why do so many commentators overlook this verse?
4) Is this not the key verse in John 4?
Thanks
P A
It's been 2-3 yrs since I read this in the cemetary [;)] , but I recall a study by Joachim Jeremias (an anthology of his works) on the "I am" passages. You won't find it in Logos, but it might be worth looking up.
george
gfsomselיְמֵי־שְׁנוֹתֵינוּ בָהֶם שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה וְאִם בִּגְבוּרֹת שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה וְרָהְבָּם עָמָל וָאָוֶן
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No Man Ever Spoke as This Man: The Great I Am's of Jesus by Anthony M. Coniaris is also worth aa read
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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P A said:
Please can you recommend commentaries that examine the text John 4:26 I AM... He.
1) Its relevance and application for Christians today --- Jesus, the true Messiah, has come to give living water to all men.
2) Can it be considered a true I am saying of Jesus? IMHO I don't think so, Jesus was merely openly identifying himself to the woman, read commentaries below (sorry to post them, I don't know how to make a link to a document yet). Of course, you could present it as one of the I AM statements to further emphasize the deity of Jesus and His Spiritual (not political) kingdom.
3) Why do so many commentators overlook this verse? So far the ones I own have made comments, with the exception of a few concise commentaries. I guess it depends on the commentator.
4) Is this not the key verse in John 4? According to traditional views John 4:24 is the key verse because it emphasizes the new way people would worship God in contrast to the old way. IMO verse 26 would be a sub-key verse if you want to call it that way.
Thanks
P A
College Press NIV Commentary
4:25–26. Jesus’ intuitive knowledge of the woman’s personal life and his ability to answer a difficult question about the place of worship led the woman to think of him as a possible Samaritan Messiah, who, in her Samaritan thinking would be a prophet-teacher, called Taheb (probably meaning “the one who restores” or perhaps “the one who returns”).50 This Messiah would teach the people and explain all things. Jews did not seemingly think primarily of their Messiah as a teacher, unless it was as a teacher of the Gentiles.
The woman said that when Messiah came, he would explain everything to us. This statement is both revealing and concealing: it reveals that a modicum of belief in Jesus is in the woman, but it conceals her doubts and the immaturity of her faith. It does, however, enable Jesus to reveal himself to her in verse 26, “I, the one speaking to you, am he (the Messiah).”51
This confession of Jesus’ Messiahship may be the first such confession in the four Gospels. Why should Jesus confess himself as Messiah, and why first to a half-pagan? As to the latter question, (1) he needed to be more explicit with Samaritans than Jews; (2) he could speak more openly in Samaria than either Judea or Galilee because fewer Jews were present in Samaria (no one was about to make him a king there (as in 6:15), and (3) he intended to be in Samaria only a brief time (cf. v. 4). As to why he himself confessed his Messiahship, (a) the Twelve did not hear it, so they were the first among his disciples to confess him, and (b) non-Jews and half-Jews, from the start, were viewed by Jesus as of great importance and worth, even though Palestinian culture around him acted otherwise (cf. Mark 7:24–30, esp. 26–27).[1]
50 Barrett, The Gospel According to St. John, p. 239; Carson, The Gospel According to John, p. 226.
51 For the usage of ἐγώ εἰμι, (egō eimi) see notes at 6:35.
[1] Bryant, B. H., & Krause, M. S. (1998). John. The College Press NIV Commentary (Jn 4:25–26). Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co.
Pillar's New Testament Commentary
4:26. The stranger had been talking about eschatological matters with utter authority; the Samaritan woman rightly insists that the Messiah, when he came, would make such matters plain (v. 25). She may well have begun to suspect the truth, voicing her confession of faith as a kind of test to see what he would say. Jesus needs no further invitation: I who speak to you am he. 8 The one who sat by the well and asked her for a drink was none other than the promised Messiah, the expected Taheb, the one who could indeed provide her with ‘living water’.
It is entirely in line with this Gospel that Jesus should unambiguously declare himself to be the Messiah to a Samaritan, but not to his own people. For many Jews, the title ‘Messiah’ carried so much political and military baggage that his self-disclosure in such settings necessarily had to be more subdued and subtle (cf. notes on 6:15; 10:24). Similarly, in the Synoptics Jesus is far more likely to encourage the public testimony of those who have experienced his transforming power if they live in Gentile territory (e.g. Lk. 8:26–39).[1]
8 Gk. egō eimi, ho lalōn soi. This instance of egō eimi (lit. ‘I am’) is not theologically loaded: cf. notes on 6:20, 35; 8:24, 28, 58.
[1] Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John. The Pillar New Testament Commentary (226–227). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.
Expositor's Bible Commentary
26 This is the one occasion when Jesus voluntarily declared his messiahship. The synoptic Gospels show that normally he did not make such a public claim; on the contrary, he urged his disciples to say nothing about it (Matt 16:20; Mark 8:29–30; Luke 9:20–21). In Galilee, where there were many would-be Messiahs and a constant unrest based on the messianic hope, such a claim would have been dangerous. In Samaria the concept would probably have been regarded more as religious than political and would have elicited a ready hearing for his teaching rather than a subversive revolt. Furthermore, this episode presumably occurred early in his ministry when he was not so well known.[1]
[1] Tenney, M. C. (1981). John. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 9: John and Acts (F. E. Gaebelein, Ed.) (56). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
Blessings!
DAL
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Room4more said:
Yep. And given how John uses kosmos, what a statement about Jesus!
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P A said:
1) Its relevance and application for Christians today
This quote is from The Bible Speaks Today:
Jesus has much to teach about sharing our faith. Among the most obvious points to note are these:
1. His relevance. The whole conversation is couched in terms which the woman could understand. Even when Jesus attempts to take her beyond present experience by talking about eternal life, his teaching is shaped by her experience (so, living water), and she is given handles from her experience to help her grasp it.
2. His humanity and naturalness. At no point is Jesus ‘odd’. The conversation appears to flow easily, despite the major social taboos which Jesus is breaking and the profoundly disparate lifestyles of the participants. Jesus is clearly ‘at ease’ with her, which frees her to confront her deepest needs.
3. His knowledge. He is well aware not only of the woman’s lifestyle and background, but also of the finer points of the historic relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans, and so can relate competently to her questions. While clearly supernatural dimensions appear in the story, much of Jesus’ knowledge had come from dedicated study of the Scriptures in his early years and his willingness to acquaint himself with the social and religious history of his people.
4. His moral integrity and directness. What Jesus offers her is no ‘easy believism’. The effects of the fall in her life are not swept under the carpet. The woman’s response to Jesus’ invitation was an emotional one, but it was also moral, involving new relationships and a new sensitivity to her behaviour.
5. His positive presentation. Although the moral needs of the woman are confronted and the call to repentance is issued, Jesus’ presentation is a thoroughly positive and winsome one. He plainly tells the woman what she is offered, viz. eternal life, and he takes pains to ensure that she grasps the full terms of it.
6. His refusal to be side-tracked. Jesus’ goal is clear and he keeps it in sight, viz. the woman’s putting her faith in him. The question concerning the Jew/Samaritan divide is not dismissed, but neither is it allowed to deflect Jesus.
7. His compassion and sensitivity. Through the entire conversation Jesus deals with her as a person in her own right, with her unique history and special longings. She emerges in the account as a credible character with personal dignity—because Jesus treats her as such. Simply put, Jesus loved her and was prepared to breach age-old conventions to reach her. Our failures in evangelism are so often failures in love. Nothing is so guaranteed to draw others to share our living water than an awareness that we genuinely care about them. ‘People want to know that we care before they care about what we know.’
Bruce Milne, The Message of John: Here Is Your King!: With Study Guide, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 85-86.0 -
Allen Browne said:
Peace and Every Blessing, Allen! Thanks muchly for your post. You did, however, make a bit of an ....oopppssiiee!
It wasn't the woman who declared ... it was the town's people who came out to see and hear Jesus because of her beckoning them ... come ... see .... *smile*
These non Jews believed! Jesus actually accepted their invitation to stay with them! Wow! Two days!
Beautiful! Incredible! Yes! The Saviour of the world!!! Note: the "truly"! -- ἀληθῶς
ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ἀληθῶς ὁ σωτὴρ τοῦ κόσμου.
39 Many Samaritans wfrom that town believed in him xbecause of ythe woman’s testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed zbecause of his word. 42 They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, aand we know that this is indeed bthe Savior cof the world."
Philippians 4: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand..........
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Milford Charles Murray said:
It wasn't the woman who declared ... it was the town's people who came out to see and hear Jesus because of her beckoning them
Thanks, Milford
That's even better. :-)
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Allen Browne said:Milford Charles Murray said:
It wasn't the woman who declared ... it was the town's people who came out to see and hear Jesus because of her beckoning them
Thanks, Milford
That's even better. :-)
Amen, Dear Brother! *smile*
Philippians 4: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand..........
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