“So you think Jesus is always the answer?” an atheist friend asked me a few years ago. I said of course. “Then how many fingers do I have on my hand?” Candidly, it wasn’t as clever of a response as he thought it was. The mantra of “Jesus is always the answer” may seem a little naïve, but it actually hold true because we ask questions that matter. Where this universe came from, what our fulfilling purpose is, where our happiness lies, and every other deep curiosity is answered in Jesus. Jesus is the Messiah, and that is the foundation of all the answers to our questions. How many fingers does my friend have? However many Jesus created.
So far, Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well has seemed scattered and full of loose ends. They have discussed living water, her history of sin, and true worship. At this point the woman seems to give up, or evade, or maybe both, by saying it will all make sense in the future, some unknown day, when Messiah comes. On that point she was right—all those loose ends tied together perfectly by the reveal that Jesus was that long-awaited Messiah. He himself is the living water that never runs dry, the judge but also forgiver of her every sin, and the foundation of the family of true worshipers. This verse is the climax of the story; Jesus the Messiah was the answer to all of her questions.
I think John presents this story to us this way, with Jesus’ “ego eimi” (I am) as the climax, because his coming is also the climax of history! Jesus is not merely a powerful teacher or a friendly person or a social revolutionary; he is infinitely more. He is the savior of the world, the gateway between the world of darkness and the heavens of glory, the bread of life that satisfies our deepest desires, the redeemer of evil, the one whom the Old Testament awaited and whom the New Testament celebrates, the friend of ours who gives us life. He is truly the focal point of all time and space.
So what unanswered questions have left you bewildered and confused in the world? What issues have you been seeking to resolve through worldly answers? Look to Jesus; know his gospel; understand the depth of the good news he brought in his incarnation. In him all things tie together. He is not only the climax of John 4 and of human history; he is even the climax of our individual lives. Jesus is always, always the answer!
