This is the setting for a profound act of self-disclosure by Jesus: he reveals to the woman who he truly is. Many times throughout the gospels, Jesus purposefully shrouds his messianic identity. But in John 4:26, Jesus tells the woman at the well plainly, “I am the Messiah!”11 In the gospel of John, this is the first time he’s ever spoken about himself in such a way. He doesn’t share first with his people or his disciples, but a lowly Samaritan—and a woman, no less! St. John is making a big-time