John Calvin Commentary John 4:26

"Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am [he]." — John 4:26 (ASV)

It is I who talk with you. When he acknowledges to the woman that he is the Messiah, he unquestionably presents himself as her Teacher, in compliance with the expectation she had formed; and, therefore, I think it probable that he proceeded to give fuller instruction, in order to satisfy her thirst.

Such a proof of his grace he intended to give in the case of this poor woman, so that he might testify to all that he never fails to discharge his office when we desire to have him for our Teacher. There is, therefore, no danger that he will disappoint one of those whom he finds ready to become his disciples.

But those who refuse to submit to him (as we see many haughty and irreligious men do), or who hope to find a more perfect wisdom elsewhere—as the Mahometans and Papists do—deserve to be driven about by innumerable deceptions and eventually to be plunged into an abyss of errors.

Again, by these words, “I who talk with you am the Messiah, the Son of God,” he employs the name Messiah as a seal to ratify the doctrine of his Gospel. For we must remember that he was anointed by the Father, and that the Spirit of God rested on him, so that he might bring to us the message of salvation, as Isaiah declares (Isaiah 61:1).