“Messiah” envelops thousands of years of Hebrew/Jewish history, Hebrew/Jewish prophecy, and Hebrew/Jewish hope that ultimately culminated in Jesus Christ.
The word "Messiah" derives from the Hebrew word "Mashiach," meaning "the anointed one" or "the chosen one." It embodies the Jewish expectation of a coming deliverer predicted throughout Old Testament prophecy to the Jews, which was fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah.
Whenever anyone speaks of "Jesus Christ," he is referring to Jesus as Yeshua, the Messiah, because Christ means "Messiah" or "Anointed One," from the Greek "Christos," which was translated from the Hebrew "Mashiach," - the language of the Jews.
John 2:4-11: Meeting At The Well; Messiah to the World:
Unlike every other Jew, Jesus felt the need to go through Samaria, rather than around it by a longer route.
The Greek word for Jesus’ need to go through Samaria was "dei," definition: the necessity of law and command, of duty, of equity; the quality of being fair or impartial."
In Samaria, for the first time, Jesus impartially shared the Gospel with Gentiles (non-Jews) .
He and His disciples came to a town called Sychar. They stopped at a well that had been dug by Abraham’s grandson, Jacob. Jesus was tired, so He sat by the well. His disciples left Him there and went into town to buy food. It was about 6:00 in the evening at this time.
A woman from Samaria came to obtain well water. Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" - John 4:7
This appears to be a simple request, but it was much more! Jesus was a Jew, and a Jew rarely ever spoke to a Samaritan. And in addition, this Samaritan was a woman. In Jesus’ day, the Jewish authorities did not allow Jewish men to speak to women in public. By speaking to this Samaritan woman, Jesus proved Himself different from any other teacher, in that He was concerned about people, and indifferent to rules imposed by men.
The Samaritan woman said to Him, "You are a Jew. I am a Samaritan woman. How can You ask me for a drink?" She said this because Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans.
Jesus answered her, "You do not know what God's gift is. And you do not know Who is asking you for a drink. If you did, you would have asked Him. He would have given you living water." - John 4:9-10
This woman stood face to face with Emmanuel [God With Us], God’s own Son, yet she did not know Who He was. As always, Jesus knew this woman’s deepest need. As was His habit, Jesus used things that people could see to explain heavenly things that they could not see, speaking in an allegory. He spoke to her of living water. The Bible says that this water is a symbol for God’s Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39). But the woman did not understand that He was talking about spiritual things. She thought He meant actual water. To her, "living water" meant water that moved, i.e., water from a brook or stream. This water would be much fresher than the well water this woman was used to.
She asked Him where He could get such water. She even mentioned that the well they were at once belong to Abraham’s grandson. She asked Jesus how He could get water better than the water from Jacob’s well. She asked if Jesus was more important than Jacob. And as always, Jesus focused on that which was of greatest important.
Jesus answered, "All who drink this water will be thirsty again. But anyone who drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty. In fact, the water I give him will become a spring of water in him. It will flow up into eternal life." - John 4:13-14.
The woman said she would like to have this water, but she still did not fully understand. Jesus told her to go get her husband and come back. She said she did not have a husband. Jesus already knew this, and much more. Jesus knew her past, and her present.
Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands. And the man you have now is not your husband. What you have just said is very true."
"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our people have worshiped on this mountain for a long time. But you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." - John 4:17-20
The Jews and Samaritans argued over where the center of worship should be: at the Temple in Jerusalem, or a temple built by the Samaritans on Mt. Gerizim. Jesus spoke to what was most important.
Jesus said, "Believe me, woman. A time is coming when you will not worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know.
Salvation comes from the Jews."But a new time is coming. In fact, it is already here. True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. They are the kind of worshipers the Father is looking for. God is spirit. His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth."
The woman said, "I know that Messiah is coming." (He is called Christ.) "When He comes, He will explain everything to us."
Then Jesus said, "I, the One speaking to you, am He." - John 4:21-26
This statement of our Lord in verse 26 is even more bold than simply a declaration of His identity as Messiah. When our Lord said, ‘I who speak to you am He,’ the ‘He’ is not present in the original text, but rather supplied by the translators. Jesus, therefore, made claim to be the ‘I AM’ of the Old Testament, where God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites that “I AM” sent you (Exodus 3:14).
Jesus claimed to be Messiah and God at that same moment.
Who did Jesus say He was? The Messiah, the Christ. Jesus could not have spoken more clearly about who He was. And though He said salvation must come through the Jews, it was not only for the Jews. Now, it was for the non-Jews, the “Gentiles,” as well.At that precise time, Jesus’ disciples returned from town. They were very surprised to see Jesus talking to a woman, but they did not ask Him about it.
The woman had come to the well to retrieve water, but she received new life instead. She left her water jar by the well and ran back to town to tell others the Good News.
She said to the people: "Come. See a man who told me everything I've ever done. Could this be the Christ?" The people came out of the town and made their way toward Jesus.
His disciples were imploring of Him, "Rabbi, eat something!"
But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."
Then His disciples inquired of each other, "Did someone bring Him food?"
Jesus said, "My food is to do what My Father sent Me to do. My food is to finish His work."
"You say, 'Four months more, and then it will be harvest time.' But I tell you, open your eyes! Look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest right now. Those who gather the crop are already getting paid. They are already harvesting the crop for eternal life. So those who plant and those who gather can now be glad together."
"Here is a true saying. 'One plants and another gathers.' ” - John 4:29-37
His disciples wanted Jesus to eat the food they had bought Him from town. As was His habit, Jesus utilized something they could see (food) as a symbol of spiritual truths, for the food they bought in town would nourish their bodies, but the food realized in performing God’s work would nourish their souls.
As the crowd of people from town made their way up the hillside to see Him, Jesus compared them to a crop that was ready to be harvested. A regular crop takes months to prepare. First, the farmer plants the seeds, then he waters and the sun shines. Each seed grows slowly into a mature plant. Then it is time to harvest, or pick the grain. This day, Jesus spoke of a spiritual crop. The Samaritan woman had planted seeds of truth into the townspeople, and all those wishing to hear more were coming straight to Jesus and His disciples. That very day, many Samaritans believed in Jesus. The spiritual crop was harvested!
Although the disciples weren’t present when the woman first came to Jesus, they were privileged to help lead her friends and relative to new life in Christ. The Samaritans invited Jesus to stay with them for a few more days. The Bible says, “Many more became believers.” (John 4:41)
Ginny_Dandy wrote:
Yes, Jesus is the only Messiah! He came for His "lost sheep" that they may hear the gospel and spread it all over the world. The purpose of which was to bring more repentant souls into the fold.