Christ
Notes
Transcript
John 4:17-26
John 4:17-26
I am Gabe Hatch: husband, father, pastor, and son. Nobody can dispute that I am Gabe Hatch. They can claim to be Gabe Hatch, and they might even be named Gabe Hatch, but they are not Gabe Hatch. I am the only Gabe Hatch, son of Rodney and Carolyn Hatch. I have a unique DNA profile, sweat droplet, and fingerprint. These features set me apart from others. However, I am not “the prophet, messiah, or angel of the Lord.” That distinction belongs to Jesus Christ
Jesus has left Judea and is headed to Galilee. There are two ways to get to Galilee from Judea. The first is to go around Samaria, which leads you along the coast on the east side of Jordan. This was how most Jews traveled because of their disdain for the Samaritans. They preferred instead of the lesser of the evil and traveled on the East bank of the gentile’s region of Perea. The Samaritans and Jews were on opposite sides of the political aisle. They were like Democrats and Republicans.
King Omri named the capital of the Northern Kingdom “Samaria” 1 Kings 16:24 . IN turn, the name transferred to the entire district. After the Assyrians captured Samaria in 722-721 B.C., they deported all the Israelites of importance and settled the land with foreigners. These foreigners and those Israelites who were left intermarried and started to adhere to ancient religion. Nehemiah rebuked these “half-breeds” who were considered tainted by various unacceptable elements of their faith. Nehemiah 13:1-3
And he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; then he built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, Samaria, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill.
On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people, and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God,
because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing.
So it was, when they had heard the Law, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.
About 400 B.C., the Samaritans erected a rival temple on Mount Gerizim. Toward the end of the 2nd century, it was destroyed by John Hycranus, the Hasmonean ruler in Judea. These elements fueled religious and theological animosities toward one another.
Jesus instead chose the direct route through Samaria. He had an encounter that had been instituted before the earth's foundation. There are no coincidences with God; everything is a divine appointment. He went straight to Jacob’s well to meet a woman. From the point of view of the orthodox Jew, there were three strikes against her: she was a Samaritan, a woman, and a sexual sinner.
Those who do not believe in Christ will assert that He never claimed to be the Messiah. This is a false narrative, and we will examine one of the many instances where He identified Himself as the Messiah. He also stated that He is the Son of God! There are so many significant aspects to this meeting, but the areas we will look at are: Jesus is “The Prophet.” Jesus is “Seeking True Worshippers.” Jesus is “Commanding people to Believe.” And Jesus is “The Messiah.”
Believe
Believe
Why is it easier for people to believe a lie than the truth? People are no longer objective; they have become subjective. It also makes you stop and examine who you are. At that turning point, you either will accept the truth or keep living a lie!
Jesus’ statement, “Woman, BELIEVE ME,” is an imperative verb in Greek. In these words, Jesus commands her to trust Him. When you believe in something or someone, you trust them. The Greek word for trust is pisteuo, which means trusting. Do we trust that Jesus is “The Prophet,” deserving our worship in spirit and truth, and is the Messiah?
The Prophet
The Prophet
The people of Israel only wanted a prophet who would bring blessings and good news. We are no different from them. We act like we want the truth, which is acceptable on our terms. I think of the King of Israel, who did not want Micaiah’s prophecy, and it seems it was always negative. But Jehoshaphat would not go to war without knowing God was with them. 1 Kings 22:6 ;8 .
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain?” So they said, “Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say such things!”
Yes, Jesus is more than a Prophet. But he also fulfilled the “The Prophet” role in Deuteronomy 18:15-19 . This is significant for the Samaritans. They only took the Pentateuch as canonical, which is why she responded. God told Moses that He would never know another prophet face to face like Moses until “The Prophet.” She recognizes Jesus as the prophet. She was not saying to Him that he was another prophet like Elijah but that He was “The Prophet.”
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,
according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’
“And the Lord said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good.
I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.
And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.
This anointing was not just a prophetic anointing (Luke 4:24 ) but a messianic one (3:22; Acts 4:26–27; 10:38 ), for Jesus is the bringer, not just the herald, of salvation.
Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
Why is this important to us? First, it fulfilled the promise that no more prophets would exist; He completed the Prophet’s lineage. Nobody else could bring salvation. Second, just as Moses led Israel out of bondage, Jesus leads all who follow Him out of the bondage of sin. It was the duty of a prophet to lead Israel; the One True Prophet is leading His People. Lastly, Jesus fulfilled God’s prophecy by guiding His people.
If Christ is “The Prophet,” He is looking for “True Worshippers of God.”
Seeking True Worshippers
Seeking True Worshippers
What did Jesus mean when He told the Samaritan woman, “The Father is seeking such to worship Him?” Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3-5
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Listen to me, Saints. Unless one is born again through Christ, one cannot worship God in “truth and spirit!” True worship of God is accepting His Son as Lord and Savior. It is a “heart issue.” In ancient Israel, worship was deeply rooted in tradition and structure. However, God was not merely interested in rituals; He sought those who worshiped in spirit and truth, just as Jesus explained to the Samaritan woman. It reminds us that true worship goes beyond mere attendance; it requires a heart devoted to God, seeking intimacy rather than obligation.
Truth: John 1:17
For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Spirit: Philippians 3:3
For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,
Each one of these terms has a commonality to them: Jesus!
Worshipping in Truth and Spirit is Believing.
Messiah
Messiah
The Samaritan woman knew that the Messiah would tell them all things. Here is where the rubber meets the pavement. He told her about her five husbands and the man she was living with. Before he told her these things, she confessed it to Him. We cannot believe that Jesus Christ is “The Prophet,” “Spirit and Truth,” and “Messiah” if we are not willing to confess our sins to Him and confess He is Lord of our lives. She knew who He was before He even told her.
Jesus knows everything, which is another reason He is the Messiah. Only God knows every intricate detail of your life. Nobody can be more intimate with you than our Lord and Savior. He did not come to condemn her but to save her. The same goes for us.
Application:
Application:
We must become apologetics of our faith. If He died for us, should we not live for Him? If we say we believe but are not doers of the Word, we are liars and do not have the Spirit and Truth inside us. James 1:21-25
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
1. Believe
That is it! We must be people like this Samaritan woman who confessed and believed, which she then told her village. So I ask, do you believe He is the Prophet, Spirit, Truth, and Messiah?
