RTBS: 04/15 John 4:25-26

RTBS | John 4:25–26

Jesus the Messiah — The Center of All Scripture

2. PASSAGE EXEGESIS

John 4:25–26

2.1 What words, phrases, or images stand out?

“I know that Messiah is coming…” “(who is called Christ)” “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” “I who speak to you am He.”

This is not a casual statement. This is a declaration.

Not a prophet. Not a teacher.

The Messiah.

This is the focus of the study tonight.

The title Messiah, is what helps us understand the framework for the entire Old Testament.

In a simple phrase...

“The Old Testament reveals the problem of sin and the need for salvation in a way that only the Messiah can ultimately fulfill.”

The OT shows us the problem of sin, and then reveals God nature in a way of pointing us to the ultimate fulfillment.

You can look at it like this - the OT is the blueprint / Jesus is the house

The blueprint showed us what we needed, what it was going to look like, but you couldn't live in it, it was just a picture

But Jesus was the fulfillment of that blueprint / he didn't destroy the blueprint and start over, he fulfilled the plan

John 4:25 — Expectation

“I know that Messiah is coming…”

This woman has theological expectation.

She is waiting for:

clarity

truth

resolution

The Messiah was not a side figure.

He was the answer to everything unresolved.

We have to understand that the Messiah meant something very different for the average Jew or Samaritan at this time.

The blueprint actually portraid a sacrficial savior coming humbly as a man, but the Jews preferred a ruler and a political leader.

So when the Samaritan woman is looking forward to a Messiah, she didn't even consider that this could have been him

Jesus fit the prophecied savior perfectly, but he didn't fit the picture of the Messiah at all that they were looking for

“Messiah… Christ”

Messiah (Hebrew) = Anointed One Christ (Greek) = Anointed One

Same title. Not a name. A role.

Messiah was used throughout scripture to describe anyone who was anointed

................. Look below at titles of those considered anointed

The Old Testament Background of “Anointed”

Three offices were anointed:

Prophet

Priest

King

SHOW EXAMPLES IN LOGOS OF THE TERM ANOINTED ONE (MESSIAH OR MESHIACH, BEING USED)

Each one:

temporary

incomplete

anticipatory

The Theological Problem

Prophets spoke for God— but were not the final Word.

Priests mediated before God— but could not remove sin.

Kings ruled God’s people— but failed in righteousness.

The system was insufficient, AND THIS WAS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE OT

YOU HAVE THIS WHOLE SYSTEM THAT WAS INSUFFICIENT, AND IN TURN POINTED TO THE ULTIMATE FULFILLMENT OF ALL OF IT

The Difference - A Messiah VS. The Messianic Expectation

In Psalms, we start to see the term anointed one used in a definitive sense.

It even starts to be written as capitalized in our translations to reflect the different...

Look at Psalm 2:2 in Logos - one of the first references to a person titles Messiah

Look at Daniel 9:24-25 - here is a specific use of Messiah used as a title of an individual, not just a description

The Messiah would be:

the true Prophet

the true Priest

the true King

Not multiple offices— One person.

John 4:26 — Revelation

“I who speak to you am He.”

Direct identification.

Jesus is not pointing to the Messiah.

He is declaring He is the Messiah.

John 4:26 is any many ways one of the central points of much of what the OT was pointing to

It was the moment that the Messiah, the prophesied one was finally revealed

Discussion Question 1

If the people in this moment had the Scriptures and were actively expecting the Messiah, why do you think they still misunderstood Him when He arrived—and what does that reveal about how we might misread Scripture today?

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT?

The Old Testament was.

preparatory

anticipatory

directional

It is pointing forward.

KEY OBSERVATION

The title “Messiah” carries the full weight of Old Testament expectation.

It is not a word.

It is not just a name

It is a theological conclusion to what the entire OT was pointing to

THE CENTRAL THREAD OF SCRIPTURE

This is so important for us to get, because this should be how we look at the Bible as a whole. It is ONE UNIFIED STORY, AND SKIPPING ANY PART OF IT IS MISSING OUT THE FULNESS OF THE STORY

The Bible is not primarily about:

morality

rules

behavior

It is simply about:

Jesus Christ - as the savior of the world and conqueror of our sin

Discussion Question 3

How would a Christian's faith who only read's the OT look different from one who only reads the NT.

Teaching Direction:

Only OT - no fulfillment or solution

Only NT - no purpose or need

3. KEY DOCTRINE

3.1 Key Doctrine

**The Doctrine of Messianic Fulfillment **

Definition

Messianic Fulfillment means everything in the Old Testament ultimately finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the Anointed One.

3.2 What Does This Doctrine Teach?

1. The Old Testament Anticipates the Messiah

Prophecy, law, priesthood, and kingship all point forward.

None are complete in themselves.

2. Jesus Fulfills All Messianic Categories

He is:

the final Prophet

the true High Priest

the eternal King

3. Fulfillment Means Completion, Not Addition

Jesus does not add to the Old Testament system.

He completes it.

4. Scripture Has a Unified Christ-Centered Theme

The Bible is not a collection of disconnected teachings.

It is a unified revelation centered on Christ.

What This Doctrine Is Not

This is not:

a moral framework

a general belief in God

a cultural religion

This is:

The claim that Jesus is the promised Messiah.

Clean Theological Summary

The Old Testament points forward.

The New Testament reveals fulfillment.

Jesus Christ stands at the center—

as the Messiah all of Scripture was pointing to.

Discussion Question 4

If Jesus is the fulfillment of all Scripture, how should that shape the way we read, teach, and apply the Bible?

Teaching Direction:

We interpret everything through Christ.

We center doctrine on Him.

We respond in faith and submission.

WHY THIS MATTERS

If Jesus is not the Messiah—

Scripture is unresolved.

If He is—

everything makes sense.

The woman was waiting for the Messiah.

He was standing in front of her.

And the same question remains:

Will you recognize Him—

or keep reading Scripture without seeing Him?