Peter Barnes: Jesus is the Anointed One, John 4:25-26 (Sunday 23 August 2020 Evening Service, 6.00 p.m.)
The woman clearly picks up the hint, and the subject of the Messiah is raised.
1. Hints of the Messiah.
– 4:25-26. Leon Morris: ‘This appears to be the woman’s last attempt to evade the challenge Jesus is forcing upon her.’ Surely, she is genuinely wondering about His claims. In 1901 William Wrede wrote a book on the Messianic secret in Mark. It was mostly heresy, but there are things to be explained.
– Matt.16:13-17, 20. How can Peter be blessed for realising that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and now be told to keep that quiet? The answer is to be found in what follows – Matt.16:21-23. The Messiah was a king, from the line of David, not someone who died on a cross!
– Mark 7:31-36; John 6:14-15 – hence John 10:24-25a.
2. What is the Messiah?
– ‘Jesus’ is a name (hence Col.4:11), but ‘Messiah’ (‘Christ’) is a title, which means ‘anointed one’, and in the Old Testament three kinds of people were anointed with oil:
- prophets – read 1 Kings 19:16;
- priests – read Ex.28:40-41;
- kings – read 1 Sam.16:13.
Jesus is ‘christened’ not with oil, but with the Holy Spirit – Matt.3:11.
– Ps.2:1-3, 8, 12; Dan.9:24-27.
3. Who is the Messiah? – ‘I am’ overtones in John 6:20; 8:24, 28. John 8:58 goes further. She progresses from 4:12 to 4:19 to 4:26.