The Messiah

The Messiah has come. Jesus and the woman at the well conclude their conversation in the Gospel of John, chapter 4.

22Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
27And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
28The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

30Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

(John 4:22-30, King James Version)

Jesus and the woman at the well conclude their conversation speaking about the Messiah. First Jesus explains that salvation will come from the Jews, as the Promised One would be descended from the tribe of Judah. He also explains that the worship of God is not tied to a specific place, nor can it be shared with other gods, as was common of the Samaritans.

We certainly do not have to worry about that today, do we? We do not have idols scattered around our house that we bow down to and worship. Does an idol have to be a god, or a statue of a god? What is an idol, anyway?

Unfortunately, most people today, especially in our "Christian" nation [United States], do not actually bow down to idols, however, they serve idols everyday.

What or who takes the place of God in your life, i.e., what or who is more important to you than God? That is your idol.

Some people worship the God of money or power; their chief end is to amass the greatest amount of riches and power they can, and enjoy the "worship" of everyone around them. There is nothing wrong with having money, but there is certainly something wrong when that wealth takes the place of God in our lives. Anyone or anything that replaces God is an idol!

The woman at the well understood exactly what Jesus was saying. He was telling her that she must worship God, alone. Because God is a spirit, He must be worshiped in spirit and in truth. Christianity is a religion of the heart; in our innermost heart or spirit, we must worship God. The affect, then, is a complete change of values. God is eveything; Christ is all!

The woman at the well also understood that Jesus was the Messiah. Nowhere else do we see Jesus saying plainly, I that speak unto thee am he.

Before we come to Christ, we are just like the woman at the well. We come to Christ today, just as she came to Christ then. We, too, must accept that Jesus was not just a man, but rather, He was the God Man, the Messiah, the Savior, and through Him, alone, comes salvation and entrance into the Kingdom of God, where we worship God in spirit and in truth.

The Messiah has come! What have you done about it?