“We want Jesus to make our lives better, or at least easier. Like the Samaritans in this story, we want him to represent us, not the ‘others.’ What if Jesus’ blessing in your life isn’t to bless you but to bless others through you? . . . Perhaps one measure of how much of the Messiah we’re missing is how many others we overlook.”- Kyle Idleman and Mark E. Moore
They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”- John 4:42 (NIV)
Today Kyle Idleman and Mark E. Moore conclude their study of the first passage the New Testament uses to form a portrait of Jesus as Messiah.
1. Christ revealed to the Samaritans (cont.). Most significantly, Jesus’ bombshell revelation overwhelmed the woman. As a result, she tried to deflect the discussion (John 4:25). But Kyle and Mark describe Jesus’ response as a nuclear blast.
Above all, Kyle and Mark stress, to understand this depiction of Jesus (“I AM the Messiah!”- John 4:26, NLT), we must pay attention to two subtle points. Therefore:
- the Greek phrase “I AM” represents the Hebrew word Yahweh. Blasphemy — if Jesus failed to back it up!
- in the parenthetical comment John makes in verse 25 “who is called Christ”), John transliterates the Hebrew word Messiah. He spells is with Greek letters. A reminder to his audience that Messiah is originally a Jewish word.
Hence, John reminds us that Jesus’ original intention involved inclusion of the Gentiles. Even though, in origin, the early church was exclusively Jewish. But it all began with this Samaritan woman. Thus, this fulfilled God’s original promise to Abraham to bless all nations.
Today’s question: In what sense do you see Jesus’ blessing in your life is to bless others through you? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Brokering freedom for others”