Week 42 John 4
Back in chapter 1 people asked John the Baptist if he was the Messiah and he said I am not the Messiah (my question in John 1 was: who is The Messiah?)
And now the Samaritan woman tells Jesus I know the Messiah will come.
So I’m wondering again: who in the world is The Messiah?
I looked up Messiah in my word book. The name is used twice in the OT. Hmmm…
If I don’t find The Messiah in the OT does that mean he isn’t there? Not necessarily (but it does mean that the term Messiah isn’t used in the bible version that I’m using).
Another thing – maybe the bible I’m reading used an alternate name. An alias (for instance the Superlative Stranger). Me not finding the title The Messiah doesn’t mean he isn’t there under a different name.
I decide on a couple of things. A) I figure that it’s not safe to say The Messiah is inconsequential in the OT. But B) I think that even if he was operating under an alias he’s not a marquee OT person. That’s why I’m perplexed because what I’m seeing while I’m reading the gospels is that The Messiah seems to be a well-known & anticipated popular figure. So the question is: how did the shadowy mystery man of the OT develop into the gospel’s legendary folk hero?
Note: quotes from John 1:20 & 4:25 (NLT). Messiah in the OT is Daniel 9:25-26 (NASB) (the note says Messiah = Anointed One)