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NASB | John 1:21 They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he *said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 1:21 They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the [promised] Prophet?" And he answered, "No." [Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5] |
Subject: The "Prophet".. |
Bible Note: Dear Ray, Yes, I agree that the Child and Prophet here is pointing to Jesus Christ who is in every way God Himself! Jesus was THE Prophet, THE Messiah. Any other "Messiah" or "messiah" is a counterfeit, and there are many prophets throughout Scripture. I have not talked about the Son of God in such a way that He is 'a prophet', I have only stated that the Samaritan woman thought that He was a 'prophet' and did not begin to accept the fact that He was the Christ until she asked, "Could this be the Christ?".. I agree with you when you say that you do not believe that the fact of Jesus being the Son of God did not come up at the scene of the woman and the well. She may have believed that He was the Christ, but He did not tell her that He was, in fact, the very Son of God! Yes, you said this, "But the fact that the Messiah was to be Deity is shown in her statement, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." NASB "(He) will declare all things to us." John4:25." I believe that the Jews and Samaritans believed that the Messiah would be the One that came from God to their people, but did they really believe that Messiah would be God Incarnate Himself? Here is the definition that I have for "Messiah": The 'One anointed', appointed and empowered by God through the impartation of His own spirit, to become the Savior of His people. (Hastings' Bible Dictionary) I believe that the people were looking for a Savior (Messiah, or a Deliverer), but they did not have a clue that this would be, in fact, God Himself! This is why the Pharisees and scribes asked John the Baptist if he was the Messiah. John fit every single description that they had of who He would eventually be (He was filled with the Holy Spirit since birth and spoke out against Israel's oppression, gaining a following). But John was only the forerunner, to pave the way for God Himself! The Father sent His one and only Son to be the Messiah of the world! So the woman may have been referring to the Messiah and the Christ as the 'Anointed One', but she did not know that she was speaking to Deity- she came to the conclusion that He was 'a prophet' after He revealed to her 'everything that she had done'; she did not come to the conclusion that this was God Himself.. And He simply told her that He was the Christ. I believe that we know Jesus as the Prophet, the Messiah, and the Son of God- fulfilling all these things as God Himself! Jesus, being Deity Himself, was the only One who could perfectly fill the description of Israel's Messiah, being sent by His Father in heaven, and in turn, sending the Holy Spirit to all who believe in Him. Blessings! Nolan |