Not Rejected but Revealed

The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” -John 4.25-26

Jesus continues to talk to the Samaritan woman, responding to her statements with truth. She then reveals that she knows the Messiah is coming, and then when He arrives, the truth will be revealed to them. Jesus then announces that the Messiah has come, and is speaking to her now, revealing the truth to her.

From what I can find, I believe this is the first time Jesus identifies Himself as the Messiah. In John 2, the Bible says twice that Jesus did not reveal Himself. At the wedding in Cana in verse 4 He says, "My hour has not yet come" and verses 24-25, "But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man." Twice He had the opportunity to declare Himself to the Jews, twice, before making any waves, He could have revealed Himself and gained a following. But He doesn't, because the following He would have gained would not have supported what He was here to do.

The first person to hear from the mouth of Jesus that He is the Messiah, was an outcast, Samaritan woman, who had five husbands and was living with a man she was not married to. Why her? Because she pursued eternal life. She talked to Jesus, sought answers, and Jesus did not disappoint her. Those who seek eternal life, those who own their sin, those who speak to Jesus, will see and hear from God.

Jesus had every reason not to talk to to this woman. As a man, she was a woman, and in Middle Eastern culture this doesn't happen. As a Jew, she was a Samaritan, and Jews don't associate with Samaritans. As God, she was a sinner, worthy of condemnation. None of that mattered to Jesus then, and none of it matters to Him now. Regardless of status, race, or past, those who seek God will find Him.

God does not reject those who seek Him, He reveals Himself.

TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!