Messiah (who is called Christ)

Particularly from John 4:19 on, Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman by Jacob's well is concerned with the impending geographic liturgical universalism he will introduce; that is, because he will shortly offer himself up as the final and complete sacrifice to atone for the sins of his people, animal sacrifice will no longer be necessary and worship will not have to occur on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem (John 4:21-24). While one might have lived anywhere in the world and still maintained faith in Israel's God, the restriction of true worship, which of necessity had to include sacrifice to atone for sin, to only one Temple no doubt was a discouragement and hindrance to at least some potential converts. Soon the Samaritan woman, and by implication anyone, will be able to worship God anywhere if they will do so in the Holy Spirit and in truth (i.e., according to the commands of Scripture).

We tend to take this geographic universalism for granted, but that worship might occur literally anywhere on Earth was one of the truly new features of the New Covenant. This universalism may be one reason for John's parenthetical note in verse 25. Jesus was of course the Messiah ("Anointed One") of those who spoke Hebrew, the Jews. At the same time, however, he had been sent by his Father to seek out worshipers from all the nations of the world. Thus John reminds us of the translation of Jesus' title in Greek, the common language of the nations into which the good news, that God might be worshiped anywhere on the basis of Christ's sacrifice, was about to go.