John 4:19-26

TRUE WORSHIPPERS OF GOD

Text 4:19-26

19

The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

20

Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

21

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father.

22

Ye worship that which ye know not: we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews.

23

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers.

24

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

25

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh (he that is called Christ): when he is come, he will declare unto us all things.

26

Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

Queries

a.

Why did the woman ask about the place of worship?

b.

How is salvation from the Jews?

c.

What is worship in spirit and truth?

Paraphrase

The woman then said to Him, Sir, I can see that You are a prophet. Our forefathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where it is necessary to worship, Jesus says to her, Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You Samaritans are worshipping what you do not know. We are worshipping what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour comes, in fact that hour has arrived, when the genuine worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father is seeking just such people as these to be worshippers of Him. God is a Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. The woman says to Him, I understand that Messiah is coming, the One called Christ, and when He has come He will declare plainly to us everything we need to know. Jesus said to her, I, the One speaking to you, am He!

Summary

Jesus takes a definite side in a religious controversy. The worship of the Samaritans is condemned because it is contrary to God's revealed truth. Worship of the One True God must be in spirit and truth.

Comment

Undoubtedly the woman was visibly shocked. It is characteristically human to try to justify one's sins or change the subject. Notice that this woman does not deny what Jesus has revealed concerning her life. She realizes that Jesus must have some supernatural powerin fact, she thinks Him to be a prophet!
There are two popular interpretations of the motives behind the woman's interjection of the question about the proper place of worship: (a) some believe the woman to have asked the question because she was intensely interested in the question, while others hold that (b) she was still evading the very embarrassing subject of her sins. When Jesus had before asked her to call her husband she deftly evaded the truth and said, I have no husband. Thus the second interpretation seems to be the most plausible. It is possible, however, that she would also be interested in the proper place to worship.

By saying, Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, she evidently refers to the erection of the Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim nearly 400 years before her time. However, she may also be referring to the fact that Jacob built altars at Shechem (which was practically on the slopes of Gerizim) (cf. Genesis 33:20). Of course, the Samaritans would be constantly preached to by the Jews that the scriptural place of worship was in the Temple at Jerusalem.

According to the Old Testament Scriptures, which were even then the rule of faith and practice for God's people, there was only ONE place of worship. Moses legislated that there was to be just ONE acceptable altar (cf. Deuteronomy 12:1-14). Later the tribes east of the Jordan (Gad, Reuben and Manasseh) built their own altar, but they made it plain they did not intend to erect an altar upon which to sacrifice (Joshua 22:1-34). Still later, in the time of Hezekiah, Judah is reminded of the ONE place to worship God (cf. 2 Kings 18:22; 2 Chronicles 32:12; Isaiah 36:7).

But, according to Jesus in John 4:21, the time is coming when it will not be a question of the proper place. The time is coming when God will break down the middle wall of partition, and abolish. the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that all who seek to worship God may have access in one Spirit unto the Father.

For the present, however, He reminds her (John 4:22) that the Samaritan people are worshipping in ignorance. On the other hand, the Jews are worshipping that which they know. This is strikingly true when we realize the Samaritans only recognized the first five books of the Old Testament as authoritative. How could the Samaritans know of the prophetic promises concerning salvation from the Jews through God's suffering Servant? How could they know the devotion and prophecies of the Psalms? That salvation comes exclusively from the Jews is abundantly verified in practically all the prophetical books.

Jesus does not mean to say in John 4:23 that at that moment it was permissible to worship God anywhere. He uses the phrase the hour is coming, and now is, because in His mind the future is already perfected, (cf. also John 5:25; John 16:32). In just a few short months He will have fulfilled the Law, and the veil in the Temple will have been rent from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), and the hour will have come when men will no longer be required to worship at ONE place.

What does Jesus mean by worshipping in spirit and truth? What has He just been explaining to the woman? It is that (a) the time will soon come when place makes no difference and (b) the Samaritans are wrong because they worship in opposition to revealed truth. Thus, to worship in spirit and truth is (a) to make it a matter of the heart, the will, the spirit and the emotion and not merely a matter of physical atmosphere, and, (b) to worship in accordance with the revealed will of God in the New Testament. Some believers have over-emphasized one or the other, spirit or truth, and such unbalanced worship is wrong. Any worship which is contrary to what is revealed in the New Testament is divisive and disobedient. It is true that mere formalism is as surely an abomination before God.

William Barclay makes the following lucid remarks in his commentary, The Gospel of John, Vol. 1, pages 152-154:

1. A false worship selects what it wishes to know and understand about God, and omits what is does not wish. One of the most dangerous things in the world is a one-sided religion.
2. A false worship is an ignorant worship. In the last analysis religion is never safe until a man can tell, not only what he believes, but why he believes it.
3. A false worship is a superstitious worship. It is a worship given, not out of a sense of need nor out of any real desire, but basically because a man feels that it might be dangerous not to give it. There is too much religion which is a kind of superstitious ritual to avert the possible wrath of the unpredictable gods.
If God is Spirit, God is not confined to things;. if God is Spirit, God is not confined to places;. if God is Spirit, a man's gift to God must be gifts of the spirit. True and genuine worship is not to come to a certain place; it is not to go through a certain ritual or liturgy; it is not even to bring certain gifts. True worship is when the spirit, the immortal and invisible part of man, speaks to and meets with God, who is immortal and invisible.

God has always yearned for heart-felt worship that is according to truth from His people. He has always abhorred ritualism and formalism, and has sought willing and obedient worship (cf. Isaiah, chapter one). Paul says essentially this same thing in Philippians 3:3 and Romans 2:28-29.

What would a Samaritan know of the Messiah? Josephus, the Jewish historian, seems to indicate there was a vague messianic expectation among the Samaritans (The Life and Works of Flavius Josephus, 18:4:1). They were not so far removed from the Jewish nation that they could not be well aware of the general teaching of the Prophets through what little intercourse they had between themselves.

The woman has had her thirst aroused for living water. She wants to know how she may overcome her sin and be cleansed. So, she says, When Messiah is come, He shall reveal these things to me. She has recognized Jesus as a prophet, but not yet as The Prophet the Messiah.

Jesus, knowing she has now come to a realization of her need and is, in fact, yearning for the One who can supply that need, declares Himself to be the Living Water. the Gift of God. the Messiah.

What did the woman do? Evidently she did not say anything more to Jesus, but rushed into town, forgetting her water-jar to spread the good news (cf. John 4:28).

Quiz

1.

What motive do you think the woman had for asking the question about the proper place of worship (John 4:20)?

2.

Who were correct according to the Old Testament the Jews or the Samaritans? Why?

3.

Why were the Samaritans worshipping in ignorance?

4.

When did the hour come that God's people were no longer required to worship in one place?

5.

What is worshipping in spirit and truth?

6.

Name three characteristics of false religion.