John 4:23

John 4:23. But an hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth. This verse links itself with both the preceding John 4:21-22. To no place of special sanctity shall worship belong: though ‘the salvation is of the Jews,' this involves no limitation of it to the Jewish nation: on the contrary, an hour cometh when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth. ‘An hour cometh' had been said before by Jesus (John 4:21), but He could not then add ‘and now is;' for, till the truth set forth in John 4:22 had been received, Samaritans could not truly worship ‘the Father.' Now, however, they and all may do so. But the added words ‘and now is' imply still more than this. Following the declaration that the Messianic salvation comes from among the Jews, they are no obscure intimation that, in Himself, the hour so long waited for has arrived, and thus they at least prepare for the direct announcement to be made in John 4:26. The word ‘true' here is that which has been already spoken of (see note on chap. John 1:9, the only place before this in which it has as yet occurred) as so common and so important in this Gospel. The worshippers denoted by it are not merely sincere, free from all falsehood and dishonesty; they offer a worship that deserves the name, that fully answers to the lofty, noble, pure idea that the word ‘worship' brings before the mind. In the day now dawning on the world such worshippers as these will worship the Father in spirit and truth. It is difficult to exhaust the meaning of these words, but we must start from the two thoughts of the verses which immediately precede: the first and chief points in the interpretation are, not in sacred place but in spirit (John 4:21), not in imperfection of knowledge but in truth (John 4:22). The very name by which Jesus indicates the object of all worship, ‘the Father' (a name no longer used of a chosen nation, but offering to each man a personal relation to God), had prepared the way for the abolition of all limitations of place: the leaching is completed here, when man's spirit is declared to be the ‘hallowed ground' where he may approach his Father and his God. Again, in the past all knowledge of God had been imperfect, not merely as our knowledge of the Infinite must be limited, but also in comparison with what may be known by man. Even Jews who held the oracles of truth saw in them as ‘in a glass darkly;' Samaritans who rejected the words of the prophets were far more ignorant. The law had been but a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things (Hebrews 10:1); type and figure concealed whilst they revealed the future blessing. But ‘the hour now is' when the truth of God is revealed, ‘truth' as well as ‘grace' has come (chap. John 1:17); and (in the full knowledge of it) worship may now be offered to the Father. Read in connection with other parts of our Lord's teaching, the words ‘spirit and truth' express much that could not be apparent at the moment when they were spoken. The Son appearing as the revealer of the Father, Himself the Truth, Himself giving to men the Holy Spirit who alone can hallow man's spirit as the sanctuary of worship, all these are thoughts which cannot but press on us as we read this verse.

For the Father also is seeking such, them that worship him. The hour of this real worship is already come, for the Father also is seeking such real worshippers. They are offering Him real homage, for He on His part is seeking them: His seeking through His Son, come to save (John 4:23), and to seek that He may save (Luke 19:10) explains and renders possible this worship. There is much difficulty in determining the true meaning of the original in this clause. It is usually explained to mean either , ‘The Father seeketh that His worshippers be such' (i.e., that they should worship in spirit and truth), or, ‘For such the Father seeketh to be His worshippers.' Both interpretations involve serious difficulties, partly of language, partly of meaning. On the whole, the translation given above seems most probable, but its force is not at once apparent. There is a curious variation in the Greek words, which is often considered accidental, or at all events too minute to be significant, but which we must regard as intentional and important. In John 4:21 and in the first part of John 4:23 the word ‘worship' has its usual construction, but in this clause the case which follows the verb is suddenly changed, and a very unusual construction is introduced. We may represent the force of the word as it is commonly used by ‘offer worship to;' but as used in the clause before us and in John 4:24, the connection of the verb with its object becomes more direct and close. An English reader can feel the force of a sudden transition from ‘offering worship to the Father' to ‘worshipping the Father.' The former may or may not be real and successful, and may be used of a lower as well as of the highest homage; the latter implies actual attainment of the end desired, reaching Him in worship, if we may so speak; and thus it may almost be said to contain in itself the qualifying words of the preceding clause, for the ‘ real ' offering of worship to God is equivalent to worshipping Him. If this view is correct, and we are persuaded that such a writer as John could not so vary the language without design, the meaning of the clause is: For also the Father is now seeking such men, those, namely, who actually worship Him. There is thus a mutual seeking and meeting on the part of the Father and His children.