Jesus said, "God is spirit, and
his worshipers must worship
in the Spirit and in truth."
John 4:24
Bible Rank: 53
Do you know where this quote comes from? It’s from the midst of Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well. The Savior has wandered into Samaria … a land despised by all “good Jews.”
And why did Jews hate the Samaritans? Here’s the quick story:
· In about 1000 BC, King David ruled Israel.
· But after David’s son Solomon died – about 950 BC – their kingdom split in two.
· The Southern Kingdom was basically the remnants of the tribe of Judah (from which we get the term “the Jews”). Jerusalem was the southern capital. The Temple (in Jerusalem) was the center of their worship-life. And though Judah was wildly imperfect, these Jews eventually maintained their religious identity and they (and the line of David) survived to the days of Jesus.
· The Northern Kingdom (called Israel) did not. A succession of evil kings, afraid that their people would return to Jerusalem to worship, set up new “temples” in places like their new capital city of Samaria. And their faith wasn’t orthodox. And their object of worship wasn’t God, but a golden calf! (As if God’s people hadn’t had enough trouble trying to worship a golden calf during the Exodus, King Jeroboam repeated the sin.)
· God allowed the rebellious Northern Kingdom to be conquered by the Assyrians in about 740 BC, and the residents of this kingdom (centered around the city of Samaria) were either killed, dispersed, or assimilated into series of empires (Assyrian, Babylonia, Persian, Greek, and Roman) and thus disappeared.
· As a result, three quarters of a millennium later (and by the time of Jesus), the geographical area north of Jerusalem (called Samaria) was left with a people who worshipped an odd mix of
o Judaism (they had old Jewish roots),
o Jewish heresy (shaped by the pick-and-choose perversions of their idol worshiping kings),
o pagan worship (Assyrian),
o Baal (Satan) worship (popularized under Northern kings like Ahab),
o Greek philosophy (part of their newer culture), and
o Roman emporer worship (another part of their culture by the days of Jesus).
They were a mess! And what really infuriated many Jews is that many mish-mashed Samaritans still called them good Jews.
So into this mixed-up, Samaritan religious/culture journeys the Son of God! Rather than being appalled by their religious heresy, Jesus – in love – sees an opportunity to proclaim the Good News and set more captives!!!
Therefore, Jesus models God’s amazing grace as he ministers to a woman with a checkered past. And she’s shocked! She’s shocked by his kindness. She’s shocked by his prophetic insight into her past. And most of all, she’s shocked that such a kind and wise Jewish teacher would have anything to do with her, a hated Samaritan.
Overtaken by his love and grace, she finally says, “‘27 Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you [read, “you Jews”] say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’
“21 Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth …’”
And this is the long – but necessary – lead up to this important question: What does it mean to worship in “spirit” and “truth.”
· IN TRUTH: First, he’s teaching this woman – a woman without friendship and hope – that she (and we) will never discover love, joy, and peace without first discovering truth. God is not to be found in a some mix of godly religion, cultural heresy, pagan worship, human philosophy, government dependence, or compromises with evil. There is one God. There is one way, one truth, and one life … and by the way, this way, truth, and life was sitting right in front of this woman. He was loving her, ministering to her, and caring for her.
· IN SPIRIT: Furthermore, Jesus was saying that Jerusalem, the Temple, the old sacrificial rituals, and the binding religious dependence upon “place” was coming to an end. Jesus was saying, to worship God, you don’t need a place … you need a person. Jesus Christ is that person! And when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell with you (as we’ll learn in future discussions of Jesus and the Apostles), you become the new temple. It’s not a place made with brick and mortal and hands. It’s a place fashioned by faith and indwelt by God.
In Christ’s Love
a guy whose building a fence
with a cattle-guard
(no metallic cows near my temple)
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