This brings us to John 4:20-26, possibly the most significant passage on worship in the New Testament. At the end of the last lesson Jesus has exposed the Samaritan woman’s past (she has had five husbands and is living with a man not her husband) and in somewhat of a panic, she quickly changes the subject to worship. We’re ready for verse 20. “Our forefathers worshiped on this mountain (Mt. Gerizim), but you (Jews) say that Jerusalem (Mt. Moriah) is the proper place to worship.”
In previous lessons we’ve looked at what Jesus said about prayer in Matthew 6:5-15. He described it as an individual, personal activity – something He consistently practiced and modeled (compare Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16). Prayer, as Jesus describes it, is foundational to anyone’s personal relationship with God. And, I believe the concepts of prayer and worship cannot be separated. They both exist for the same reason: to allow us to be confronted with the reality of God’s presence.
The concept of worship is never specifically defined in either the Old or New Testaments. However, the words translated “worship” in both conveys similar ideas. In the Old Testament the Hebrew shachah has a general meaning of bowing as a sign of respect, where submission is implied (1 Samuel 24:8, where David bowed to Saul); and is also translated “worship” when God or even false deities (idols) are in view (Exodus 32:8, idols; Psalm 95:6, the Lord).
In the New Testament the Greek word proskuneo also has a general meaning of bowing or prostrating oneself as a sign of respect and submission to authority. In Jesus’ parable on forgiveness in Matthew 18 the servant fell down and worshiped the king in verse 26, begging for patience. It is also translated “worship” (found 8 times in John 4, as we will see).
And to carry the thought further, submission to authority implies a willingness to be obedient in both the Old and New Testaments. It is a practice that applies both to men and to God. To bow before a king meant you acknowledge his authority and await his command. It’s exactly the same with God.
So, if you go through your Bible to check out the references to worship, it’s going to be a serious stretch to include music in the concept. And, contrary to current trends in church services, worship is not a group activity that includes singing upbeat songs that are specifically crafted to elicit both exuberance and an emotional response, along with the assumption that these are evidence of the presence of God. In the Scriptures it’s an individual act of reverence and obeisance to God and those who found themselves in His presence were struck with the reality of their human, needy (sinful) condition and some even fainted.
On a personal level, it’s what we do to show the Father the reverence He deserves and that we’re willing to submit to His authority and be ready to obey Him. It’s an act of our will that forces us to confront the reality of His presence with a determination to do what He wants us to do. Real worship is what we do on our own, by ourselves, when we’re ready to get serious with God. And that’s why it’s so closely related to prayer.
Both prayer and worship are activities we do only when we’re ready to do business with God! Conversely, avoiding personal prayer and worship only proves we’re not ready or willing to be serious about the accountability of our relationship with Him. I get criticized for saying this, but this is why many current, religious, group activities that include prayer and supposed worship are promoted in public religious institutions. There’s no personal accountability – it’s more comfortable, more acceptable (it’s hiding in the dark, instead of living in the Light).
You’ve probably forgotten by now; the woman has changed the subject to worship, so we’re ready for verse 21. Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father not (just) on this mountain nor (just) in Jerusalem.” The implication here is that Jesus is saying the time is coming when it will be understood that true worship will not involve either Mt. Gerizim or Jerusalem.
This brings to the first point Jesus makes regarding worship: it cannot be confined to a specific place. This verse implies several possibilities; Jesus could be talking about any one of at least three different times, all yet future. Let me explain.
First, He could be saying, “Woman, you’re about to enter into a relationship with the Father, through Me, that will enable you to worship Him in your heart and it has absolutely nothing to do with a specific geographical location.” The significance of this is that Jesus establishes worship as an individual, personal matter like the Greek word proskuneo implies.
Second, He could be saying, “The time is coming when the temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed, so no one will be able to go there to worship. And there’s no reason to go to Mt. Gerizim, because it was never a legitimate place to worship anyway.” So, the debate between the Jews and Samaritans about where to worship will soon be settled.
Then third, He could be saying, “The time is coming when My redemptive work on the cross will eliminate any controversy over where to worship; because everything that is associated with the Old Testament will be fulfilled and done away with.” In the Old Testament worship was associated with the ritual system and the temple. So, in His answer (regardless of which one you choose) Jesus tells us worship will not be confined to a specific place.
Now we’re ready for verses 22 through 24. “You Samaritans worship what you do not understand. But we worship what we do understand, that is, that salvation comes from the Jews. The time will come, in fact is already here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father is seeking just such people as these to worship Him. God is a Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” This is the second point Jesus makes about worship: true worship must be a balance of spirit and truth.
Let’s take this a verse at a time. In verse 22 Jesus says, “salvation comes from the Jews”. The salvation predicted by the prophets of the Old Testament and then fulfilled and confirmed in the New Testament was to come from the Messiah of the Jews. The problem here for the Samaritans was that since they only accepted the validity of the first five books of the Bible, they had little knowledge of the Messiah. There are rather broad and general references to Messiah in the lineage of Isaac and Jacob recorded in the Book of Genesis, but these needed subsequent information to have a fuller, more specific meaning.
It is true, however, that the Samaritan woman did possess some knowledge of Messiah as evidenced by her statements in verses 25 and 29 that we’ll see later. And, this tells us why Jesus’ divine appointment was specifically with this particular woman, she will become a very effective messenger when she tells people about her conversation with Jesus and asks them the question, “is this not the Christ?” (Verses 28-30)
Then in verse 23 He says, “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth”. The Samaritans were faithful in their worship. They had a place they believed was proper for worship. Even if you go to Mt. Gerizim today on one of their holy days, you will see a large number of Samaritans faithfully observing some part of the Mosaic Law. They’re faithful, but they still don’t have accurate information or understanding. They have spirit, but they don’t have truth.
Now, in some ways the Jews were just the opposite. They accepted all 39 books of the Old Testament – they had the complete revelation and some even understood and followed it. But for the most part they lacked any spirit. Judaism in Jesus day was cold, legalistic and hypocritical; all reasons that made Jesus clash with them all through His public ministry.
Even before Jesus’ day the priests saw their duties as meaningless and unfulfilling (the KJV uses “drudgery” in Malachi 1:13-14). Paul later describes it as a rules oriented system designed to give its practitioners the opportunity to ignore God’s righteousness and achieve their own self-righteousness (Romans 10:3). So the Jews were just going through the motions of religiosity, but their hearts weren’t in it – they had some truth available to them, but there was no spirit (let’s be clear here, God always has and always will have a people loyal and responsive to Him, something obviously true even in Jesus’ day).
Then in verse 24 Jesus simply restates what He has already said, “God is a Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” Here, I should define these words more fully. In context “spirit” is from pneuma, here it refers to the whole (undivided) heart, the mind, will and emotions. It is the desire to respond to God in reverence, thanksgiving, gratitude, worthiness, honor, etc. “Truth” is aletheia, the reality of something, here the reality of the presence of God, realized when an effort is made to be alone with Him.
Let me go back to verse 23 where, at the beginning of the verse, Jesus says, “A time will come, in fact is already here, when genuine worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth”. Look at that. He says something is yet future, but also present now. The Lord is standing in a time of transition. The time is coming, in fact is here because I am here, when the Old Covenant will be gone and the New Covenant will take its place. Then there will be genuine worshipers who will understand My instruction and will: not be confused about where to worship; will have a real desire to worship; and will seek times to be in My presence. They will understand that worship is a personal, individual activity and it will be a balance of spirit (desire) and truth (reality).