January 29: John 4 

True Worship 

A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it. God Himself is here waiting our response to His Presence. This eternal world will come alive to us the moment we begin to reckon upon its reality.

– A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, Apprehending God

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

Jesus, returning to Galilee from Judea, was traveling through Samaria. John, who often makes statements with more than one meaning, says that it was necessary for him to make the journey through Samaria. Of course, it was the most direct route, though strict Jews avoided traveling through the region of outcasts. They would opt for the longer route, crossing over the Jordan and traveling up the east side to avoid defilement. He also needed to go through Samaria to keep a divine appointment.

Jesus, weary from the journey, stopped at Jacob’s well, a historic site in the area. The tomb of Joseph lies near the well. It is situated at the base of Mount Gerizim near Sychar and that city lies near the ruins of Shechem, the city of Jacob’s day. Nearby is the valley between the two mountains, Ebal and Gerizim, where the curses and blessings of the covenant echoed in Joshua’s time. He has sent his disciples to town to find something to eat since it is around noon, a hot time of the day. Jesus is the only visitor at the well until a woman approaches the well. 

She comes alone, and as we learn about her story, we understand some of the reasons. Most women would come to the well in a cooler time of the day and would gladly join with other women to enjoy the fellowship, as well as the help. But this woman has several strikes against her. She is a woman in a man’s world, an inhabitant of Samaria which was lowly esteemed by Jews, and her personal history of broken relationships spoke volumes about the pain, disappointment, and possible abuse she had endured. After trying marriage five times, she had given up and was living with her current partner. She was an outcast among outcasts. 

What intrigues me about this encounter is the depth of the interaction and the depth of spiritual teaching Jesus shares with this woman. Jesus uses the setting as an opportunity to point to a deeper thirst and a more substantial provision he could offer her: living water. Just like Nicodemus she mistakes his offer and thinks only in literal and physical terms, although we can certainly understand her error more readily because she did not have the religious background of Nicodemus. 

The question she raises concerning the place of true worship highlights the differences between the views of the Jews and the Samaritans. The Samaritans had their own version of the Pentateuch, their own temple on Mount Gerizim, and their own rendering of Israel’s history. However, Jesus went directly to the heart of the issue rather than engage in religious wrangling. 

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. (John 4:21-23) 

A new day is dawning. Gone are the tabernacle, temple, Levitical ministry, Aaronic priesthood, emblems and instruments used for worship, and sacrificial ritual as well as a specific geographic place for worship. Worship that pleases God must be true and spiritual. This is what the woman at the well needed most. A spiritual encounter with Jesus will change the course of her life. 

True worship must conform to spiritual realities, and at the foundation of worship is the truth that it is spiritual in nature because God is Spirit. We tend to think of worship in material terms such as a building, music, preaching, ritual, activities, etc. In doing so we show that we have much in common with this woman. True worship is not about any of these things (although it may involve them). Worship is simply connecting to, relating to, God spiritually. It is this simplicity that makes spiritual worship profound. Worship can take place anywhere, anytime, by anyone. Jesus has opened a new way, a spiritual way to approach God. 

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  
 

Hebrews 10:19-25

The great news is that worship is the simplest and most sublime experience – God is searching for, longing to meet with, those who are desperately reaching out to him. These are the worshipers that find him, and in finding him, they find all that they need. 

As we begin to focus upon God the things of the spirit will take shape before our inner eyes. Obedience to the word of Christ will bring an inward revelation of the Godhead (John 14:21-23). It will give acute perception enabling us to see God even as is promised to the pure in heart. A new God-consciousness will seize upon us and we shall begin to taste and hear and inwardly feel the God who is our life and our all. There will be seen the constant shining of the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9) More and more, as our faculties grow sharper and more sure, God will become to us the great All, and His Presence the glory and wonder of our lives. O God, quicken to life every power within me, that I may lay hold on eternal things. Open my eyes that I may see; give me acute spiritual perception; enable me to taste Thee and know that Thou art good. Make heaven more real to me than any earthly thing has ever been. Amen.

– A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, Apprehending God