We continue our slow stroll through John 4 this week and will discuss our union with God Almighty more. We previously discussed how sin is "missing the mark," and—said another way—"the mark" (or the bullseye) is union with God.
I want to step into this week by reading most of our study text. I tend to write verse-by-verse studies, which has its place, but there is no one "right" way, and sometimes we can miss the forest through the trees without examining bigger chunks of the text at one time:
1 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."
11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?"
13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."
17 "I have no husband," she replied.
Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
21 "Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."
25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."
26 Then Jesus declared, "I, the one speaking to you—I am he."
We left off last time at verse 20, but it was mid-conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Jesus revealed His prophetic side to the woman as He spoke about her past and revealed truths about her. She acknowledged that truth and moved quickly to a topic she was more concerned about: where to worship.
Our minds can quickly anchored to the what and the where, especially in Western civilization. We want the details, the knowledge, the cognitive understanding, the multiple Scripture references, the fill-in-the-blank, and the Sunday school story.
But in this conversation, Jesus quickly shifts her back to the Who and the why when He says:
21 "Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."
Who are we worshiping? The Father. Why are we worshipping Him? Because the time was coming (Christ's death and resurrection) when the location would no longer be the focal point of God's presence. What a remarkable announcement!
Furthermore, Jesus made this proclamation to a sinful woman who misunderstood much of God's character (the Samaritans only accepted the first five books of the Hebrew Scripture and rejected the rest). This should encourage us greatly because, through this story, we see how Christ's character demonstrates how He will meet us in our misunderstandings and misconceptions and lead us deeper into union with Him.
Spirit and Truth
23 "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."
I like how David Guzik breaks down the meaning of spirit and truth (paraphrased below). Sometimes, we get hung up on these words and the associated definitions. When we keep it in the context of the whole back-and-forth dialogue (i.e., the Samaritan woman skirted the marriage convo and made it about location), it brings more clarity:
i. Worshipping in spirit means being concerned with spiritual realities, not so much with places or outward sacrifices, cleansings, and trappings.
ii. To worship in truth means to worship according to the full character of Who God is, especially in light of the New Testament revelation. It also means to come to God in truth, not in a facade or a mere display of spirituality.
I love the final motion of the conversation. Christ provides an absolute revelation of Himself to this woman so that she has clarity and is without question:
25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."
26 Then Jesus declared, "I, the one speaking to you—I am he."
Whatever misunderstanding or misconception you have about Christ (and we all have them and continue to be transformed by Him), He is ready to speak to you. He is precisely what you need and long for, even though you cannot express your desire. Sit with Him—day after day—and practice talking to God, listening to God, and being with God. Transformation will naturally occur as you build the rule of life and practice The Way. And that transformation will spill out to others, which we'll read about in our final study of John 4!