10. John 4:20-26 Jesus Teaches True Worship

 

Vs 23-24:  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. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

VS 26: Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

After Jesus confronted the woman about her personal spiritual and moral failure, she tried to shift the conversation away from her personal need salvation and life transformation and began a conversation about the religious debate between Jews and Samaritans over proper location of God’s Temple. The Samaritans had built their own temple as a rival to the temple in Jerusalem. 
 
Jesus shifted the conversation back to the heart of the matter. The temple was only the temporary place where people would need to go to meet with God and enjoy his presence. Now that Jesus was among them, God ‘s presence was experienced through Jesus, the incarnation of God. John 1:14 states that the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among mankind. In John 2:19 Jesus described himself in terms that indicated he was the true temple of God.
 
Jesus explained that God was doing something new. Worship would no longer be confined to a specific structure in a particular location. True worship, worship which would be acceptable to God, is worship “in Spirit and truth”.  Worship must come from the heart, motivated and directed by the Spirit. Worship must be according to the truth God has revealed about himself. We must worship God according to His revelation about himself, not according to what we imagine him to be. Worshipping a God of our imagination is idolatry.
 
The woman seemed to be thinking out loud, wondering if Jesus was in fact the Messiah. Her words show her to be thinking. “We have been expecting the Messiah, and he will be a man who will reveal all things. Here I am, talking to a man who has revealed knowledge about me and God that is beyond what any normal man could know, maybe he is the one?!”
 
Jesus explicitly declared that he was the Messiah.

Dear Jesus, thank you for changing my heart and showing me what it means to worship in Spirit and truth. Thank you for pouring out your grace and love in my life through the presence of the Holy Spirit. I dedicate my life to you. Help me to live for your glory.
 
In Your name, I pray. Amen.