GENTRY — “The woman saith unto him,Sir,I perceive that thou art a prophet.Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.Jesus saith unto her,Woman,believe me,the hour cometh,when ye shall neither in this mountain,nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:19-24

After Jesus revealed His knowledge of this woman’s life - having had five husbands and now living together with one who was not her husband - she perceived that He was a prophet and changed the subject away from herself and her own sin and need of a Savior to a more generic question which had been disputed between the Samaritans and the Jews for several centuries: Where should men worship?

As she said, the Samaritans said Mt. Gerizim in Samaria was the place to worship, even altering the portion of the Old Testament Scriptures which they accepted to reflect their beliefs. The Jews, on the other hand, said, as did the Old Testament Scriptures, that people should worship at the temple in Jerusalem.

Jesus’ answer is rather astonishing to Jew, Samaritan, and to us today: “Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

Though where one worshipped was an issue under the Old Covenant (cf. 1 Kings 12), the real issue under the New Covenant would not be the place of worship but the heart of the worshiper. Simply observing the feasts and festivals in accord with God’s commands is not what God seeks. He desires worship to be genuine and sincere worship which is motivated by God’s Spirit and the knowledge and belief of the truth. The Jews had that truth and testimony in the Scriptures. The Samaritans had altered and rejected it.

But true worship would no longer be connected to the temple at Jerusalem, which served to point to Christ and His perfect sacrifice for sin. Nor is true worship today dependent upon following certain forms or traditions. True worship is dependent upon knowing and trusting in the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God made man and the Savior of the world.

The truth is that only those who know and trust in Christ Jesus can worship the Father. As Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6; cf. 1 John 2:23).

Apart from Jesus, we cannot know or worship the Father (cf. John 15:5). Thus, true worshipers gain access to the Father, not by going to a certain place like Mt. Gerizim or Jerusalem, not by following certain forms or saying certain words, but through faith in Christ Jesus (cf. Hebrews 9:11-28; 10:19-22; Ephesians 1:6-7).

Jesus, God’s own dear Son in the flesh, shed His blood upon the cross and paid in full for our sins to make us acceptable in God’s eyes. Through Him, we gain access to the Father, and for His sake our worship is acceptable to God. And, it is because of what He has done for us that we are moved to sincerely and truly worship and glorify the Father for His grace and mercy toward us in Christ Jesus.

Dear Lord Jesus,our Messiah and Savior,grant us Your Holy Spirit and faith in You and Your shed blood that we might partake of Your salvation,be assured of forgiveness for all our sins and walk in fellowship with You and the Father.Let our worship and praise of the Father be acceptable for the sake of Your innocent sufferings and death in our stead.Amen.

[Devotion by The Still Small Voice, Gentry, Ark.; Scripture Quotations from the King James Version of the Bible]

For The Record, Pages 4 on 01/27/2010