Messages

John 4:20-24 (NIV)

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.”

Jesus has learned that Pharisees heard that Jesus is baptizing more disciples than John and in fact it was not Jesus who baptized it was his disciples who were baptizing people. So he is leaving Judea and going back to Galilee. Now he has to go through Samaria. He came to a place called Sychar near Jacob’s well. Now Jesus was tired of the journey, he sat down by the well. It was afternoon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus asked her for water. The woman was shocked, as Jews don’t talk to Samaritans. She was shocked to see a Jew asking her for water. Then Jesus made use of that opportunity to share the truth. He said, if you would know who is that asking you for water, you would have asked him and I would’ve given you living water. Sir the woman said, you don’t have anything to draw water moreover the well is too deep, how can you give me this water. Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us this well and moreover himself drank from this well? Jesus said, if you drink the water from this well, you’ll feel thirsty again but the living water I give, whoever drinks it will never be thirsty again. Indeed the water I give will become a spring to water welling up to eternal life. Immediately she responded then give me this water. She didn’t ask because she understood the spiritual meaning behind it but she asked because she doesn’t want to feel thirsty again and she doesn’t have to travel every day to draw water from the well. Jesus said, go call your husband and come. For which she said I have no husband. Jesus said to her you’re right when you said, you have no husband. The fact is you’ve had five husbands and the man that you’re currently living with is not your husband. Now the truth about her sinful life is revealed, how do you respond? When someone reveals the truth about your sinful life? Do you respond with anger or do you acknowledge the truth that you’re a sinner and you need Jesus? Again it also depends upon the way that is exposed? If someone exposes the truth about you to put you down or to mock at you then the response would be bad. But the response here was She called Jesus Sir, that I know you’re prophet. This shows the meekness of Jesus in revealing the truth to sinners about their sin. He didn’t use arrogance or sarcasm to shoot people down but rather revealed their sins and the need for repentance in love and compassion. She said Sir I understand that you’re a prophet and now comes our text for today her question about the right place of worship and Jesus’s response to that

Vs 20-24 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.”

To her question of where to worship? Jesus replies with whom to worship and how to worship?

There are ten times the word Worship is mentioned in these 4 verses. This text is so important for today and it is so relevant, as people around us has got it so wrong the meaning and understanding of true worship.

Before we go into the text, let me give you the correct meaning of worship. Worship in simple terms means to have reverence (respectful fear) and adoration (love and admiration) for a divine supreme being. In much more simpler way is to give honor, respect, love, praise, glory to God. Worship is from a Greek word proskuneō, which means to kiss toward, ancient days the custom of kissing the hand of a superior, a person bow down on the ground, bow his head and kiss the hand.  It also conveys the idea of bowing down, or prostrating oneself.  And it is the idea that you prostrate yourself before God with a sense of respect and awe and reverence and honor. So worship is not about receiving but giving honor to God.
We’ll go into the text now. Woman asks “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.
The first question she asks is about the place of worship. Jesus never rebuked her saying you adulteress woman, how dare you ask me about the place of worship? But Jesus politely goes on to explain the most deep and profound truths about true worship.
He said you people, Samaritans worship him in Mount Gerizim and Jews worship him in Jerusalem but 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

i) Location doesn’t matter to worship
Jesus said location doesn’t matter. Either Mt Gerizim or Jerusalem doesn’t matter. Jesus doesn’t mean gathering at a place for worship is wrong but overstating the place rather than the person who makes that place worthy is wrong. This place is not important, the presence of God in this place makes that place beautiful. What if there is no presence of God in this place, this is just a building. So not the place that matters. Jesus replied a time is coming, where you’ll neither worship in Mt Gerizim nor in Jerusalem.
Jesus’s disciples looked at the temple of Jerusalem and they were so astonished to see the beauty and majesty of the temple of Jerusalem.
Mark 13: 1-2 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” 2.“Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

And it came to pass in 70 AD, when the Jews rebelled against Romans. Emperor Nero with his army destroyed the temple of Jerusalem.
Today people spend crores and crores of rupees for Church buildings for fame and showoff, to show they have the biggest church in the city. They spend crores of rupees for the infrastructure, but have missed God and God is not in their midst. Moreover they have no reverence for God.
Once in my hometown, I attend a church and it’s a small congregation normally conducted in Pastor’s house. The owner came to know that their conducting church in their house and they asked the pastor to vacate the house. So until they found another place for worship, they gathered in a small place behind one of the believer’s house, that place was so bad and the roof would break down any second. But you wouldn’t believe that day we had one of the best time of worship and the presence of God so filled in that place that I could never forget.
So the place doesn’t matter for worship, that doesn’t mean when we gather corporately for worship, we don’t need a place. God doesn’t hate the place itself neither he hates beauty. God commanded his people to build a sanctuary and he gave orders in details as to how his sanctuary should be. The main point is that it’s not the place that’s important but the presence of God in that place makes the place beautiful.
Paul and Silas worshiped God in the Prison and the place was shaken by the presence of God.
Then Jesus goes on to say “22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
First he said place doesn’t matter for worship next he says not only the place is an issue but you’re worshiping what you do not know.

ii) Worship that doesn’t please God
Here the object of worship is still God. Both Samaritans and Jews worship the same God but the Samaritans understanding of God and their knowledge of God is not right. They are still worshiping but not all worship is pleasing to God. Just because we worship God, does not mean He is pleased with our worship.
We’ll see 3 instances from the scriptures where God accepts some worship and where God is not pleased with some of their worship.
The first recorded human worship in Bible is at Genesis 4 but I believe Adam to be the first human who worshiped God. Let’s look at Worship offered by Cain and Abel to the LORD.
Genesis 4: 2-7 Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Here the first brothers of human history brought an offering to the LORD. Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer. Both of them brought their offering to God. Cain brought some fruits of the soil as an offering to God and Abel killed the firstborn of his flock and brought the fat portion. God accepted Abel’s offering and was not pleased with Cain’s offering. Why? Many would interpret this as God loves animal sacrifice and hates fruits. God created both animals and vegetation and he said it was good. God in fact commanded his people to bring him grain offerings (Leviticus 2) But the real problem in Cain’s sacrifice was that his heart was not in the offering. He didn’t have faith in God while he offered. He didn’t honor God through his offering. His heart was far away from God. God said if you do what is right the other version says it you do it well will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you.
Hebrews 11: 4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

Abel offered by faith and his offering was accepted. Cain didn’t believe in God neither honored God hence his worship was not accepted.

We see in Leviticus 10: 1-3 where God is not pleased with the offerings Aaron’s sons made. They offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which was contrary to his command. God sent fire and burned them up. They didn’t obey his commands. They had no regard for his commands and they worshiped God in vain. God was not pleased with their worship. God is not pleased with our worship when we disobey God and his commands.
Malachi 1: 8-9  8 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.9 “Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the Lord Almighty.

Here people are offering their left overs to God, lame and blind animals and they expect God to be pleased with their offerings. God said with such offerings from your hands, will I be pleased?
So God is not pleased with all of our worship but he’s seeking true worshipers. Let us look at the kind of worship and the worshipers God is seeking after

iii) Worship him in spirit and in truth
Vs 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.”

Jesus says a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the spirit and in truth, that’s the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
To worship God in spirit is to have a spiritual worship, to worship God from your heart or from within.
Jesus said in Matthew 15: 8-9 “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain, their teachings are merely human rules.”

God is not impressed with anything that doesn’t come from inside. He is not impressed with your singing, clapping, dancing, music, as long as it all comes from your heart that is so in love and delight in God. Pharisees were so right in their knowledge of God, they honored God with their lips but their hearts were far away from God.
Psalm 51: 16-17 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
God is not delighted in your sacrifice and burnt offerings unless you come and offer before him with a broken spirit and a repentant heart. He looks for something deeper within. He looks into your heart.
Next, God is seeking for true worshipers, who’ll worship him in truth
To worship God in truth is to worship Him according to His Word. His word is truth. His word teaches us all the attributes of God, his sovereignty, his holiness, his love, his compassion, his majesty, his anger against ungodliness, his righteousness, his kindness, his graciousness. When you know the truth, you’ll not worship him for when he gives but you’ll worship him for what he is.
Job 1: 20-22 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

This is worshiping God in truth. When Job heard God took all his property, he took all his children in return Job fell on the ground and worshiped God because he knows the truth that God is all satisfying, he is all sufficient, he is enough, he is sovereign. He knew whatever he might lose but he has not lost God. In all these things he didn’t sin rather he fell down on the ground and worshiped God saying The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. That’s worshiping God in truth. The Bible is our only guide for worshiping in truth. The more you feed your mind with the truth of God that moves your spirit to praise and love God.