It is not Where You Worship But How

John 4:16–26
» View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway)

Blaise Pascal observed that the people who have the greatest influence in shaping the hearts and minds of any generation are not the folks who write the laws, but those who write the songs. Plato observed, musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhyth … More

Worship

Jesus told the woman to go and to return to him with her husband (v. 16). As Jesus was a man, it would have been inappropriate for him to give the woman anything of value without her husband being present. Jesus was fully God and fully man. As God, he knew this woman’s background (vv. 17-18), but as a man, he could have deduced that this woman was a social outcast. Even if she was happily married to her first husband, she still would have needed to make this trip to the well daily. The other women of the town made this trip together in the cool of the morning and/or in the cool of the evening. But she, not being welcome with them, was forced to make the same journey alone and in the heat of the day.

The woman answered honestly that she had no husband, probably hoping that Jesus would then be able to give her the gift. Jesus surprised her by confirming that what she had said was true and by going even further, correctly stating that she had been married five times and was currently living with a man she was not married to (vv. 17-18). This was a woman in deep emotional pain. But instead of talking about it further, she said, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet” (v. 19). Put another way, “Sir, I can see that you are a man of God. You know things about me that only God could have revealed to you.”

She then brought up a topic of popular theological debate, the correct place of worship (v. 20). Either she was trying to change the subject, or she had really been seeking the answer to this question and saw an opportunity in Jesus to get an answer. But Jesus, keeping his focus on her deepest need, directed the conversation to a much more important point. He stated that the location of the worshiper is not nearly as important as the attitude of the worshiper (vv. 21-24). Jesus told her, “It’s not going to be about mountains anymore”. As a spirit, God is not a physical being limited to one place (v. 24). He is everywhere, and He can be worshiped anywhere at any time.

Application

It is not where I worship, but who I worship that counts. My worship must be genuine and true. What in my life would cause people to want to come to the Lord and worship Him? People will not be drawn to a dead religion but to my excitement for what Christ has done in me and for me.

John 4:16-26 (English Standard Version)

Warning: MagpieRSS: Failed to parse RSS file. (Space required at line 39, column 24) in /var/www/html/familytimes/includes/magpie6-1/rss_fetch.inc on line 230

Warning: array_slice() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in /var/www/html/familytimes/includes/rss/esvLookup.php on line 15

View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway) »