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| Mt. Gerazim, Isael |
John 4:13-26
Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst--but the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
The last blog post on John ended with these verses—Jesus telling the woman at the Samaritan well that He could give her “living water.” He meant that He could fill her up to overflowing with a living stream of life-giving Spirit that would supernaturally bless her life. She didn’t understand this.
The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."
She was at the well later in the day, which indicates that she was avoiding the company of the women who usually drew water earlier. If I were in her position, I would have done the same. She didn’t need to hear the whispers, the tittering behind the hands, see the sly glances and feel their snubs. But it must have been hard, not having any real friends among the women of the town. Was she lonely? Did she miss female companionship?
Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."
The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."
Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband, for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you have now is not your husband, in that you spoke truly."
The conversation took a downward turn here. Now Jesus is touching the heart of her problems. He forces the issue, and she admits her sin. Wiersbe notes that this is the shortest statement the woman makes, “I have no husband” (4:17) and notes that before she could come to be converted she had to be convicted of her sin. I notice a new tone to the conversation now—before she seemed almost flirtatious with Jesus; now she is more honest.
The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."
Have you ever tried to talk to someone about the gospel, and have had them throw out this kind of ‘red herring’? She’s changing the subject, isn’t she? Maybe you’ve been there—rather than talk about the real issue, have you been avoiding the topic altogether by bringing up less important ones?
The Samaritans were regarded as half-breeds, and they had been worshipping false gods. A famine in the land forced them to look to the Jews for help. They were introduced to the God of Jacob, but merely incorporated Him into their false religion. Wikipedia explains-
The mountain is sacred to the Samaritans who regard it, rather than Jerusalem's Temple Mount, as having been the location chosen by Yahweh for a holy temple. The mountain continues to be the centre of Samaritan religion to this day, and over 90% of the worldwide populations of Samaritans live in very close proximity to Gerizim, mostly in Kiryat Luza, the main village. The Passover is celebrated by the Samaritans on Mount Gerizim, and it is additionally considered by them as the location of the near-sacrifice of Isaac (the Masoretic and Septuagint versions of Genesis state that this happened on Mount Moriah which Jews traditionally identify as the Temple Mount). According to classical rabbinical sources, in order to convert to Judaism, a Samaritan must first and foremost renounce any belief in the sanctity of Mount Gerizim.
Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.
"You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Jesus explained that the significance of one mountain or another was nothing compared to the importance of personal worship.
I love how Jesus steps past our personal boundaries, our trite arguments and our petty bureaucracies, right into the seat of the issue we avoid. The woman was not likely interested in how Jews worship. She probably had little to do with Sabbath in the first place, for the same reason she avoided the well in the morning. But Jesus told her “God is looking for people who will worship Him truly.”
God wants us to worship Him. He wants to be worshipped in a specific way. He outlines the ways He wants to be worshipped in His word. We sometimes ignore His word so that we can stay in our comfort zones and do worship our own way.
He wants to be worshipped in the Spirit.
If you don’t have the Spirit of God, you can’t properly worship God.
The Spirit of God works like a lamp in our souls (Proverbs 20:27) allowing God to search our hearts.
When you have the Holy Spirit in you God is able to communicate with you, and you are able to communicate with Him. Without His Spirit, you wouldn’t be able to reach Him.
Have you ever left church and said to yourself, “I didn’t get much out of worship today.” I’ve done that. I’m coming to realize that worship is not about me at all. It’s about honoring God. When was the last time you went to church with this in mind?
I can guess the woman here didn’t much really care about religion, but if she could get Jesus into a debate about the Mt. Moriah (the temple mount) vs. Mt. Gerazim, she could avoid talking about her real problems.
But Jesus doesn’t make it easy. He doesn’t let us off the hook, either. If there are issues in your life that need to be addressed, let Him deal with them. Offer them up as a matter of worship, and let Him take them.
The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
There are only a few times in scripture when Jesus overtly claims to be the Messiah. This is one of them. Others are found in Mark 8 (when Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”) and when He proclaims Himself to the high priest in Mark 16:62; Martha professes Him to be the Messiah in Luke chapter eleven, and He answers Pilate in the affirmative when asked, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (Mark 15:2.)
We are all so lost without Him, but God made a way for us to be able to worship Him. He stooped down to us, because He loved us. How amazing is our God! Are you a true worshipper?
Dear Abba,
Thank You for making it possible that I might have a relationship with You. You went waaaay out of Your way to save me, and I have never given You anywhere near the reciprocal amount of attention. Lord, I’m sorry. Help me to love and worship You the way You deserve. Make me able to worship You in Spirit and in truth.
Your Child,
Donna
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