Monday, September 25, 2023
Jesus said to her, woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 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. John 4:21-24
Worship in Spirit and Truth
In this scripture, Jesus is talking to a woman He met at a well. Jesus knew this woman. He knew everything about her, all her sins and failures, how many times she had been married and that she was now living with a man she wasn't married to. When Jesus calls her out about the truth of her life, she tries to change the subject to religion.
The woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that tin Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship. John 4:19-20
She used religion to divert the conversation away from the uncomfortable subject of her personal life. And Jesus answered…
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.
Jesus tells her that true worship is in spirit and truth and that God seeks such people to worship Him. This woman had so many strikes against her. Not only did her reputation precede her, but she was a Samaritan, a nationality that Jews traditionally despised and disrespected. She had been rejected, shamed and shunned by the other women of the area because of her immoral lifestyle and choices. She came to the well when the morning rush hour was over because she was embarrassed and ashamed. She did not want to face the stares and hear the whispers. So instead of coming in the cool of early morning, she comes in the heat of the day to avoid condemnation. And who does she run into? The King of Kings Himself. The Messiah. Her Messiah. Jesus Himself - the only one who is even worthy of condemning her - did not offer condemnation. He offered her living water.
It is easy to show up in church, looking like you got it all together and your heart is in the right place to worship. But so many times we show up in church with our hearts bandaged and when the layers of bandages begin to get so overwhelming that we cannot figure out which one is even the newest one, it is easier to ignore it and keep going. Minimize the bleeding and smile. Hands raised in praise because we know all the things, and we pretend we are OK. But how can we even begin to feel His holiness and worship Him until we rip the bandages off, look at our lives in reality and lay it at His feet? We hobble into church so hindered by our lives and burdens that we cannot worship Him in Spirit and Truth. Dealing with the reality of what it is and giving it to Him frees us and leaves us wide open to witness His holiness and power in our lives, and to fully focus on worshipping Him in Spirit and Truth.
Worshipping in Spirit and in Truth is to intimately know the God you are worshipping and to focus your affections on Him in worship - not on the wounds we bear. He waits for you and me, just as he waited for the woman at the well. He longs to take the burden from us so we can be free and worship.
This woman didn’t know who she was meeting at the well. She couldn’t hide the wounds of her life with ripped and worn bandages because He already knew everything beneath the surface. She went away free, in worshipping in spirit and truth and told many others about Him and their lives were changed too. We have this freedom when we come to Him - to give Him our burdens, and worship. Only then can we truly worship in spirit and truth.
