Worship is a nearly universal urge in the heart of mankind. Humans worship the God of the Bible and the gods of their imagination. They worship Allah and animals and ancestors.
Therefore, when Jesus has His conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4, the question is not whether man will worship. The question is how man will worship. This passage has the densest concentration of the word “worship” in the New Testament. The word is found ten times in five verses (verses 20-24). Let us consider six aspects of worship from this text.
Reason for worship
Jesus initiates the conversation by asking for water. Then He tells the woman that the water He would give “will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (vs 14; NASV). This statement is the reason for worship. In other words, why do we worship God? Because He gives us eternal life. God deserves to be worshiped because of Who He is and what He has done and does for us. That would exclude worship of Allah or our ancestors. They do not give us eternal life.
Perception of worship
The next statement Jesus makes is the insight or perception of worship. He told the woman, “Go, call your husband and come here” (ver. 16). Of course, she had had five husbands and was living in sin with another. Worship – or being in the Divine presence – exposes the sin in our hearts and makes it manifest before the eyes of heaven. That perception is what compels us to fall before the feet of Jesus in humble worship (cf. Luke 5:8). The works of Buddha or Muhammad do not lay bare the deeds of the heart as God’s Word and His worship do.
Location for worship
Christ’s insight impels the woman to bring up the perpetual debate between the Samaritans and the Jews: Where should appropriate worship be conducted? The Samaritans’ argument was that Moses had commanded worship to be held on Mount Gerizim (Deuteronomy 27 & 28). The Jews understood (correctly) that God had chosen Jerusalem and subsequently the temple of Solomon wherein man would enter God’s presence in sacrificial worship (2 Chronicles 5:11-14).
In responding to that question, Jesus foresaw the day when any place would be acceptable before God. “Neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father” (ver. 21). The place of worship is not in Jerusalem, Mecca, Medina or the family shrine.
Object of worship
Fourthly, Jesus points out the ignorance of the Samaritans’ worship. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know” (ver. 22). That’s the object of worship. The object of worship is the God of heaven or the God described in the Bible, the Father of Jesus and Lord of the world. God condemned and destroyed the Jews who added objects to worship which aided in their worship.
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The object of worship is spiritual, as Jesus will point out in verse 24. That point in itself is what regulates all of worship and the previous points: reason, insight and place. Since God is spirit, He gives spiritual and eternal life. Because God is spirit, He can penetrate into the hearts and lives of worshipers. As God is spirit, He may be approached from any place on the globe.
True worshipers
Inasmuch as God is Spirit, fifthly, His worshipers – “true worshipers” – must worship God (ver. 23). That’s the people of worship. Notice the last phrase of that verse: “such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” God wants worshipers who are His worshipers – true worshipers. There are true worshipers and false worshipers.
Nature of worship
Finally, the nature of worship is that it must be congruous with the nature of God – “in spirit and truth” (ver. 24). God is the “God of truth” (Isaiah 65:16). Worship must be in accord with His nature as truth. False worship will not suffice. All regulations that are found in the Bible are divine regulations that flow from God’s nature as truth.
Conclusion
The universal urge in the heart of mankind is to worship. The only object to be worshiped – the God of heaven and earth – has given regulations for worship to be acceptable. True worshipers humbly respect His governance in this area, as in all areas. When we do that, we will be His worshipers. We will be the ones God wants around His throne.
–Paul Holland
