In the verses I discussed in the last entry I mainly noted how the woman was trying to find a way to distract Jesus. Her question, however, is an important one that is still often raised today. As a reminder, what she said is in John 4:19-20:
“The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
She is really asking where it is God ought to be worshipped. Jews said in Jerusalem. Samaritan’s said elsewhere. This fight reflects one that still happens among the denominations today. Should we worship God in a Baptist church, or in a Lutheran church? Should we worship God as Catholics while taking mass, or as Pentecostals while speaking in tongues? What denomination has the best claim to worship? Who has it in with God? Jesus answers this in verses 21-24:
“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, or 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 must worship in spirit and truth.”
Jesus gives a good answer to the question of where we can worship. The answer? Anywhere. Catholics, Baptist, Jews, Gentiles, Americans, Arabs, and anyone else can worship God from anywhere because God does not reside in a building. God is not walls, or steeples. God is not a mountain. “God is Spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.”
With the coming of Jesus the Holy Spirit now resides within us when we accept the truth that Jesus came to die on the cross for all our sins, and to redeem us from death. We don’t need to be Baptist, Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, or anything else to worship. We only have to have the conversation the Samaritan woman has with Jesus in verses 25-26:
“The woman said to Him, ‘I know that the 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.”
Believe those words Jesus said, and worship in Spirit and Truth. Worship Him in your house, at your job, on the beach, in your car, and everywhere else. Worship Him by living with Him. Go to church, but also be the church. Don’t fight over who has the greatest claim to Jesus. Thanks to His redemptive power we all can claim His grace. We all can worship Him from where we are.
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