Worship, Part 2: In Spirit and in Truth I. Introduction A. We previously examined the nature of worship according to the definitions of the terms and their usage 1. proskuneo: direct worship, rendering obeisance to God 2. latreia: indirect worship, serving God through serving others and serving God directly B. Having seen some distinctions between the two forms of worship, let us now spend some time speaking of Jesus' comments regarding worship in John 4:19-24 1. the discussion with the Samaritan woman 2. well-known and used often in reference to describing the need to act according to God's will when worshipping Him C. While the passage can certainly be used to demonstrate that we ought to abide by God's standards in assembly worship and engage in assembly worship with our soul, is that the sum of Jesus' message both to the Samaritan woman and to us? D. Let us spend some time now examining the passage and its meaning for us II. Historical Context: the Samaritans A. In order to understand the context of John 4, and the question of the Samaritan woman in verse 20, we must first understand who the Samaritans are and how they worshipped B. Origin of the Samaritans: 2 Kings 17:22-41 1. 721 BCE: the Assyrians carry the ten tribes of Israel into exile (vv. 22-23) 2. Unlike the Babylonians, who tended to exile people but would not repopulate the land, the Assyrians brought into the land of Israel people from Mesopotamia for permanent resettlement (v. 24) 3. These people began to suffer from the LORD's hand, and they petitioned Assyria for a priest of the Israelites to teach them of the LORD (vv. 25-28) 4. They still worshipped the idols of their nations but also began to worship the LORD (vv. 29-33) 5. They continued in these practices until the time of the author of Kings, and it is even said that the LORD made a covenant with the Samaritans (vv. 34-39) 6. Despite that covenant, the author says that they still followed after other gods (vv. 40-41) C. Hostility Between Jews and Samaritans: Ezra 4:1-10 1. The "adversaries" of the Jews desired to share in the work of building the Temple (vv. 1-2) 2. The Jews adamantly refuse (v. 3) 3. The "adversaries" respond by causing trouble for the Jews at the hands of the Persians (vv. 4-10) 4. Who are these "adversaries"? Verse 2 speaks of them sacrificing to God since Esarhaddon settled them in the land, and v. 10 explicitly speaks of them being from Samaria 5. These "adversaries," then, are the Samaritans spoken of in 2 Kings 17 6. Whether hostilities existed before this point or not is unknown, but certainly from this point on there was irreconcilable hostility between the Samaritans and the Jews D. The Worship of the Samaritans 1. While the Bible does not speak of the worship of the Samarians directly, the historian Josephus records for us some evidence of its history 2. In 332 BCE, Alexander the Great gave the Samaritans the authority to build a temple on Mount Gerizim near Shechem (Antiq. 11.8.4) 3. 200 years later, when the Jewish leader John Hyrcanus conquers the area, the temple is said to be abandoned (Antiq. 13.9.1) 4. John 4:20 gives indication that the Samaritans still worshipped on Mt. Gerizim, a temple or no 5. Much information is also gained by the Samarian Pentateuch, the Bible accepted by the Samaritans, and the customs that are maintained until today a. They considered themselves the true descendants of Jacob and Joseph, and accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament b. They believed Mt. Gerizim, not Mt. Moriah/Zion, to be the true place where God desired His people to worship, where Jacob had purchased land and where Joseph was buried (Joshua 24:32), and where Joshua and the people of Israel ratified the covenant again (Joshua 24) c. They performed animal sacrifices according to the Law on the mountain, and do even until today E. The context of John 4:20-24, then, can be understood 1. The Samaritan woman is surprised that Jesus would even give her the time of day, since Jews and Samaritans do not intermingle (John 4:9) 2. The question of the Samarian woman is based on the competing worship systems of the Jews and Samaritans (John 4:20) 3. Jesus does affirm that salvation comes from the Jews, and affirms that the system of worship at Jerusalem is based on the knowledge the Jews do have, while the Samaritans worship what they do not know (John 4:22) F. The passage makes manifest, however, that Jesus' main concern is not with the legitimacy or lack thereof of either Jerusalem or Samaria, but with what is coming and what has in fact come G. Let us now look at what Jesus is trying to teach the Samaritan woman and us about worship III. Jesus on Worship A. It should first be mentioned that the Greek word used by Jesus throughout this discussion is proskuneo 1. The direct form of worship, rendering obeisance, prostrating before 2. The word also is used in reference to the worship systems of the Jews and Samaritans 3. Jesus here uses the same terminology to refer to the worship of the past and what will come now in the new covenant B. v. 21: worship no longer on the mountain 1. Jesus' initial response to the question of the Samaritan woman is to effectively render the question moot 2. her concern should not be about either worship system, since soon the Father will not be worshipped in either Samaria or Jerusalem 3. It is manifest, then, that what will come in the future will be in strong contrast with what existed under the Jewish covenant C. vv. 23-24: Worshipping in spirit and in truth 1. After establishing that the Samaritans worship in ignorance and the Jews worship what they know, Jesus again speaks of what is coming, and is in fact already here a. this refers, of course, to Jesus and His covenant, as the Kingdom was coming and in the midst of the Jews during His life (cf. Luke 17:20-21) b. therefore, Jesus' words are directly relevant to us as Christians 2. the Father seeks people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth a. a demonstration that God does desire for man to worship Him b. nevertheless, God seeks only those who will worship Him "in spirit and in truth" D. "In spirit and in truth"...this is the pivotal concept of the discussion E. Let us spend more time analyzing what Jesus means here IV. Worship in Spirit and in Truth A. What does Jesus mean by "in spirit and in truth"? B. This verse is often taken out of its context and many times one of the two facets is emphasized, and that only in terms of the acts of the assembly 1. "in spirit": this facet is often emphasized to demonstrate that we are to engage in worship both with our heart and our person 2. "in truth": this facet is often emphasized to demonstrate that our worship is to be done according to what God has said and not whatever innovations we come up with C. These statements are all true: we are to engage in worship with our heart and mind, and we should worship according to God's standard D. On the other hand, this passage is clearly setting a new trend 1. Jesus is deliberately contrasting what will come under His covenant with what exists at that point 2. The contrast is highlighted by the new covenant worship being "in spirit and truth" E. If Jesus' main thrust is that Christians are to engage in the ritual acts of worship as God prescribed with heart, there would be no purpose to having a contrast with what existed under the Jews-- that's what was commanded under that covenant! 1. Isaiah 1:10-21, Hosea 6:4-7 2. God's criticism of the Israelites was that when they did provide the necessary sacrifices, the sacrifices did not come with obedience, and therefore not in the true spirit of the worship F. In order to determine what Jesus speaks of, we must see what the rest of the New Testament says about the same subject 1. The New Testament discussions of worship will of course reflect this new worship "in spirit and in truth" 2. The New Testament never speaks of a "worship service," and while proskuneo worship is done in the assembly, the connection is never explicitly made 3. We read about spiritual worship in Romans 12:1, and it is to be a living and holy sacrifice-- living a life of service G. The truth of the matter is becoming apparent: Jesus is speaking of an entirely new and different concept of what worship is! 1. Worship is not going to be limited to a building and going through the necessary motions, as it was under the old covenant 2. As God is a spirit, He desires the worship of the spirit, and the worship of the spirit is spiritual service-- being the living and holy sacrifice (cf. Romans 12:1) 3. Our worship will also be in truth, for our spiritual service will be dictated by God's will, as we act obediently by His authority (1 Peter 1:22, Colossians 3:17) H. We can see, then, that worship in spirit and truth is referring primarily to our lives of spiritual service, being the living and holy sacrifices according to the standard of God's word 1. This is true because in the new covenant, worship is not limited to the assembly, but in truth everything we do in service to God is worship to Him (Romans 12:1) 2. And while distinctions can be made between proskuneo, direct, worship, and latreia, indirect, worship, we can see from John 4:23-24 that true proskuneo worship is the spiritual service of latreia! VI. Conclusion A. There is much that we can gain from the discussion between Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John 4:19-24 1. While demonstrating the legitimacy of the Jews in contrast to the Samaritans, Jesus also transcends either system in His discussion of what is to come 2. Jesus establishes that worship is going to transcend a physical location and can be done anywhere 3. Jesus affirms that God desires men to worship Him, but as He is spirit, He desires people to worship Him in spirit and in truth 4. The worship of the spirit is being a living and holy sacrifice (Romans 12:1)-- serving God through obedience to Him according to His word-- in truth B. We must consider these things and broaden the way we view worship 1. Worship is not just five acts done in the assembly, but represents all acts we do in service to God 2. This was not a coincidence or a mistake: it was God's determination to move away from the systems of the old covenant 3. The spiritual service we engage in-- latreia-- can be seen truly to represent the Christian's way of worshipping God (proskuneo) C. Songbook/invitation D. God seeks those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth 1. We can do that by spiritual service to Him according to God's word 2. Have you begun to serve God? 3. If you have not established that relationship with God, you have the opportunity to do so now E. Perhaps you once worshipped Him as He desired, but have since strayed 1. You can certainly again become one whom God seeks 2. Let us pray with you and encourage you F. Or perhaps you require encouragement to continue to serve God and worship Him thus in spirit and in truth G. Let us encourage you in any way we can; come to the front as we stand and sing