Saturday, November 29, 2008
Jesus, in saying we must worship in spirit and truth, is attacking the conventional thinking of His day. The Samaritan woman was concerned with location and ritual when she spoke of worship. The Jews were concerned with much the same. Worship was an activity, a ritual to be followed. The focus was on external details. Jesus said worship was really internal, that is spiritual.
The word translated worship in John 4: 24 means to prostrate or bow down. We could translate it as to humble one self before God. Jesus is saying we must humble ourselves in spirit and truth. Ritual and location at best become secondary and are meaningless if we have not bowed down spiritually. One of the reasons Jesus spoke so harshly to the priests and Pharisees is they were driven by self interest rather than reverent submission of the mind and will. The ritual was flawless, but the heart was elsewhere.
Truth is held as equal to spirit in this passage. Jesus clearly states that both are a requirement if true worship is to take place. What Jesus means by truth is just as important as knowing what it means to worship in spirit. Hmmmm, what is truth?
The word translated worship in John 4: 24 means to prostrate or bow down. We could translate it as to humble one self before God. Jesus is saying we must humble ourselves in spirit and truth. Ritual and location at best become secondary and are meaningless if we have not bowed down spiritually. One of the reasons Jesus spoke so harshly to the priests and Pharisees is they were driven by self interest rather than reverent submission of the mind and will. The ritual was flawless, but the heart was elsewhere.
Truth is held as equal to spirit in this passage. Jesus clearly states that both are a requirement if true worship is to take place. What Jesus means by truth is just as important as knowing what it means to worship in spirit. Hmmmm, what is truth?
