John 4:15-26 (The Discourse with the Woman of Samaria cont.)

Rachel Workman: 15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!” Was Jesus condemning her or preparing her? I think he was preparing her heart.  There can be no conversion without conviction. There must first be conviction and repentance, and then there can be sav­ing faith. Jesus had aroused her mind and stirred her emotions, but He also had to touch her conscience, and that meant dealing with her sin.

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?” I do have to wonder why she asked Jesus this question of all questions. I believe she wanted to change the subject or sidetrack Jesus instead of dealing with her sin.

21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”

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John Burnett:  ¹⁵ The woman *said to Him, “^[a]Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” ¹⁶ He *said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” ¹⁷ The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus *said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” ¹⁹ The woman *said to Him, “^[b]Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” ²¹ Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  People today worship what they do not know.  They worship what their fickle mind imagines and it changes from day to day.  We worship a God that is immutable.  ²³ But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers (Born Again believers) will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.  Amazing grace is shown when the Father seeks us even though we do not seek him. ²⁴ God is ^[c]spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  The key word here is truth.  It is so important that we share the truth of the gospel.  We are wretched sinners and he is a wonderful Savior. ²⁵ The woman *said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” ²⁶ Jesus *said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

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Krista Cook: 

- We are to worship in spirit and in truth.  I read somewhere that to worship in spirit is to have the right attitude and to worship in truth is to have the right authority.  We must always be so sure that how we are worshiping is how we are told to do so in scripture. 

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Mike Grimm:   

¹⁵ “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” The woman confused the two kinds of water, perhaps because no one had ever talked with her about her spiritual hunger and thirst before. She liked the idea that she would never have to return to the well again. She was interested in Jesus’ message because she thought it could make her life easier. But if that were always the case, people would accept Christ’s message for the wrong reasons. Christ did not come to take away challenges, but to change us on the inside and to empower us to deal with problems from God’s perspective.

¹⁶ “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

¹⁷ “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. ²⁰ So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?” When the woman discovered that Jesus knew all about her private life, she quickly changed the subject. As a witness, we should gently guide the conversation back to Christ. His presence exposes sin and makes us very uncomfortable, but only Christ can forgive sins and give new life.

²¹ Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. When Jesus said, “salvation comes through the Jews,” He meant that only through the Jewish Messiah would the whole world find salvation. God had promised that through the Jewish race the whole earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). ²³ But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. ²⁴ For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” “God is Spirit” means He is not a physical being limited to one place. He is present everywhere, at any time. I think it’s more important for how we worship as to where we worship. How does the Holy Spirit help us worship? The Holy Spirit prays for us (Romans 8:26), teaches us the words of Christ (John 14:26), and tells us we are loved (Romans 5:5).

²⁵ The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” She probably meant from among the Jews. The Jews and Samaritans, though so much at variance in other things, agreed in the expectation of the Messiah and his kingdom.

²⁶ Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”