“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on 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. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ 25 The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.’ 26 Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am he.’”
John 4:21-26
In the New Testament Law of Christ, Jesus is the foundation of our new temple where we come to worship God and find redemption. Salvation came from the Jews because Jesus, the Savior, came from the Jewish people, fulfilling all of the prophecies and promises of God to Abraham. And since Jesus is the only source of eternal life and the only One we must worship, Jerusalem is not relevant anymore, for Jesus is what matters. So now we are commanded to worship the Father and not a shrine according to the Law of Moses. The Father is seeking those who will worship Him the way He has authorized.
"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:23-24)
Since God is spirit, we must worship Him properly. Why? Because it is a matter of the spirit rather than a physical location, physical posture, or an external ritual. God demands that we worship Him from the heart, for it leads to the kind of worship that He demands that we offer. When we understand God’s Love and Grace toward us, it will compel us to worship Him from the heart, the way that He wants.
The Samaritan woman did not seem to fully understand what Jesus was telling her but acknowledged to Jesus that the Messiah was coming and would be explaining everything. But verse 26 is the focal point here. Jesus told her that He was the Messiah, the Christ.
"The woman said to him, 'I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.' 26 Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am he.'" (John 4:25-26)
Jesus is the Christ, the Savior, the gift of God, the living water, and the only One who can offer eternal life. Prior to John 4:21-25, Jesus had offered her what would give her true satisfaction. He said to her,
“But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14-15)
You see, Jesus, our Lord, supplies what our souls are lacking. We are thirsty and hungry because of sin. Sin separates us from God, for our lives are not right with Him. This Samaritan woman was very thirsty for "this water," for she had had more than five husbands and was living in sin and separated from God. Although she was drinking the well-water, she was still thirsty because no water could supply what she needed. She was drinking from the wrong kind of water and finding only temporary relief.
This is precisely the problem with our world without God’s prescription that can quench the thirst caused by sin or worldly pleasures, for no matter how many pleasures they try, the only enjoyment they can find is temporary, so they thirst again. They keep running to the wrong well, where they find disappointment, heartache, and loss. They reject Jesus’ offering of living water and eternal life, so they stand condemned. They reject the things of God in exchange for the physical things of this world. They are blinded by this world’s darkness when they could choose the Light that brightly shines and leads them to eternal life.
How sad it is to see Satan blinding people with the things of this world, causing them to fail to see the treasures found in Jesus and His living water! We must examine our hearts and see what our Savior is offering. He is offering something that is precious, priceless, and more valuable than anything this world can offer us. Since our Lord Jesus is the most valuable pearl in this world, we must sell everything to acquire it. He is our most precious and valuable treasure worthy of all!
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness accept the gift of God that Jesus is offering. Righteous and holy living is as essential to them as food and water are. These are the ones who can never get enough of the riches of God's Word to be satisfied. Their relationship with God is like the eating of rich food (Isaiah 55:1-2). Our culture's satisfaction is found in carnal pursuits and goals.
- Bodybuilding.
- Weight loss.
- Group therapy to heal the social ills.
- And the empty-headed vain fashions that absorb our times.
"But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. 12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, 13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water." (Jeremiah 2:12-13)
Fools reject what God is offering to them: flowing, clean, and pure water. Yet, they are eager to drink the old, stale, contaminated water. They deceive themselves thinking that they will still be satisfied with such contaminated water. They would rather reject the pure and unpolluted water of righteousness, holiness, and godliness. Indeed, worldly satisfaction can only come through such a decaying way of living!
Those who love righteousness, because they hunger and thirst for it, understand what Jesus said to them.
Those who love righteousness, because they hunger and thirst for it, understand what Jesus said to them.
"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." (John 6:35)
The more we hunger and thirst for the righteous things of God, the more we are going to be satisfied. The more we are dissatisfied with other carnal substitutes, the more we will hunger for God and His kingdom of righteousness. The path of righteousness destroys self-righteousness because self-righteousness will bankrupt our spirit and cover up our need for repentance. Jesus is challenging us to examine our hearts, that we might thirst for salvation. Salvation is for those who sincerely and genuinely want it. Our spiritual bankruptcy must compel us to mourn over our sins and desire salvation, restoration, reconciliation, and righteousness.
Only those who sincerely hunger and thirst for God will conform to the will of their Father in heaven. Jesus is standing at the door calling for true fanatics, who would eat and drink from Him and His kingdom of righteousness. Jesus does not want us to substitute Him for worldly pursuits, for He is not our hobby or past time! Those who are hungry and thirsty don't want merely a substitute either. They hunger and thirst for Jesus' food and water. Those who have the right disposition of seeking, searching, and groping after the righteousness of God will be filled and satisfied (Matt. 6:25-33; Acts 17:26-28; James. 1:12; Rev. 2:10).
May the yearning in our heart and soul find the only source of eternal life, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May we hunger and thirst for Him, our Manna, and Living Water, that we may be blessed and be satisfied with His righteousness. May we be renewed in Him by drinking of the fountain of Living Water, the One and Only source of eternal life.
Luci
May the yearning in our heart and soul find the only source of eternal life, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May we hunger and thirst for Him, our Manna, and Living Water, that we may be blessed and be satisfied with His righteousness. May we be renewed in Him by drinking of the fountain of Living Water, the One and Only source of eternal life.
"Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.'" (John 4:13-14)
"Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (Revelation 22:1)
Luci
No comments:
Post a Comment