Not where, but who
Remember that I had already said in John 2:19, “Have I destroyed this sanctuary, and in three days will I rebuild it?”In other words, had he ever said that he himself was the new temple?The new meeting place, with God, the temple was about to stop being the main place of worship. And what would it be in your place?A new city, a new building? No, a new person. The son.
- This is what he interpreted by saying.
- “Not on this mountain.
- Ma’am.
- Nor in Jerusalem.
- Not where.
- But who matters.
- Father and Son.
- The living water.
- The prophet.
- The Savior.
- The Messiah.
- “.
? Do you like what you don’t know?
Then verse 22 says the same differently: “You (the Samaritans) love what you do not know; we worship what we know, because salvation comes from the Jews. ?It’s brutal and painful: the problem with you Samaritans is not that you worship on the wrong hill, but you don’t know who you worship.
Why not?” Why?” he said (verse 22b), “salvation comes from the Jews. “Does this mean that all the Jews knew who they worshipped?Listen to what Jesus said to the Pharisees in John 8:19 (the Jews are really serious): “Know not me or my Father; If they knew me, they would also know my Father. They don’t even know God, they’re like the Samaritans. ” Do you like what you don’t know?
About such worship, Jesus says that they are “empty”, empty (Matthew 15:9). Isn’t that true worship? (John 4:23).
“Do we love what we know?
So what does Jesus mean in verse 22b: “We love what we know, because salvation comes from the Jews? It means that the Jews teach that a Savior is coming into the world. He comes as the Son of David, the Messiah, the Servant of the Lord, and because there will be a Savior, true knowledge of God and true worship of God are possible.
The last clause of this whole story (verse 1–42) is the announcement of the Samaritans in the city of Sicar: “Do we know that this is really the Savior of the world?(V. 42).
When Jesus says (v. 22b): “Does salvation come from the Jews?” and so, “Do we worship what we know,” means that a Savior comes into the world, which will make it possible for sinners (as people with whom they have married five times and now live with their boyfriends) to know God, call Him Father, and truly worship Him.
Don’t you know who you worship because you don’t depend on the Savior?The salvation that comes into the world. The Savior is the Jewish Messiah. You Samaritans don’t believe that. And therefore, his worship is not true worship.
There is no true religion without Jesus
Is it very important that we look at the implications for our current situation?In relation to Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and any other religion that does not embrace Jesus as the Savior of the world, who came to die for sinners and was resurrected and became the mediator between God and men. This is important because it depends on the glorious and unique supremacy of Jesus among all other religions, and because many Christians abandon the truth that knowing, honoring, loving, and believing in Jesus is necessary for salvation.
“Is there no true worship without Jesus?
On the contrary, the point of Jesus here and elsewhere in the gospel is that there is no true worship without receiving the Savior who comes from the Jews. Jesus not only said in John 8:19, “If you knew me, do you also know my Father? but He also said to the Jews in John 5:23, “He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. And in John 5:42-43, He said, “I know nevertheless that you have no love of God in you. Have I come in the name of my Father and you will not receive me?
In other words, those who don’t know who I really am, who honor me for who I really am, and those who love me for who I really am, don’t know, honor, or dis like God. in their mountains, or in their temples or shrines, or in their mosques or synagogues, they do not worship God.
You can’t worship the one who turned down
This is the point in Luke 10:16: “He who rejects me rejects the one who sent me?There’s no point in saying they love him when they turn him down. And Matthew 10:40: “He that receiveth me receiveth the one who sent me. ?There’s no point in saying they like the one they don’t get. And John 5:46, who is particularly relevant to the Samaritans and the Jewish people: “For, in fact, did you believe in Moses, would you also believe in Me?”In other words, if you refuse to know who I really am, then you don’t really believe in Moses, and “worship “what you do in response to Moses is not true worship.
In a pluralistic, multicultural, relativistic and waning world like ours, it will become increasingly difficult to believe in the coming years. The more you personally know people who are very religious but do not embrace Jesus as their Lord and Savior, the harder it will be to believe that your worship is not true worship, but if the value of your faith collapses, you will abandon the Jesus of the New Testament and join the world in creating your own Jesus.
By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod. org Original: Not on this or that mountain, but in mind and truth change in any way and are not used for commercial purposes. For web publications, a link to this document on our website, a link to the ministry and one to the original source of the material is preferable (just copy the above elements)
In the world, there is only one thing to look for: the knowledge of God (Robert H. Benson).