Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.”Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
5 sermons cite this verse
… Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but your people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem. Jesus said to her, Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will neither worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand. We worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Indeed, the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. The woman said to him, I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ. When he comes, he will tell us everything. Jesus said to her, I am he, the one speaking with you. At that moment, his disciples returned and were amazed that he was talking to a woman. But still no one had said, what are you looking for? …
… conversation to how and where to worship so she says verse 19 sir I perceive that you are a prophet it. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship. She's bringing up this argument between Jews and Samaritans. When the northern kingdom split off from Judah and Jerusalem, they built their own temple. They had to have somewhere to worship. They built the temple on Mount Gerizim. It's the mountain that she mentions. But the Jews in Jerusalem, they obviously didn't think that that temple was legit. And so you can imagine the kind of animosity that creates. This is where we go to worship, but they don't recognize the place where we go to worship. She realizes this conversation is not really about water or even about her husbands. This is a conversation about worship. And worship happens in her mind in either that temple or that temple. Those are the two options. To which Jesus says, Woman, believe me. …
… So our fathers worshiped in this mountain. You people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. This introduces you to a reality that was true in ancient times and is still very true today, that many people in many religions think worship is something that takes place at a certain location. You go to that location, it's some kind of an event, or it's some kind of ritual, or it's some kind of ceremony, or it's some kind of service. And that is historically the way worship was identified. Even in the Old Testament, worship occurred in the temple, and it was structured around the role of the priests in the sacrificial system. So they viewed worship as something that they participated in at a certain location. And that's exactly how these Samaritans viewed their worship on Mount Gerizim. But Jesus basically dismisses that whole notion. Verse 21, He says, "'Woman, believe Me. An hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. …
… And so we're told that He came to this city called Sychar, near that piece of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. When Jacob gave his patriarchal blessing to all of the sons, it is mentioned at the end of the book of Genesis that this parcel of real estate was given to Joseph. And this was a very important piece of land because it contained this ancient site, this well that had been dug by Jacob so many years before. Now keep in mind that when Jesus meets this woman now by Jacob's well, almost 2,000 years have transpired from the time that that well was dug by Jacob, and now this woman is there at that same well still drinking from it 2,000 years later. If that's not exciting, if you've ever been over there to Israel, maybe you've gone to that same site as I have that is right at the base of Mount Gerizim, and that same well is still there today, and the water still flows freely in it. So that well has been meeting the needs of people for 4,000 years. And so after the first 2,000 of those 4,000 years, it was considered something of a sacred site by people who trace their roots back to the Old Testament patriarchs. …
said to her, I who speak to you am He. Now at this point His disciples came and they marveled that He talked with a woman, and yet no one said, What do you seek? Or, Why are you talking with her? The woman then left her water pot, went her way into the city, said to the men, Come and see a man who told me all things that I ever did? Could this be the Christ? Then they went out to the city and came to him. And in the meantime, his disciples urged him, saying, Rabbi, eat. But he said, I have food to eat of which you do not know. So the disciples said to one another, has anyone brought him anything to eat? Jesus said to them, may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true, one sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap for that which you have not labored, others have labored, and now you have entered into their labors. Many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, he told me all that I ever did. And so when the Samaritans had come to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days, and many more believed because of his own word. And then they said to the woman, now we believe not because of what you said, but we ourselves have heard him, and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. …