John 4:23 Commentary and Bible Study

Christ tells her that the time has arrived when there will not be any more symbols. There will not be any more of the ancient Jewish worship with its physical sacrifices, rites and ceremonies which all had lessons in them. And all the lessons are going to be fulfilled in Christ who will personally make the great and the everlasting sacrifice when he bears away the punishment of sin for all who would be saved. This is how the true worshippers, the genuine worshippers will worship. Others are just a sham, or deluded, mistaken. They worship through outward forms but they do not know God. They are like the majority of Jews in the Old Testament, for there was only ever a remnant of Israel that knew God and understood the meaning of the ceremonial law. The rest could not see beyond the rites and rituals.Worship of God as Father was for the most part not taught in the Old Testament. It is true that there a few times in the poetic books where God is called a Father. Psalm 89:26 is one such place, but that is a prophecy of the coming age. That does not mean that God was not a Father, but they were taught to see God as Jehovah, the great I am, the self-existent God, the giver of life. But now we are to ‘worship the Father’ – this is Christian worship. What is the difference? It has to do with relationship. The majority in the Old Testament did not know God and were not related to God, and so perhaps it was not fitting to teach them to address God as Father, such an intimate term. But now Christian worship is distinctive. The Father has special care and love for his true people. This adds to Old Testament worship without replacing it. All our worship is addressed to the Father through the Son. Can we only offer it in a special place, by sacrifices? No, all of that is gone. There is nothing physical in worship any more: no actions, no dances, no altars, no falling down or ecstasies.