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John four, our focus this morning 
will be verses 16 to 26, but I'll read verses one to 26 just 
to remind us of Jesus dealing with this Samaritan woman. So 
I'll begin in verse one. Therefore, when the Lord knew 
that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized 
more disciples than John, though Jesus himself did not baptize, 
but his disciples, he left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 
but he needed to go through Samaria. So he came to a city of Samaria, 
which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob 
gave to his son, Joseph. Now, Jacob's well was there. 
Jesus, therefore, being wearied from his journey, sat thus by 
the well. It was about the sixth hour. 
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, give 
me a drink. For his disciples had gone away 
into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said 
to him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a 
Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with 
Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, 
If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 
Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have 
given you living water. The woman said to him, Sir, you 
have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then 
do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father 
Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as 
well as his sons and his livestock? Jesus answered and said to her, 
Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again. But whoever 
drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But 
the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain 
of water, springing up into everlasting life. The woman said to him, 
sir, give me this water that I may not thirst nor come here 
to draw. Jesus said to her, go, call your 
husband and come here. The woman answered and said, 
I have no husband. Jesus said to her, you have well 
said, I have no husband. For you have had five husbands 
and the one whom you now have is not your husband. In that 
you spoke truly. The woman said to him, sir, I 
perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this 
mountain and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where 
one ought to worship. Jesus said to her, woman, believe 
me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain 
nor in Jerusalem worship the father. You worship what you 
do not know. We know what we worship for salvation 
is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now 
is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit 
and truth. For the Father is seeking such 
to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who 
worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. The woman said to 
Him, I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ. When He 
comes, He will tell us all things. Jesus said to her, I who speak 
to you am He. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for your word for this wonderful 
account of the meeting with the Samaritan woman. We pray now 
that the Holy Spirit would guide our minds and hearts as we consider 
this glorious passage of Holy Scripture. We ask that he would 
forgive us for all of our sin and everything that does darken 
our understanding. Help us to reflect upon the glory 
of God in the person and in the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. And may it be the case, Father 
in heaven, that those who are dead in their trespasses and 
sins would be awakened by your sovereign grace, by the power 
of the Holy Spirit. that he would set forth Christ 
in all of his offices and in all of his ability to save to 
the uttermost. And may you save and may you 
as well sanctify and strengthen and encourage each of your people 
here. And God bless the proclamation of your truth as it goes forth 
throughout the world today. And we ask this in the name and 
for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, last week 
we considered Jesus meeting with the Samaritan woman. Remember 
that there is first an emphasis on his journey to Samaria in 
verses 1 to 6. Then there is this offer of living 
water in verses 7 to 15. And then the section we're looking 
at today is the nature of true worship. So from verses 16 to 
26, the emphasis becomes the worship of the true and living 
God. Remember that this particular 
woman is in fact a Samaritan. Samaritans were disdained. They 
were looked down upon by the Jews. And we'll see that as we 
move through our particular section this morning. So as I said, the 
nature of true worship, verses 16 to 26, there are four observations 
that I want to make. First, the demand by Jesus in 
verses 16 to 18. Second, the observation made 
by the woman in verses 19 to 20. Third, the explanation of 
the hour by Jesus in verses 21 to 24. And then finally, the 
messianic hope expressed by the woman in verses 25 and 26. While the Samaritans were despised, 
while they were disdained, and while they were polytheistic 
in some way, and syncretistic with reference to their approach 
to worship, they did imbibe or adhere to the law of Moses. So 
there were some vestiges of truth in Samaritan heritage. But nevertheless, 
Christ is correcting this particular woman. So let's first look at 
the demand made by Jesus. Remember the context. Woman, 
if you knew who it was who was talking to you, you would ask 
of him and he would give you living water. Jesus is offering 
to her eternal life. Of course, she misses that. She 
says that the well is deep and you have no bucket, so how will 
you draw from it? And Jesus clarifies in verse 
13, whoever drinks of this water will thirst again. Whoever drinks 
of the water that I shall give him will never thirst, but the 
water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water 
springing up into everlasting life. That sounds tantalizing 
to her. Again, she misses the spiritual 
emphasis. She misses the reality that it's 
eternal life that's in view. But nevertheless, and no pun 
intended, her appetite is whetted. Her thirst is whetted. Notice 
what she says in verse 15. The woman said to him, sir, give 
me this water that I may not thirst nor come here to draw. 
I don't want to have to keep schlepping this bucket to this 
particular well each and every day. So provide for me that which 
you speak of. Now notice what Jesus demands 
according to verse 16. Jesus is shifting direction. 
Jesus wants to show her, or demonstrate to her, or underscore for her, 
her need for living water. In other words, Jesus is using 
the law of God to expose this woman's sinfulness so that she 
will see her need for blood atonement through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
So he says to her, go call your husband and come here. one commentator 
says although she does not know or understand Jesus he understands 
and Knows her which illustrates chapter 2 in verse 25 where the 
Apostle tells us concerning Jesus That he knew what was in man. He knew what was in this Samaritan 
woman In fact, this becomes the basis for her report when she 
reports back to the Samaritans Come and see a man who told me 
all things that I've ever done So he makes this demand upon 
her. Now notice her response in verse 17. The woman answered 
and said, I have no husband. And of course, Jesus knowing 
what is in man, Jesus knowing this particular woman, according 
to his divinity, he knows every jot and tittle of her life because 
he is Lord over all. Notice what he says. You have 
well said, I have no husband. For you have had five husbands 
and the one whom you now have is not your husband in that you 
spoke truly. Now, on the surface, it seems 
pretty clear what the problem is. It is some sort of sexual 
sin. But with reference to the particulars, 
we need to understand the woman is not a prostitute. John Piper 
is absolutely wrong when he refers to her as a whore, when he makes 
the connection to a life of harlotry with this particular woman. The 
best we can say is that she has some sort of a checkered marital 
history. The Old Testament provided for 
divorce. Deuteronomy chapter 24 verses 
1 to 4. Now at the time of Jesus and 
even preceding Jesus a bit, there were two significant rabbis in 
Israel that interpreted Deuteronomy chapter 24. There was one by 
the name of Hillel. And Hillel was very liberal when 
it came to the grounds for divorce. The other was a conservative 
rabbi, and his name was Shammai, and he was much more conservative, 
and he said that the only reason, the only lawful reason to pursue 
or sue out for divorce was because of unchastity. So as we look 
at the text, again, it is clear that there's something wrong, 
because Jesus is indicting her for her sinfulness, but in terms 
of the specifics, we don't know. He says, for you have had five 
husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband, 
in that you spoke truly. Now, the commentators are divided. John Calvin blames her. Calvin 
says, being a froward and disobedient wife, she constrained her husbands 
to divorce her. It's certainly one way to look 
at the text. Others are more sympathetic to her particular 
plight and say that she was the victim of an abusive situation 
where certificates of divorce were passed out willy-nilly and 
so she had gone through five husbands. But we could also interpret 
the text as if, in this manner, she had five husbands who all 
died. But the point is clear that what 
is underscored by our Lord is some sort of infidelity, some 
sort of unchastity, some sort of sexual sin. Notice the use 
of language in verse 18. For you have had five husbands, 
and the one whom you now have, That's what tips us off to see 
that whatever her background is, her present situation is 
a violation of the law of God. It's not accidental that he uses 
the same language. For you have had five husbands, 
and the one whom you now have in a husbandly sort of way is 
not your husband. So this is the issue with this 
particular woman. Again, whatever the background, 
we can suggest that it was checkered, but with reference to her current 
situation, with her present relationship, the Lord brings that to bear 
upon her as something being sinful. And again, he's using the law 
lawfully to underscore to her, her need for this living water 
that Jesus brings to sinners. Now notice the observation made 
by the woman. Again, John Piper is crucially 
wrong at this point. He says if Jesus wants to teach 
about worship, he uses a whore. That's not what's happening in 
this instance. Some suggest that her recognition 
of his prophetic ministry, which is grounded not only in what 
he knows about her intimately, but as well in the expectation 
from the book of Deuteronomy chapter 18 verses 15 to 18. There 
would be a prophet like Moses who would come and who would 
bring redemption to Israel. He would be the Messiah. But 
then notice with reference to her question in verse 20, our 
fathers worshiped on this mountain and you Jews say that in Jerusalem 
is the place where one ought to worship. So Piper suggests 
that this woman, having been found out in her sin, now tries 
to change the subject. She's sort of like that fox whose 
leg is in the trap, and so he chews off the leg in order to 
be untrapped. That's not what's happening. 
She perceives him to be a prophet. Who better to ask your question 
concerning religion, with reference to the disparity between the 
Samaritans and the Jews, than this particular prophet? I don't 
think she's trying to change the subject. I think she's capitalizing 
on providence and using the opportunity to ask our Lord. Notice that 
when she makes this statement concerning the difference in 
worship between Samaritans and Jews, Jesus doesn't say, wait 
a minute, lady, you're trying to evade the clear teaching. 
I brought you under conviction of sin. I want you to stay right 
there. No, Jesus is more than happy to pursue that line of 
theological discourse. So notice, the woman recognizes 
the fact that he is a prophet, and then she makes this observation 
concerning worship. Verse 20, our fathers worshiped 
on this mountain. It doesn't mean they were on 
the mountain of Gerizim, it means they were in the presence of 
Mount Gerizim. And you Jews say that in Jerusalem 
is the place where one ought to worship. She's not ignorant. She's not foolish. She's missing 
the illusion, metaphorically, to the living water, which is 
eternal life. But she knows something of her 
own background. She knows something of her own 
theological history. I mentioned last time that 2 
Kings chapter 17 shows us how Samaria got so messed up. At the time of the northern captivity, 
or at the time when the northern tribes were led into exile by 
Assyria, the Assyrians put other people in Samaria. And those 
Assyrians that were replaced, or other peoples rather, that 
were placed into that region of Samaria started to worship 
their gods. They started to engage in their 
idolatry. And so Yahweh of Israel sends 
lions in terms of judgment. And so they then cry out to a 
priest from Bethel to help them. And so what ends up happening 
is that they marry their gods along with Yahweh as a methodology 
to keep from getting eaten by lions. So that sowed the seeds 
of abomination and apostasy and idolatry in Samaria. Now later 
on, they do adopt, they do build a temple, a rival temple to what 
you have in Jerusalem at Mount Gerizim. Now in terms of the 
Jews, prior to Deuteronomy chapter 12, or rather the consolidation 
of Jerusalem as the religious capital, the Jews were worshiping 
in various places. But by the time of Deuteronomy 
chapter 12, God demands a central sanctuary. I mentioned this on 
Wednesday night. He didn't want the Israelites 
to just engage in worship whenever they had a hankering for it. 
No, there had to be a central sanctuary such that they would 
maintain orthodoxy and fidelity to Israel's God. So as we move 
on in redemptive history, it's Jerusalem that becomes the place 
where the temple is to be built. And so they had biblical warrant. 
Again, Deuteronomy 12 emphasizes that they were to gather there, 
they were to meet there, they were to worship there, to protect 
them theologically from the ravages of the idolaters that they lived 
around, or rather lived around them. Notice what this woman 
does. Our fathers worshiped on this 
mountain. You Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where 
one ought to worship. Now Jesus gives this explanation. So in verses 21 to 24, the explanation 
of the hour by Jesus. Two things we're gonna spend 
our time on here. First is old covenant worship of God in verses 
21 and 22. And then secondly, new covenant 
worship of God in verses 23 and 24. Notice in the first place, 
the Lord's command to the woman. Verse 21, woman, believe me. That's easy for us to gloss over 
those two words, woman, or three words, woman, believe me. He 
is not just saying, believe me, with reference to my teaching 
now on orthodox worship. If we understand the gospel of 
John rightly, those two words should come to us powerfully. Believe me is what Christ is 
saying. The one who proffers everlasting 
life. The one who has the living water. 
The one who teaches concerning the true nature of biblical worship. We need to believe him. He is 
the prophet spoken of by Moses in Deuteronomy 18. He is the 
one set apart by Yahweh to function as Messiah in Israel. We are 
to believe him. If you're not a believer here 
this morning, listen to him. He says, believe me. John ends 
his gospel on that crescendo in John 20 at verses 30 and 31. 
He says, Jesus did many other things, but these things are 
written so that you might believe that Jesus is the son of the 
living God and that believing in his name, you might have everlasting 
life. So when he says, believe me here, 
it's not just woman, I want to set you straight in terms of 
biblical worship. No, he says, believe me as the 
giver, the bringer, the offerer, the one who provides the living 
water onto everlasting life. Now notice the Lord explains 
to the woman the nature of true worship. In the first place, 
he refers to the hour that is coming. Notice in verse 21, woman 
believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this 
mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. Now, as we go through 
John's gospel, there are several references to the hour, and oftentimes 
it's connected to the death of Jesus. So we look at his life, 
death, resurrection as the hour in terms of transition from Old 
Covenant to New Covenant. I don't think that's a stretch, 
and I hope to underscore that as we move through this bit of 
teaching. Calvin makes this observation. 
Notice that Jesus refers to the worship of the Father. More on 
that later, but notice what Calvin says. By calling God Father, 
he seems indirectly to contrast Him with the fathers whom the 
woman had mentioned, and to convey this instruction, that God will 
be a common Father to all, so that He will be generally worshipped 
without distinction of places or nations. not father of all 
in terms of all men without exception, but a father of all in terms 
of all men without distinction. Jews, Gentiles, Samaritans, the 
hour is coming, woman, when God Most High is going to fulfill 
all of the promises made through the prophets. Those promises 
find their yea and amen in the very man that this woman is speaking 
to at the well. Notice that he points out the 
ignorance of the Samaritans with reference to worship. Verse 22, 
he says, you worship what you do not know. Again, Calvin, last 
time, but I think he's good here. He says, this is a sentence worthy 
of being remembered and teaches us that we ought not to attempt 
anything in religion rashly or at random, because unless there 
be knowledge, it is not God that we worship, but a phantom or 
an idol. So notice, Jesus is underscoring 
that the Samaritans are wrong. Jesus would be walked out of 
any tenured professorship today in any university. Oh, you can't 
tell somebody that they're wrong. But if they are wrong, it doesn't 
matter. You get to be wrong in America. 
You get to be wrong in Canada. And not only is it a bad thing, 
we're going to give you a raise and promotions, and we're going 
to let you write books and sell multitudes of them. Jesus tells 
this woman, you worship what you do not know. You're faulty. You're ignorant. You've come 
up short. He's not lambasting the particular 
woman. He's highlighting something, 
though, about her religious pedigree. She's off. She's ignorant. She's not on board. Again, brethren, 
there seems to be an unwillingness in the Christian pulpit today 
to ever denounce false religion. Well, our truck then is not with 
Jesus because he had no problem denouncing false religion. In 
Matthew's gospel, in Matthew 23, how does he treat the Pharisees 
and the scribes? Does he say, oh, you just have 
a difference of opinion and it's okay because all religions go 
to heaven? No, he says, woe to you, scribes 
and Pharisees, hypocrites. He calls them a brood of vipers. 
The apostle Paul speaks of Hymenaeus and Philetus who had caused the 
shipwreck of the faith of those who adhered to their teaching. 
Paul condemns such things. He says in 2 Timothy 4, Alexander 
the coppersmith did me much harm, may the Lord repay him. I don't 
think that Alexander the coppersmith shorted Paul in some sort of 
a business transaction. Alexander the coppersmith opposed 
Paul and his gospel and the apostle says, May the Lord repay him. There is this unwillingness under 
the guise, this pseudo tolerance that is in play today where the 
Christian pulpit is silent on the enemies of the cross. That 
cannot hold brethren, that cannot obtain. I remember being younger 
and hearing of a man who said, you know, I spent the whole life 
and time and ministry that I was engaged in telling people, my 
people, what they should believe. But I never told them what they 
shouldn't believe. I think that's imperative on 
us today. Now that doesn't mean we denounce 
everybody from Dan to Beersheba in every single sermon. But if 
we're not willing to step up with Jesus and say, you worship 
what you do not know. But then notice what he goes 
on to say. He underscores the orthodoxy 
of the Jews. Verse 22, you worship what you 
do not know. We know what we worship for salvation 
is of the Jews. So the Samaritans are wrong and 
the Jews are right in terms of Old Covenant religion. Everybody 
get that? We're going somewhere. You need 
to pay attention because this is most important. I think every 
sermon ever preached is most important. And this is one of 
them. Notice what the Lord says. You 
worship what you do not know. We know what we worship for salvation 
is of or salvation is from the Jews. How is it of? How is it 
from the Jews? Well, in the first place, the 
Messiah was promised to have come from Israel. The Old Testament 
tells us that from the line of David, God would raise one up 
as a Messiah to send to Israel, not only for the redemption of 
the lost tribes of Jacob, but also as a light unto the Gentiles. 
But as well, the truth was given to Israel. The Samaritans received 
the law. They received the five books 
of Moses, but they rejected the prophets. And the prophets simply 
expound and amplify and explain more in detail what the Old Testament 
law stipulated. what it promised, what it afforded, 
what it said concerning Yahweh. So Jesus can say, we know what 
we worship for salvation is of the Jews. Psalm 76, 1. In Judah, 
God is known. His name is great in Israel. 
Isaiah 2, 3, prophesying of the messianic age. Many people shall 
come and say, come and let us go up to the mountain of the 
Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his 
ways and we shall walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall 
go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. See, 
if Jesus says you're wrong but he affords no basis or there's 
no corroboration for that, that's not good. We can't just tell 
people, you're messed up, you're all wrong, you don't know what 
you're doing. We better be able to pony up and we better be able 
to explain why it is they're wrong and why it is that we're 
right. Romans 3, the apostle asks the 
question, what advantage then has the Jew? Or what is the profit 
of circumcision? Much in every way, chiefly because 
to them were committed the oracles of God. See why Jesus can condemn 
Samaritan worship and why Jesus can affirm Jewish worship, Old 
Covenant, Israel worship? Romans 9, 1-5, the Apostle says, 
I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also 
bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow 
and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself 
were a curse from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according 
to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, 
the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service 
of God and the promises. of whom are the fathers, and 
from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all 
the eternally blessed God. Amen. That's why Jesus can say, 
you worship what you don't know. We worship what we do know, because 
salvation is of, or salvation comes from the Jews, in terms 
of the Messiah of Israel, and in terms of the truth communicated 
by Yahweh to Israel, which we call the Old Testament Scriptures. Now notice, he moves on to the 
new covenant worship of God. So look at verse 21. Woman, believe 
me, the hour is coming. And here in verse 23, but the 
hour is coming and now is. There's been a shift. There's been, I don't like shift. I don't like replacement. I like 
realization and fulfillment. Christ comes to do what was prophesied 
in the Old Testament. So when he refers to the hour 
now is, he is specifying the new covenant. This shouldn't 
surprise us if we've paid attention to John's gospel up until this 
point. What does John say in the prologue 
at 117? For the law was given through 
Moses, but grace and truth came through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Again, he's not condemning Moses. He's not saying Moses bad, old 
covenant bad. But in the old covenant, it was 
always prophesied that there would be a new covenant. When 
Jesus makes that water into wine, we made the observation, this 
shows the superiority of the new covenant over the old. When 
Jesus condemns the worship of old covenant Israel that had 
bastardized worship and their approach to God in John 2, Jesus 
says, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it 
up. Again, we have realization fulfillment. What Solomon's temple 
stood for, what Herod's temple stood for, pointed to the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and now that he's come, those things are no longer 
to be imbibed. But also, when he speaks to Nicodemus, 
certainly there were Old Covenant believers that were regenerate, 
certainly there were Old Covenant believers that had their hearts 
changed, but that wasn't an essential feature of Old Covenant religion, 
like it is in the New Covenant. And when it comes to the serpent, 
the serpent type in Numbers chapter 21, the anti-type is the Lord 
Jesus. He doesn't simply heal you from 
a snake bite. He heals you from sin. He heals 
you from damnation. He heals you from captivation 
to the devil. You have the testimony of John 
the Baptist. He must increase, but I must 
decrease. I think this is what Jesus is 
pointing to in verse 23. The hour is coming and now is. Not only will the Jews be participants, 
but so will Samaritans, so will Gentiles, so will the uttermost 
parts of the earth. Jesus is preaching new covenant 
blessing to this woman. Now notice that Jesus preaches 
new covenant worship to this woman as well. It's been said 
that if you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail. I'm going 
to propose to you that we understand verses 23 and 24 as a reference 
to our triune God. Now, I have been studying the 
Trinity for a few years. I really find it very enjoyable 
and very edifying and very encouraging. So there might be those that 
say, well, he's a hammer and there's a nail and he's going 
to beat the Trinity into this particular passage. I hope to 
show you that when Jesus refers to the Father and the Spirit 
and the truth, He is referring to the Father, the Son, and the 
Spirit. He's referring to the approach of the New Covenant 
believers to our blessed and triune God. Now notice, the Old 
Covenant worship service was until the time of Reformation. 
There is a distinction between Old Covenant worship and New 
Covenant worship. You'll notice we don't have sacrifices. 
You'll notice that we don't have incense. You'll notice that I 
don't have robes. You'll notice that I don't have 
a hat. You'll notice that I don't have all those things that were 
mandated in Old Covenant worship. Our Puritan and Reformed heritage 
explains this well. The Jews were more carnal, and 
by carnal don't understand necessarily sinful, but they needed more 
connection to the physical around them, hence temple worship was 
well suited for them. But the time of Reformation has 
come, not the 16th century Reformation, but that spoken of by the Apostle 
in Hebrews chapter 9. When Jesus comes, that carnal 
worship gives way to a lot more simple worship. Reformed worship 
is simple for a reason, because we don't have all those things 
that we need to invoke in order to walk. We walk by faith and 
not by sight. So there's no doubt a contrast 
between those things in terms of Old Covenant carnal worship 
versus this New Covenant, more spiritual worship situation. 
But notice what he says in verse 23. But the hour is coming, and 
now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit 
and truth. For the Father is seeking such 
to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who 
worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." Now here's how I 
suggest we understand this particular passage. Notice the specific 
reference of worship directed to the Father. the specific object 
of worship directed to the Father in verses 21 and 23. Not that God was never called 
Father in the Old Testament, but not as profusely as He is 
in the New Testament, and typically in redemptive or covenantal contexts. And again, we're not talking 
about a plethora. We're talking about six passages 
where God or Yahweh reveals Himself as Father to the nation of Israel. So she doesn't really have that 
framework in terms of her own religious pedigree. As well, 
notice the emphasis on the worship of the Father in spirit and truth. Now, if we capitalize the S there, 
and we capitalize the T there, it would be more obvious. The 
Spirit is obviously, in my mind, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus is 
truth. John 14 says, I am the way, the 
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except 
through me. Now, the typical reading of this 
text goes this way. Verse 23, the hour is coming, 
and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit 
and truth. Spirit reflects the heart disposition 
necessary, and truth reflects the head disposition necessary. So what Jesus is saying to this 
Samaritan woman is that you need to have both heart and head as 
you approach the Father. Well brethren, in the old covenant, 
the true worshiper had to have the heart and the head as well. 
That's not new. Christ is showing the contours 
of redemptive history, the superiority of the new covenant, and he is 
underscoring spirit and truth, not head and heart. As well, 
that dichotomy between head and heart comes from us. It doesn't 
come from the Bible. The Bible speaks of head and 
heart synonymously. The Bible uses those categories 
interchangeably. It's not the case that we can 
sort of come to church and our mind is here but our hearts are 
far. No, that just means you're messed 
up and you need to repent. We want to sort of blame something 
in our psyche. No, just blame you. You don't 
have to have some dichotomy that affords you the opportunity to 
be lazy with some sort of an excuse. No, it's always been 
the case that the true worshiper of God comes with both heart 
and head. Now, with reference to the triune 
God of the Bible, He is the only true and living God. He's the 
same God in the Old Testament. But in this new covenant setting, 
we're getting more light shone upon Him and His glory and His 
majesty and His excellence. So when Jesus says that the true 
worshipers come to the Father, He means they do so in the mediation 
of the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. And if we've read 
John effectively up until this point, John's already told us 
that Jesus is God. John's prologue, chapter one, 
verses one to 18. He's told us the Holy Spirit 
is God, because in chapter one at verse 12, he says that those 
who receive Jesus are born of God. And in John 3, eight, we 
read that it's the spirit of God that is the one appropriated 
in terms of the new birth. So this is a reading that we 
should come to expect at this particular juncture. Notice over 
in John chapter 5 what Jesus is going to say at the end in 
verse 23, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the 
Father. He who does not honor the Son 
does not honor the Father who sent him. And then look at John 
6 at verse 27, do not labor for the food which perishes, but 
for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son 
of Man will give you. Because notice, God the Father 
has set his seal on him. Yes, because there's God the 
Son, God the Spirit, not three gods, but in this divine and 
infinite being, there are three persons or three subsistences. 
So what's one of John's point throughout his gospel narrative? It's not only to shine the light 
upon the economy of salvation, but it's to shine the light upon 
the God of our salvation. So you've got to consider this, 
that Jesus uses the opportunity with this Samaritan woman, a 
person twice, no, three times disenfranchised. She's a woman, 
she's a Samaritan, and she's got some sort of a checkered 
situation in terms of her own sexual ethics. And Jesus comes 
to her, not only to offer to her this living water, but to 
teach her about the triune God. We come to the Father, through 
the Son, in the Spirit, and this reflects what we have in New 
Covenant worship. Ephesians chapter 2, you can 
turn there. The Apostle Paul shows us that 
this is what Christian worship looks like in this new covenant 
setting for those who are blood-bought and those who have the Spirit. 
Notice in Ephesians 2 at verse 18, "...for through Him," Christ, 
"...we both have access," Jew-Gentile, "...by one Spirit to the Father." 
That's Christian worship. So I think at times we don't 
understand that. We come to church, and we know it's a religious 
exercise, and we sing a few hymns, and we listen to some praying, 
we participate in praying, and then we have some sermon, and 
then we just kind of go our way. We're coming to the Father through 
the Son in and through the power of the Holy Spirit today. In 
other words, it's a sublime and blessed reality of the Christian 
faith. Notice what Paul goes on in with 
verse 19. Now, therefore you are no longer 
strangers and foreigners. Again, he's writing to Gentiles, 
but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household 
of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles 
and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone in 
whom the whole building, being fitted together grows into a 
holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together 
for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." Brethren, this isn't 
isolated to one or two places in the New Testament. but rather 
it is scattered throughout the New Testament. So going back 
to John's gospel, John chapter 4, whether the woman would have 
understood all of this in the same way or not, she would have 
once the light went on, but the reference to the Father in verse 
21, the reference to coming to the Father in spirit and truth 
in verse 23, shouldn't shock John's readers. No one has seen 
God at any time, John 1.18, but the only begotten Son, who is 
in the bosom of what? The Father has declared Him. John 3.16, for God so loved the 
world that He gave what? His only begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. So 
now when Jesus embarks on these categories, when he's discussing 
biblical worship or true worship with this Samaritan woman, you're 
supposed to follow along. You're supposed to get it. You're 
supposed to understand. Yeah, the Samaritans were wrong. The Jews were right in so far 
as it goes, but Christianity is the highest expression of 
the worship of our blessed and triune God most high. That's 
Jesus' point with this Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. Gregory 
of Nazianzen, not on this passage, but in general, he says this 
then, and parents listen to this, this then is my position with 
regard to these things. And I hope it may be always my 
position and that of whosoever is dear to me. not just parents, 
all of us have some sort of connection familially or friend-wise. Listen to what he says, I hope 
it's always my position, and I hope it's always the position 
of everybody that I know and love and hold dear, to worship 
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, three 
persons, one Godhead, undivided in honor and glory and substance 
and kingdom. I don't know about you, brethren, 
but as we proceed in the 21st century with increased opposition, 
not just in Myanmar, but in North America as well, if it comes 
to the day when they outlaw Jesus Christ, may God raise up outlaws 
for Jesus Christ. those who confess, those who 
profess, and those who will live and die for this triune God, 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Lord Christ is telling this 
woman something that the church needs to grab hold of. Our God 
is triune. The church, not just as individuals, 
but collectively or corporately, comes to the Father through the 
mediation of the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. And John 
the Apostle wants you to understand not only the gift that has been 
given to you, but he wants you to know the giver who has given 
that gift to you. He not only wants you to receive 
that full and abundant, free grace and salvation, but he wants 
you to look beyond that to the God who's granted it. to the 
Father who chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, 
to the Son in whom we have redemption through His blood, and to the 
Spirit by which we are sealed and guaranteed unto our final 
inheritance. This is how Paul proceeds in 
Ephesians 1. It is praise to the triune God. Blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual 
blessing. He then rehearses the Father's 
role in election and predestination, the Son's role in blood atonement, 
and the Spirit's role in applying that accomplished redemption 
by the Savior. In other words, brethren, we 
are Trinitarian through and through. Our God, the living and true 
God, is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Back to our text, notice 
what Jesus says to this woman. Verse 23, but the hour is coming, 
and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit 
and truth, and then notice, for the Father is seeking such to 
worship Him. See, there are theological traditions 
that have a problem, at least practically, with this passage. 
They don't teach or preach that God is actually seeking worshipers. If a few happen to stumble into 
the camp, that's okay, He'll accept them. But in terms of 
an active program, an active mission of propagation, an active 
collection of sinners, because we're not devoid of John chapters 
1 to 3. It's not the case that there's 
actually pure people out there seeking God in this fashion, 
right? God seeks such, so what does 
God do? God, by His grace, creates such. He does so, according to Jesus 
in John 3, via the new birth. He causes sinners to be born 
again. And when they're born again, 
the reflex action is that they look to the enthroned Christ, 
not enthroned on his throne, but on the cross, for God so 
loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. That in 
the context of just as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, 
so must the Son of Man be lifted up. So God is seeking such to 
worship him, and that there is none that are such, God undertakes 
salvation is of the Lord. And if you want a good, clear 
description of what those wretches look like prior to the new birth, 
prior to their faith in Jesus, that's John 3, 19 to 21. So we 
don't interpret John 4, verse 23, as if, you know, all we got 
to do is go out there and canvas the neighborhood and find those 
people that really want to worship God the Father through the mediation 
of the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. Once we find them, 
we welcome them to the Christian church. That's not what it means 
in terms of God seeking. But the fact that God is seeking, 
and thus God is making, through the preaching of the gospel, 
through the granting of the graces of faith and repentance, through 
the new birth, the fact that God is doing that gives the church 
today great impetus to go out on his behalf and to proclaim 
the gospel. In other words, what is the reason 
for which the world has been created? God's glory, for of 
Him and through Him and to Him are all things to whom be glory 
forever. Amen. He's glorified in creation. He's glorified in providence. 
He's glorified in redemption as well. And so for us as the 
people of God who know their triune God, it is incumbent upon 
us to go therefore and to preach this truth that the Lord Jesus 
expresses in this passage. So the father is seeking such 
to worship him. And this idea of a seeking God 
shouldn't surprise anyone, should it? I mean, it does unfortunately 
surprise some, but it shouldn't surprise anybody who has an inkling 
of familiarity with the Holy Scripture. What happens after 
Adam and Eve sin? They run and they hide. They 
hide amongst the trees that God had made. They hide their private 
parts with leaves. God finds them. God covenants 
with them. God promises Messiah to them. God kills animals and clothes 
them with the skin. God then responding, not the 
way that we respond, I speak in the manner of men, but responding 
to the tower at Babel in chapter 11 of Genesis, makes this covenant 
with Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. You see, we serve a seeking 
God. Jesus makes this same observation 
with Zacchaeus. Remember that wee little man 
who wanted to get a glimpse of Jesus, but he was too short. 
For as the book by Lindau says, he was too little. So he shimmies 
up into that sycamore tree, and he gets a vision of the Messiah. 
And Jesus stops at the base of the tree, and Jesus says, calm 
down, I must eat at your house today. So Zacchaeus comes down 
the tree. That's a good lesson for all 
other would-be Zacchaei. When Jesus commands, obey. When Jesus says, come down the 
tree, come down the tree. When Jesus says, believe me, 
believe him. When Jesus says, if you knew 
who it was who is speaking to you, you would have asked him 
and he would have given you living water. Listen to him, obey him, 
understand him. But once Zacchaeus shimmies down 
that tree, what's the response of the fellows? They're upset. That's typical, isn't it? Man 
gets upset at the display of God's grace. Zacchaeus was a 
wretch. Zacchaeus was a bad man. Zacchaeus 
was a tax collector. Zacchaeus was a horrible specimen 
of a human being. What does Jesus say to all of 
the detractors there? He says that the Son of Man has 
come to seek and to save that which was lost. In the calling 
of Matthew, in Matthew chapter nine, the Pharisees are all up 
at arms because Jesus is hanging out with the sinners and the 
tax collectors. What's he saying? I didn't come 
to call the righteous, but I came to call the sinners to repentance. 
So that is what we find in this passage. God is a seeking God. And then Jesus summarizes with 
verse 24. God is spirit. Notice, not the 
father, Father is the object of worship according to verses 
21 and 23. Now he moves to God and he says, 
God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and 
truth. In this divine and infinite being, 
there are three subsistences. Spirit is singular, essence is 
singular, substance is singular, the simple essence of God most 
high, and yet three subsistences or persons, father, word or son, 
and the spirit. Christ says, God is spirit and 
those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. Notice the 
mustness there. This isn't open for your interpretation. Well, you know, I kind of like 
the gods of the, the Hittites. I kind of like, no, there's one 
true and living God. And guess what? That one true 
and living God specifies, demands, dictates, and commands how we're 
supposed to approach Him. I know it seems odd that a universally 
glorious, wonderful, unparalleled, sovereign being wouldn't consult 
us on how to worship Him. But that's how it goes. He calls 
us to be obedient. He calls us to come to him through 
the son in the spirit. He calls us to exercise that 
privileged access we have in a distinctly and robustly Trinitarian 
way. Our worship is of the true and 
living God. God is spirit and those who worship 
him must worship in spirit and truth. Now notice finally and 
quickly the messianic hope expressed by the woman. Verse 25, the woman 
said to him, I know that Messiah is coming. He said, well, Pastor 
Butler, you said she only believed the first five books of Moses. 
She rejected the prophets. There's enough in the first five 
books of Moses, the five books of Moses to promise Messiah. 
Genesis chapter three. Although the language of Messiah 
is not present, the concept of Messiah is present. The whole 
typology of Genesis chapter 22, when Abraham takes Isaac up to 
Mount Moriah, take the son, the son that you love, your only 
son, and offer him up as a sacrifice. Isaac is bright enough to realize 
we've got the wood, we've got the fire, we've got everything 
but the sacrifice. What's Abraham say? He says, 
the Lord will provide. When the angel stays Abraham's 
hand, what do they see? They find a ram in the thicket, 
and that suffers under the knife instead of Isaac. You have the 
promise of the prophet in Deuteronomy chapter 18, verses 15 to 18. That woman had a messianic expectation. Now think about the irony. Think 
about the irony. She is speaking to the Messiah 
about the Messiah himself. She says it in this way. The 
woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming. The next phrase, 
who is called Christ, that's not her. She's not interpreting 
for Jesus. That's John interpreting for 
us. When he comes, he will tell us all things. That's her expectation. That's her hope, that's her understanding. 
In terms of her approach to the five books of Moses, there is 
a man that will come that will explain all things. How does 
Jesus respond? I who speak to you am he. I who 
speak to you am he. There's a fellow that pretends 
to be a Christian preacher. Notice I didn't say pretends 
to be a Christian. I don't know the man's heart. I cannot judge 
the inward being, but he pretends to be a Christian preacher or 
teacher who claims that Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah 
when he was in his earthly ministry. Yeah, he does right here, absolutely 
positively. But it's intriguing that the 
language Jesus employs here. You've probably heard the name 
of God as Yahweh. Yahweh refers to Exodus chapter 
three and verse 14. God reveals himself from the 
bush as Yahweh. I am who I am. You see this emphasis in the 
prophet Isaiah, in instances, where he underscores the God 
of Israel with reference to this I Am. Guess who else does that 
in the Gospel of John? He does it in Matthew as well, 
but he does it profusely in John's Gospel. He uses the same language. If you're using the New King 
James, notice that the he is in italics. That means it's supplied 
by the translators. Jesus literally says to this 
woman, I Again, did she understand the full significance of this? 
She should have. She had the book of Exodus, but 
we'll give her a break for just a moment. But in terms of that 
emphasis throughout John's gospel, it comes up over and over again. Look at John 6 and verse 20. Some commentators don't like 
this one being invoked. but Jesus is walking on water, 
so I think it's fair. Notice in John 6, 20, but he 
said to them, it is I. Literally, I am. Do not be afraid. Look at John 8. And if you're 
not a believer here this morning, I would imagine that's uncomfortable 
whenever you hear me say that. Oh, he's picking on us again. 
I wasn't always a believer. I didn't seek God. I wasn't, 
hey, Lord, take me, here I am. No, that's not it. God, who seeks 
worshipers, who worship him in spirit and truth, by grace makes 
them. By grace produces them. But the 
point of this little statement, if you're not a believer here 
this morning, feel the weight of verse 24 in John 8. He says, 
Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins, for 
if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. Christ says to reject him as 
the Bible sets him forth is to choose damnation. It is to choose 
hell. Notice he repeats this in verse 
28. Then Jesus said to them, when 
you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that... What is 
it? I am. When you lift him up, what? In 
crucifixion. Because the crucifixion leads 
to the resurrection, which is the vindication of Jesus Christ, 
the Son of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. And then 
notice in John 8 at verse 52. I'm sorry, verse 58. Jesus said 
to them, most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I 
am. Notice the response. Then they 
took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went 
out of the temple, going through the midst of them and so passed 
by. Now, as bad as the religious 
leaders in the first century were, they didn't typically just 
stone somebody who had a different opinion religiously. They did, 
however, stone somebody who claimed to be I Am, who claimed to be 
God Most High. And then one other intriguing 
passage is that the arrest of our Lord Jesus. Notice in chapter 
18 at verse 4, Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that would 
come upon him, went forward and said to them, whom are you seeking? 
They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I Am. And 
Judas who betrayed him also stood with them. Now, when he had said, 
or when he said to them, I am, they drew back and notice, fell 
to the ground. Did they have all the understanding? No, but they were in the presence 
of God most high. And persons in the presence of 
God most high, don't put their arms around his shoulder and 
treat him like a fellow or an equal. They fall down as dead 
men before him in his holiness and in his glory and in his blazing 
majesty. So Christ answers this woman 
in the affirmative and he uses the language of divinity. I who 
speak to you am. I am. Now in conclusion, we'll 
end quickly. First, let's not forget the provision 
of living water. We didn't spend much time on 
the first half of this section this time around, but that's 
the context, the provision of living water. Remember verse 
four tells us that Jesus had to pass through Samaria. That's 
true according to his humanity. You don't get from Judea to Galilee 
without going through Samaria. But he had to go through Samaria 
according to his divinity. There was divine necessity. He 
had to meet this woman. He had to speak to this woman. 
He had to direct this woman unto the Father, through the Son, 
by the power of the Holy Spirit. He had to do this. Why? Because 
he's a seeking God. The Son of Man has come to seek 
and to save that which was lost. The provision of living water 
is a real offer. It is a real blessing. It is 
a real promise of God most high. It's not empty. It's not hollow. 
It's not fake. It's not some sort of a play 
on the part of deity to try and mock his creatures. No, if you 
would have known him who speaks to you, you would have asked 
him and he would have given you this living water. You see how 
easy that is? This is why we talk about the 
simplicity of the gospel. It wasn't simple for Jesus. The Lord Jesus was a man of sorrows 
and he was acquainted with grief. The Lord Jesus obeyed the law 
of God perfectly. The Lord Jesus went to the cross. He suffered shame and curse and 
judgment and punishment. All of that for us men and for 
our salvation. But in terms of us, what is it? Take the living water that you've 
been offered. Take the living water that you've 
been offered. Receive the gift that God provides 
to needy sinners. Why will you tarry? Why will 
you wait? Why will you reject? Why will 
you say, oh no, I don't want the living water. I much prefer 
hell and damnation and Satan and sin. Give me all the bad 
things that you could possibly come up with God. Give that to 
me. The fact that you're in a Christian church this morning underscores 
in my mind at least some semblance of an appreciation of who Jesus 
Christ is. And if Jesus Christ is the offerer 
of living water, and if Jesus Christ says to persons, believe 
me, then may I say, believe him. Look to him in faith. Look to 
him according to John 3, 14 to 16, that whoever believes in 
him should not perish, but have everlasting life. As well, with 
reference to worship, the true worship of the living God, the 
Lord Christ specifies its triune. I don't think it's a stretch 
to say that Jesus is teaching this woman what our confession 
of faith puts in chapter 2 in paragraph 3. In this divine and 
infinite being, there are three subsistences, the Father, the 
Word, or Son, and Holy Spirit, of one substance, power, and 
eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence 
undivided. Again, it's not spelled out that 
way in the technical jargon, but where do you think the divines 
got it? They got it from encounters like 
this. They got it from teaching like 
this. They got it from asking the Bible, what does the Bible 
say about the true and living God? The Bible says this true 
and living God is one divine essence. And in this one divine 
and infinite essence, there is three subsistences. There are 
three subsistences, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 
That's what they calculate or articulate in the confession, 
but it rightly reflects what our Lord Jesus says to this Samaritan 
woman who had a huge sin issue and ultimately comes now to the 
water of everlasting life. God most high is seeking. God most high is glorious. God most high has sent the son 
of his love. Believe in him and you shall 
be saved. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you that the hour has come. The life and 
the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ has 
occurred. And we know that brings the superior 
new covenant. And this isn't just conjecture. 
The apostle says it in Hebrews 7. It's a new covenant built 
on better promises that affords a better hope and is in fact 
a better covenant because Jesus is the surety of this covenant. 
God, we pray for the blessing of the Holy Spirit upon the preaching 
of the Word of God today, that wherever sinners hear of Christ, 
they by grace would believe on him and would have everlasting 
life. Do that for your glory. Do that 
to magnify your power and display your sovereignty. Do that in 
our own midst so that we would respond with praise and worship 
and adoration and gratitude to our great God who has brought 
salvation to people. Lord, we thank you for this opportunity 
to gather together. We thank you for the great privilege 
that is ours of worshiping the true and the living God. And 
we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, let's 
close by singing a doxology of praise to that God on page 568. Praise God from whom all blessings 
flow. Praise Him, all creatures, here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost. Amen. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 
and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you 
all. Amen. Father in heaven, we thank you 
for your word. We thank you for this day, for 
the house of worship, for the church of Christ. We thank you 
for the people of God and we pray that you'd bless this day 
and cause us to reflect upon your goodness and your kindness. 
And may we enjoy the sweet fellowship of the saints and may you be 
glorified. And we ask this through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. where you may be seated 
for a brief time of meditation.