John 4:1-34

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:20

Our fathers. The "our" refers here to the Samaritans, just as the "ye" does to the Jews. She may be going back once more to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who worshipped and laboured at Shechem—but the mountain itself was not the site of a temple until the days of Nehemiah, and the temple in which the apostate Manasseh, son of Jaddua, offered sacrifices had been destroyed for nearly a hundred and fifty years. A chronological, if not more serious, difference is apparent between Nehemiah and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:21

Jesus saith unto her, Woman , £ believe me —a unique expression of Jesus, answering to the ἀμὴν ἀμὴν , of many other passages, where the acknowledgment of his Divine commission had been virtually ceded; this expression is peculiarly suitable to the occasion— that an hour is coming. He does not add, as in John 4:23 , "and now is." The Divine order which links the events of God's providence together, has not made it possible as yet in its fulness, as it will do when the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:21

Worship and holy places. The superstition of the Samaritan woman gave occasion to the utterances by Christ of his sublime revelation regarding the spirituality of worship. There was competition between the Samaritans, who performed their devotions upon the summit of Gerizim, and the Jews, to whom Jerusalem was the holy city and the temple the house of God. Jesus put aside this controversy and rivalry, and passed from it to the enunciation of specially Christian truth. I. THERE IS A... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:21-24

(d) The spiritual nature of God and his worship. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:21-24

The spirit of the true worship. Our Lord acts a prophet's part in answer to her inquiries. 1. THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE NEW WORSHIP . "Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father." 1 . All localized worship was soon to end. 2 . The fatherhood of God emancipates worship from every limitation of time and space. Men will worship God as a Father. The title is characteristic of this Gospel. II.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:22

Ye worship that which (not "him whom") ye know not . "That which" points to the essence and inner character of the object of their worship. They gave him a name, but they were comparatively ignorant of, and confessedly hostile as a people to, the revelation that the Father had made. They fell back on a past of rigid orthodoxy but of limited range. They rejected every portion of the Old Testament with the exception of the Pentateuch, i.e. the entire historical treatment of the primeval... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:23

But the hour cometh, and now is —already the day has dawned, the new conception is breaking like "awful rose of dawn" upon the minds of some— when the veritable £ worshippers —those who answer to the idea of worshippers, those who actually draw near to the Father in living fellowship and affectionate appreciation of his eternal Name— shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. An old misreading of this text, accepted by some Fathers, and based upon the idea expressed in John... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:23

The Divine search. That we should seek God seems most natural and proper. Poor, ignorant, sinful, helpless creatures that we are, we should be insensible and infatuated if we did not seek him who alone can supply our wants, pardon our errors, and secure our happiness. But that God should seek us seems passing strange. This is like the king seeking the rebel, the philosopher seeking the boor. Yet we have here an instance of the truth that "God's ways are not our ways." I. WHOM GOD ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:23-24

Worship and worshippers. In some form worship is all but universal. Wherever on earth man is found, there he presents to the Power above the offerings of his devotion. Doubtless there are cases without number in which worship has degenerated into mere superstition. Yet, where worship is at its best, it is one of the very highest manifestations and exercises of human nature. Much has been said by philosophers, by poets, by theologians, concerning the nature and the virtue of worship. But... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:24

A still more explicit and comprehensive reason is given for the previous assertion, based on the essential nature of God himself in the fulness of his eternal Being. God is Spirit ( πνεῦμα ὁ θεός ; cf. John 1:1 , θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος ,—the article indicates the subject, and the predicate is here generic, and not an indefinite; therefore we do not render it, "God is a Spirit"). The most comprehensive and far-reaching metaphor or method by which Jesus endeavoured to portray the... read more

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