Worshipping with Nothing Hidden

It was a very unusual thing Jesus did that day, but according to the text, He was on assignment from His Father. As the apostle John put it, “[Jesus] had to go through Samaria” (John 4:4). In the Greek, the phrase had to didn’t mean that this was the only option available for travel, but rather that Jesus felt compelled to take this road. After all, a route through Samaria was not a road any Jew would normally choose. Considering the Samaritans half-breeds, the Jews avoided them at all costs. Jesus, however, was on a rescue mission. He was being led by the Spirit.

If you are familiar with the story, you’ll remember that the woman Jesus met at the well in Samaria had been married five times and was now living with a man who wasn’t her husband. How had she ended up in such a situation? No young woman ever dreams that her life will turn out like that. Well, I have a theory.

I’m sure this woman was in love with the first man she married, but if she weren’t able to have children, he probably divorced her pretty quickly. And in those days, young divorced women were not well taken care of, so she would have been glad to receive another proposal. Who knows what happened in that marriage? Or the next time? Or the next? By the time she encountered Jesus, this woman was simply grateful for a roof over her head, even if there were no ring on her finger.

When Jesus asked her to go get her husband, she told Him she didn’t have a husband. Jesus said to her, “You have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband” (John 4:18 NIV). The woman was stunned that this Jewish rabbi knew about her private life. Assuming that Jesus must be a prophet, she tried to engage Him in a discussion about the correct place to worship. But Jesus cut to the very heart of worship and said, “God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth” (v. 24 NIV). Here, the word truth means “nothing hidden.” And that is the kind of worship you and I are called to today.

Jesus already knows our secrets and our shame, but He still invites us to come—just as we are—into the light of His presence and receive His love. When we finally understand that God knows everything about us and that He nevertheless loves us deeply, that realization will change our lives.

A footnote to the story: the Samaritan woman became the first missionary to her village. “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (4:29 NIV).

Worship the One who knows you completely, knowing you are covered in His steadfast love.

Five Minutes in the Word

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

John 4:24 NIV

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:32

Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.

Psalm 25:5

Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed! Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven.

Psalm 85:10–11

If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

1 John 1:6–7 NIV