KJV John 4:23 The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

NASB John 4:23 The true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.

Have you ever thought that one reason the Lord Jesus came from Heaven and went to a cross was to reap worshippers from Earth for God?

One picture of Calvary is given to us back in Deuteronomy. It is the incident of the man found slain in the field (Deut 21). To atone for the death and to clear the nearest city of any responsibility, a heifer was to be brought down to a valley which had never been the source of any fruit. There it was to be slain. Picture what occurred: the source of life, the heifer, in a valley marked by barrenness and death.

This is only a faint picture of Calvary. A barren world — a world with nothing to offer God —was the “valley” into which the very source of life descended. C. S. Lewis pictured Earth as “The Silent Planet.” No word of thanks or worship could have ever ascended to God were it not for the Lord Jesus and His descent and death.

So here, into this barren valley, the Lord Jesus came. His longing desire was to bring a harvest of worship to His Father. Such was His love for His Father, such His longing to see His Father honoured and recognized, that He would endure a cross, allow Himself to be scorned, hated, abused, and blasphemed, that those very same lips which blasphemed Him might be transformed into worshipping lips for His Father.

The cynic might ask, “Why does the Father need worship?” The truth is that the Father does not “need” worship. He needs nothing. Divine persons are complete in themselves and lack or need nothing. But why then does He seek worshippers?

Anything which God does must always be for our good and blessing. God is by His very nature, selfless and loving — always seeking the best for others. As worshippers, we rise to our highest dignity and honour. To actually be brought to know the God of the universe, to appreciate all that the Father is, as revealed in the Son, to think the Father’s thoughts of His Son — could any privilege be greater? Could humanity rise any higher and be more fulfilled than when it is a worshipper? Whatever attainment a man accomplishes in his life, if he fails to be a worshipper of God, he has fallen short of full manhood. We were made to find our greatest joy in worshipping the Father.

And it was for this reason that the Lord Jesus went to the cross to endure the curse of a broken law, the crushing blow of divine justice, the sword of the omnipotent Jehovah piercing His sensitive soul, and the floods of divine wrath overwhelming Him. Everything was to enable you and me to be worshippers of the Father.

 Consider

1.  Worshipping “in Spirit and in truth” is what marks the current age. How is worshipping in Spirit in contrast with Judaistic worship, and “in truth” in contrast with Samaritan worship?

2.  “Neither in this mountain, nor yet in Jerusalem,” would be the scene of future worship to the Father, according to the Lord Jesus in John 4:21. Since the first assembly met in Jerusalem (Acts 2), what does that say about our worship?

3.  The woman left her waterpots (v 28). He left His meal (v 31, 32). What does that say about what each found that day?