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Lessons
from the Wilderness, Volume 67
…What We Know… Part Seven
How we Got Here [i]
[ii]
[iii]
…A Biblical
Examination of the Jewish Context of our Blessed Hope in Messiah…
19 The
woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that pyou
are qa prophet. 20 rOur fathers worshiped on sthis mountain, but you say that tin Jerusalem is uthe place where people
ought to worship.” 21 Jesus
said to her, v“Woman, believe me, wthe hour is coming when
xneither
on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
22 yYou worship what you do not know; zwe worship what we know, for zsalvation is afrom the Jews.
3 But bthe hour is coming, and is now here, when the true
worshipers will worship the Father cin spirit and dtruth, for the Father eis seeking such people
to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in
spirit and truth.”[iv]
Many may wonder why I
have even undertaken this teaching series. Some may say, “We don’t need a
multi-part series to explain Scripture to us!” Some may question my motives.
Some may say “What makes him qualified to explain Scripture anyway – he isn’t
ordained!” Believe me, I have heard all
these statements before, so let me give a quick background of who I am. I do
have a Certificate of Ministry. I have been teaching since 2008 and writing my
blog since 2011. I have written 167 posts on my blog, over 306,000 views, readers
across the globe: United States; Russia; Hong Kong; Indonesia; Israel; Germany;
United Kingdom; Singapore; China; France; Ukraine; Netherlands; Sweden; India; Türkiye;
Brazil; Vietnam’ and Malaysia: I mention this not for my glory, but for the
Glory of God – its all been for Him. Maybe no one reds my posts; I have no way
of knowing. My hope is this though: if in the 14 years I have been writing, if
only one person reads the words God has allowed me to pe, and has drawn that one
closer to Him, then all praise and honor to God and Yeshua – for the one is as worthy
as ninety-nine.
So
let us continue. Given the depth of this message, and the topics to review, I
will need to break the message into a few more parts. Topics to be expounded upon
are all found within our Scripture reference. Let’s explore how each of the three
concepts found in John 4:22 allows one to comprehend this verse in its full
theological weight.
·
The
inescapable destiny of servitude, “which or who do you serve?”
·
Epistemic[v] accountability.
·
Covenantal
particularity.
Yeshua’s statement to the Samaritan woman occurs in a context of worship and allegiance (believing loyalty). At its heart, John 4:22 exposes that every human being serves someone or something.
The Samaritan cult at Mount
Gerizim sought God through syncretism[vi]
— a mixed worship. Notice something you might miss in John 4:20, she tells
Yeshua “…Our fathers worshiped on sthis mountain…” She used
the past tense “worshipped” for a reason. The Samaritans and Jews had been at
odds with one another for centuries. There was first the split of the ancient
Israelite monarchy into the Kingdom of Israel (the northern kingdom whose capitol
was in Samaria) and the Kingdom of Judah (where Jerusalem was the center of
power and worship in the southern kingdom) after the reign of Solomon.
After
Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in around 722 B.C., the Assyrians
exiled the tribes of Israel and moved other people into the land, people who
brought their gods and worship practices into the Northern land. It was this
mix of survivors from the Assyrian captivity and the foreigners that joined together
in syncretic worship in Samaria, and a temple was built. In 128 B.C., the
tribes of Judah destroyed the Samarians temple, and in the 1st
century A.D. the Samaritans desecrated the Jerusalem Temple with dead bodies, causing
the expulsion of all Samaritans from Jerusalem. This is why she spoke of her
ancestors had “worshipped” on Mt. Gerizim: there was no temple left for them to
worship from.
Today, the form of “religion”
that is practiced is no different from that of the Samaritans. It is syncretism.
This “religion”
has failed us. Converts to Christianity
fall back into sin at the rate of 80%; that means 8 out of every 10 people
that main-stream denominations see make “a decision for Messiah” backslide or
fall away. Addictions, sex scandals,
divorces; these are just as common in the pew (or more so) as they are outside
the church’s walls. Except for a few pockets of real power and strength, the
modern church is helpless considering what is happening today. We see a real hunger for the things of ʾelōhiym in those that are seeking Him going unfed, or
worse, snapped up by the wolves and masters of false teachings and cultish,
self-driven opportunists.
On the other hand, Messiah is the only hope we have, praise be unto
Him. For in our weaknesses and in our failings,
He has chosen to show us hope, a way out of the mire; through grace and mercy
to those who believe He will preserve their faith, even if it costs them their
lives, yet peace, rest and glory awaits those who endure. In our faith in Him, we can and will show
untold numbers of the lost there is a Way of Truth and Light, and many will
come to know and fear our Lord and thus be counted in the family of ʾelōhiym at the end of
the age.
Still, we “worship” God and Jesus, but are they the same as found
in the Scriptures, or has traditions and “creeds” created them? It is a hard
question I know, but it ties directly to the question:
“Whom
do you serve?”
Yeshua
reveals that service divorced from truth is idolatry, because the act of
worship always flows from the nature of the one we serve.
Servitude
is destiny.
To “worship” (proskyneō)
means to bow, to yield oneself. Humanity cannot exist without orientation — we
will either serve the Creator in covenant faithfulness, or idols of our own
making.
The Samaritan woman’s question — “Where should we worship?” — becomes Yeshua’s
question in return: “Whom do you serve?”
Thus, John 4:22 unmasks false worship not as ignorance alone, but as misplaced
servitude.
- Compare: Joshua 24:15,
“Choose this day whom you will serve.”
- Echo: Romans 6:16–18,
“You are slaves of the one you obey.”
Yeshua’s “we worship
what we know” defines His own service: the obedient Son who perfectly serves
the Father, embodying true Israel. He reveals that right service — true worship
— arises from right knowledge (truth) and right covenant (relationship).
We have much more to cover,
so we’ll close this off here. Yeshua’s service should be ours also. True
Worship. That is what we are learning how to do, and what it means.
Till
we meet again.
May
the Lord bless you all and keep you.
Amein.
[i]NOTICE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
RIGHTS: Unless
otherwise cited, all material found on this blogsite (original text, opinions,
conclusions, and other material not related to cited sources remains the
collected intellectual property of the author of this site, David E. Robinson,
Elder, teacher, and minister, and are owned and controlled by myself and are
protected by copyright and trademark laws and various other intellectual
property rights and unfair competition laws of the United States, foreign
jurisdictions, and international conventions. Any errors found within, rest
solely upon me; please do not blame the Father for my mistakes. I am teachable
and correctable, not infallible. 😊 What I aim to do in this
blog is trying to help you study your Bible better, by providing you with notes
and explanations that you, my dear reader, may not have the resources available
to you.
(end
of): {End Net® Notes}
Breakdown
of the symbols
·
B:
This refers to Codex Vaticanus, one of the oldest and most important
Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. Dating to the 4th century CE, it is a
key witness to the Alexandrian text-type.
·
Ψ
(Psi): This is a standard abbreviation for the book of Psalms, from the
Greek word psalmoi. In New Testament textual notes, it can also refer to
the important 8th-century Greek manuscript Codex Athous Lavrensis.
·
892*:
This is a number assigned to a specific ancient biblical manuscript. The
asterisk (*raised to the * power*) indicates that the reading came from the
original, uncorrected version of the manuscript. The manuscript itself is a
9th-century Greek minuscule manuscript containing the Gospels and Acts.
·
2427:
This refers to another Greek minuscule manuscript, dating to the 14th century,
containing the Gospels.
·
sys:
This is an abbreviation for the Syriac manuscript tradition, which was a
very important early translation of the New Testament into Syriac, a dialect of
Aramaic.
·
For those who wish to take their studies to the next
level, a list of symbols used in textural criticism can be found here: https://www.cob-net.org/compare/docs/reference-charts-ciampa.pdf
Also,
in these studies, I have used the notes that come along with the passages cited
from the sources notated: these need a bit of a disclaimer though. As in all
things, not everything that is footnoted is something that may I necessarily
agree with [nor specifically disagree with]; the only instances will be where I
may find it not compatible with what I believe pertains to any matters of the
Torah or the commandments of God. I give you the notes as they are written by
the authors of the material I cite from, so that you can see the information
contained within them. It truly is not my place to edit or ignore them; if they
state anything that is in opposition to what I teach, then so be it. I will
address these issues if requested. That is not to say I should not challenge
something I believe, in my humble opinion, might contradict the truth of God’s
word; that I will do in the main body of my epistles for that is where my
gentle dissent belongs. Most (but not
all) of the differences will come when a QUOTED source displays a
decidedly Western/Greek mindset, as opposed to one of the Hebraic Perspectives.
I must be intellectually honest – I am biased toward the God of Avraham,
Issachar, and Yakob, and his son, Yeshua, the Messiah. I pray we all can find
common ground as we study the Scriptures. Also, some may be put off by the
length or depth of the notes; not everyone has access to the references I do,
so therefore, I try to include the notes that come with the material I use, so
each can see for themselves the information the originator has pointedly
gleaned. I hope you avail yourselves to these inclusions – they help us to
understand how the material in scripture is laid out and the thought process of
the original writers of Scripture.
q
Luke 7:16, 39; See Matt. 21:11
r
Gen. 12:6, 7; 33:18, 20; Deut. 11:29; 27:12; Josh. 8:33
s
Judg. 9:7
t
See Deut. 12:5
u
[ch. 11:48]
v
ch. 2:4
w
ver. 23; ch. 5:25, 28; 16:2, 25, 32
x
Zeph. 2:11; Mal. 1:11; 1 Tim. 2:8
y
[2 Kgs. 17:28–34; Acts 17:23]
z
Ps. 147:19, 20; Isa. 2:3; Rom. 3:1, 2; 9:4, 5
z
Ps. 147:19, 20; Isa. 2:3; Rom. 3:1, 2; 9:4, 5
a
Matt. 2:4, 5; Acts 13:23; Rom. 11:26
b
ver. 21
c
[Rom. 8:15; Eph. 2:18; 6:18; Phil. 3:3]
d
Ps. 145:18; [ch. 1:17]
e
[ch. 6:44]
[iv]
The Holy Bible: English Standard
Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn
4:19–24.
[v] From epistemology, the
philosophical study of knowledge, exploring what it is, how we get it, and how
we can be sure it's true. Examines concepts such as belief, truth, evidence and
justification of the same. For a deeper understanding see: https://iep.utm.edu/epistemo/#:~:text=Epistemology%20is%20the%20study%20of,might%20sort%20into%20two%20categories.
[vi] syn·cre·tism ˈsiŋ-krə-ˌti-zəm : the combination of different forms of belief or practice (Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “syncretism,” accessed November 4, 2025, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/syncretism.)
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