Jesus said to the woman at the well: “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

Water was drawn not only for drinking, but for the ritual washings of those who kept the law of Moses. Washing with water prepared the priests for temple duties and to enter the tent of meeting. It was a symbolic act that provided temporary cleansing only.

With the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell all believers, there is no longer a need to wash with water. Instead, the Holy Spirit is a fount of “living water” flowing from within every believer to satisfy spiritual thirst and cleanse us from within. Thus the external act of washing with water, which was never able to clean the hearts of men is replaced by the internal act of washing by the Spirit.

In fact, the 6 stone water jars Jesus turned into wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, were for washing and purification. By turning the water into wine, Jesus first miracle symbolically marked the end of externalized rituals and the advent of being cleansed from within by the new wine of the Spirit.

Jesus went on to say to the woman at the well “Believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.”

In the same way Jesus’ marked the transition from external to internal cleansing, so does He also mark the transition from location-based worship to worship that happens any and everywhere. It’s subtle, but I believe Jesus also declared the end of bodily physical worship as was practiced in the OT.

How so, you ask? IF all Jesus had intended was to declare the end of location based worship, He’d have said “… the hour is coming when either on this mountain or in Jerusalem, you will worship the Father.” But Jesus didn’t say “either” and “or”, He said “neither” and “nor”, both of which convey the end of worship as the Jews and Samaritans had known it.

The Greek word from which “neither” and “nor” is translated, means “NOT” as well as “neither” and “nor”. “Neither” and “nor” are the prohibitive forms of “either” and “or”. Jesus could just as easily said “you will NOT worship on this mountain and you will NOT worship in Jerusalem”. If there were a Dr. Seuss translation for that scripture it would read “You will not worship here, you will not worship there, you will not worship anywhere.” That’s what Jesus means by “neither” and “nor”.

For millions of Christians who attend weekly “worship services”, what Jesus said has the potential to end church services as we know them! So did Jesus mean we will NOT “worship” God at all? Of course not! The key to understanding is the Greek word for “worship” which means to fawn, crouch down, or prostrate oneself in homage. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon goes on to say that such worship is “token” or in recognition of the superior rank of another. Strong’s dictionary cites the example of a “dog licking its master’s hand” which to me suggests a form of worship that is not sincere but compulsive, akin to begging or groveling; actions that are potentially forced and humiliating.

Such were the self-deprecating words of the Canaanite woman who pleaded with Jesus to heal her demon-possessed son. She said “Lord: even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table”. In effect, she said “You are Lord, I am but a dog; please heal my son” and Jesus was moved to do so.

In saying to the woman at the well “you will neither worship here nor in Jerusalem”, I believe Jesus means we will no longer worship Him “like dogs” or prostrate ourselves in token homage.

When Jesus expands on the word “worship” by adding “in Spirit and Truth”, our worship becomes an act of genuine love and adoration that springs forth from the heart. Jesus changed the very origin and nature of our worship from something forced and external to genuine and internal.

Since worship now originates within our hearts for God who wants us to worship “in Spirit”, there is no need to describe bodily physical acts of worship in the New Testament. So it should come as no surprise that there are relatively few scriptures in the New Testament concerning bodily physical worship as compared to the many and detailed scriptures found in the Old Testament.

Still, I’ve heard hirelings wax enthusiastic about the “purpose and passion of worship” while asserting we were “made to worship” in man-made temples where they are paid to host us in “worship services”. Personally, I don’t identify with that claim – at least in the ways churches worship today. My view is a simple one. In Genesis God said we are made in His image where like God, I too am a father. The inference that I, like God, would create children to “worship me”, is repulsive to me. I had children because I wanted a family to love and who would love me in return, willingly. I believe that’s the Father’s reason for creating us as well, a point He underscored when He gave His only Son to make us into “sons of God”. And what is a son if not family; a family for God?

Accordingly, I view my worship of God in a more natural, spontaneous and loving relationship like what I have with my earthly father and my children have with me. If ever any of my children prostrated themselves to worship me, I’d raise them to their feet and embrace them face to face. This is the very image Jesus painted in the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-24). The Father ran to his son, embraced and kissed him, had him fitted with a robe, a ring and sandals, and celebrated his return with a banquet! The son had come prepared to throw himself on his father’s mercy but the father raised him up instead! Dad didn’t even let him finish the confession he rehearsed while making his way home! He stopped the son’s confession before he could prostrate himself and offer himself as a servant in his father’s household. The father would have none of that and cried out “THIS IS MY SON!”

Though the passage does not record how the son felt after the father restored him, I am certain his heart was overflowing with the kind of love, praise and adoration that the Father is looking for from us, when we worship “in Spirit and Truth”. Such overflowing adoration is simply not possible in the old, bodily physical way of worship that Jesus declared at an end. The Father doesn’t want dogs crouching and licking at His hands as if to beg for a treat, He wants to embrace us as His sons and daughters.

Certainly I do not mean to imply that bodily physical worship of God is in any way wrong. We are free to do so if that is our leading and heart’s desire. What troubles me is the insistence of those hirelings who promote “worship services” in temples made by men as a requirement for believers to attend, or who suggest believers are not worshiping with sufficient vigor during their “worship services”. Such misses the mark by putting the emphasis on physical worship over the spiritual worship God desires.

The act of worship that strikes me as most symbolic of our new position before God in Christ, is John, who rested his head up Jesus bosom. If we are to worship in TRUTH, where the truth is the One we worship lives IN us now, how should our worship change?

Do you remember what Linus does in the Charlie Brown Christmas special? Talking about Jesus, he drops his security blanket to the floor and clasps his hands over his heart, where Jesus dwells within us.