John 4:22-24.
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Jesus speaks to both the woman of Samaria, and to all her people, when He says they really don’t know who/what they worship. They have parts of Judaism, parts of pagan idolatry, and it’s a confusing mix. The Samaritans honored only the first five books of the Bible, and rejected the rest. No wonder the woman had never heard of the Living Water!
Then Jesus clarifies the difference between the Jews, with whom He clearly identifies, and the Samaritans. “We know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews.”
This was one reason why Samaritans weren’t particularly fond of the Jews. How arrogant of them to claim to be the source of salvation! Who did they think they were, anyway? But there was no arrogance in Jesus. If there were, He would never have spoken to the woman; He would have ignored her, removed Himself from her. Instead, He was offering her something she had never heard before.
His claim that salvation is of the Jews is all through Old Testament prophecy, and especially in Isaiah 9 and 53. He was not bragging. He was simply telling the truth.
He went on to say that the time is very near when the place of worship will not matter; rather the heart and spirit of the worshippers will be uppermost as God seeks those who worship Him in spirit and in truth, for He is Spirit, and He is Truth.
The success of the gospel in Samaria is detailed in Act 8: 1-26.
To worship in spirit means that you are concerned with spiritual realities, not outward shows of place and appearance, sacrifices and ceremony.
To worship in truth is to pay attention to the whole counsel of God’s Word, especially because of the doctrinal teachings of the New Testament. The New Testament Bereans gathered daily in their hunger and thirst to know the scriptures, and to know God.
It also means that you come to God in truth, not for outward show and appearance of spirituality, but in humility of spirit.
Linda's Bible Study 
Thanks Linda. This was the great challenge that faced the Lord Jesus and then His apostles, to attempt to reveal OT truth to the incorrectly indoctrinated. This was especially true with indoctrinated religious leaders who knew the Scriptures extremely well, but, using Paul’s terminology, only according to the letter and not the Spirit. The Lord and His disciples used the same OT they used, but because they had also added to it with their traditions and oral law, they lessened and even eliminated the effect of the Word of God. And here was the living Word of God Himself right before them, which they rejected outright. How do such people get so deceived? Or maybe the better question is, why do they allow themselves to get so deceived?
Blessings to you.
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That’s a question we need to ask ourselves in the here and now, isn’t it?
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