Woman of Samaria
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for the true God, they represented him by images of wood and stone,
before which they bowed in worship.
When the temple was rebuilt at Jerusalem, the Samaritans wished
to join the Jews in its erection. This privilege was refused them, and,
in consequence, a bitter animosity sprang up between the two people,
which resulted in the Samaritans building a rival temple on Mount
Gerizim, where they worshiped according to the ceremonies that God
gave unto Moses, but mingled with their worship the taint of idolatry.
But disasters attended the Samaritans, their temple was destroyed by
the enemy, and they seemed to be under a curse.
They were forced to believe that God was punishing them for their
apostasy. They determined to reform, and solicited teachers from
the Jews to instruct them in the true religion. Through this teaching,
their views of God and his requirements became clearer, and their
religious service resembled more nearly that of the Jews. But to a
certain degree they still clung to their idolatry, and there was a lack
of harmony between them and the Jews. The Samaritans would not
respect the temple of worship at Jerusalem, and refused to admit that
it was the true place of worship.
Jesus answered the woman by saying that the time was at hand
when they should neither worship the Father in that mountain nor in
Jerusalem. Said he, “Ye worship ye know not what; we know what we
worship; for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now
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is, when the true worshipers 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.”
This was a plain statement that the Jews were more nearly correct
in the principles of their religion than any other nation. Jesus also
alluded to the faith of the Samaritans being amalgamated with the
worship of graven images. True, they held that these idols were only
to remind them of the living God, the Ruler of the universe; but,
nevertheless, the people were led to reverence these inanimate figures.
Jesus, who was the foundation of the old dispensation, identified
himself with the Jews, sanctioning their views of God and his govern-
ment. He opened great and important truths before this woman. He
declared to her that the time had arrived when the true worshipers need
not seek a holy mountain nor sacred temple, but were to worship the
Father in spirit and in truth. Religion was not to be confined to external