Post by Mark on Oct 27, 2008 6:11:26 GMT -8
The region of Samaria was largely the same spot on the map that is currently known as the West Bank. It was populated by Arab Jews who were not recognized by, nor would recognize the rabbinical authority of Judaism that centered from Jerusalem. They believed that the 
, the five books of Moses, were the only inspired Scriptures to have come from God; but they believed that these Scriptures were open to interpretation very liberally based upon the cultural circumstances of the period.
When Israel was carried away into Babylon, not everyone was carried away. The very poor, the uneducated and those not considered with the effort were left unhindered, knowing that they would soon fall prey to the tribal bands that surrounded them. Though they were preyed upon and to some degree assimilated into the neighboring peoples, they retained a Jewish identity and, to some degree, an allegiance to the God of Israel. Yet, this identity carried with it flavorings of the cultures which surrounded them.
When the Jews returned from captivity, the Samaritans disdained them as no longer God’s chosen people. The Samaritans believed that those who had been carried away had suffered the absolute judgment of God. A system of worship, priesthood and temple had been erected on Mount Gerazim that they believed to be the true Temple of God.
When the Jewish people saw the manner in which the Samaritans worshipped, they immediately recognized it as the pagan idolatry of the surrounding regions. Though the Law of Moses was the substance of the Samaritan Bible, the conduct, the interpretation of that Bible, was liberalized to accommodate the beliefs and practices of the surrounding tribal religions, and later, the Roman greco-polytheism. So flexible was the Samaritan interpretation of the that Roman Emperor Hadrian was willing to establish Samaria as his own religious capitol from whence he offered sacrifice to Zeus, outlawed Sabbath observance, and attempted to eradicate the Jewish people. This was all possible because the Samaritan view of was that it was an allegorical representation of spiritual truths which did not necessarily affect one’s physical conduct or personal beliefs.
Messiah’s dialogue with the woman of Samaria in John 4 is often lost in failure to understand the relationship of these peoples. Messiah speaks of "living water" to the woman who is drawing water from the well. The Jewish idiom "living water" would not be foreign, nor even a spiritual reference. It simply refers to water which flows. The implication that He makes, then, is that the water which she has to offer is stagnant. As the dialogue continues, she begins to understand that her entire perspective is corrupted by the theological stagnation of Samaritanism. Spiritualizing theological relevance gets you nowhere.
Messiah Yeshua makes no effort to accommodate the Samaritan perspective of faith. He plainly tells her, "You don’t even know what it is that you worship; but we know because salvation is of the Jews." (John 4:22). Yet, He also makes plain to her that the right method and right formula of belief is irrelevant if it is not centered upon one’s personal relationship with Adonai.
"But the hour cometh, and now 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."
(John 4:23-24 KJV)
The debate between the Samaritan and the Jew had become very much a question of which is more important, spirituality or truth. Messiah declares that you cannot have one without the other. Spirituality without truth is as empty as truth without spirituality. His position is not to find common ground with her but to establish solid ground.
The modern theological debate has changed little over the past two thousand years. On one extreme, it doesn’t matter what you believe, so long as you believe something. On the other extreme, a pursuit of intellectual understanding and/or methodical obedience is the priority of faith. Messiah’s response is as relevant today as it ever was.
First, salvation is of the Jews. The Judaic interpretation of biblical theological is the correct one. Paul confirms this understanding in his letter to the Romans.
What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
(Romans 3:1-2 KJV)
Without an interpretation of Scripture that is intrinsically Jewish, the believer is set worshipping on Gerazim, following the tide of cultural interpretation and understanding.
Second, that an intimate relationship with Adonai is personal. It is not on Mount Gerazim, nor in Jerusalem; but in the heart of the individual. Messiah said that, "the hour is coming, and now is…" when describing to the woman the proper perspective in worship. Worshipping in spirit and in truth would not need to wait until His resurrection, nor the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It was offered to her as a present reality.
This idea is a reflection of what the prophet had already told us so many years before.
He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
(Micah 6:8 KJV)
Walking in spirit and in truth is not an exclusive condition that would need to wait until the New Covenant. It was the point and purpose of biblical worship from the very beginning.
Finally, worship and obedience is lost if it is not defined within the person of Messiah Yeshua.
The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
(John 4:25-26 KJV)
The Judaism found in Jerusalem was as equally stagnant as what the woman felt in Samaria. The conclusion that all faiths are the same and all worship is equally tasteless is absolutely correct, if He is not the well-spring of our existence. Worshipping Adonai in spirit and in truth means worshipping in the reality of our Messiah: that He is and we are His. If we teach or believe anything less, we are drawing from waters that have no life.
, the five books of Moses, were the only inspired Scriptures to have come from God; but they believed that these Scriptures were open to interpretation very liberally based upon the cultural circumstances of the period. When Israel was carried away into Babylon, not everyone was carried away. The very poor, the uneducated and those not considered with the effort were left unhindered, knowing that they would soon fall prey to the tribal bands that surrounded them. Though they were preyed upon and to some degree assimilated into the neighboring peoples, they retained a Jewish identity and, to some degree, an allegiance to the God of Israel. Yet, this identity carried with it flavorings of the cultures which surrounded them.
When the Jews returned from captivity, the Samaritans disdained them as no longer God’s chosen people. The Samaritans believed that those who had been carried away had suffered the absolute judgment of God. A system of worship, priesthood and temple had been erected on Mount Gerazim that they believed to be the true Temple of God.
When the Jewish people saw the manner in which the Samaritans worshipped, they immediately recognized it as the pagan idolatry of the surrounding regions. Though the Law of Moses was the substance of the Samaritan Bible, the conduct, the interpretation of that Bible, was liberalized to accommodate the beliefs and practices of the surrounding tribal religions, and later, the Roman greco-polytheism. So flexible was the Samaritan interpretation of the
that Roman Emperor Hadrian was willing to establish Samaria as his own religious capitol from whence he offered sacrifice to Zeus, outlawed Sabbath observance, and attempted to eradicate the Jewish people. This was all possible because the Samaritan view of was that it was an allegorical representation of spiritual truths which did not necessarily affect one’s physical conduct or personal beliefs.Messiah’s dialogue with the woman of Samaria in John 4 is often lost in failure to understand the relationship of these peoples. Messiah speaks of "living water" to the woman who is drawing water from the well. The Jewish idiom "living water" would not be foreign, nor even a spiritual reference. It simply refers to water which flows. The implication that He makes, then, is that the water which she has to offer is stagnant. As the dialogue continues, she begins to understand that her entire perspective is corrupted by the theological stagnation of Samaritanism. Spiritualizing theological relevance gets you nowhere.
Messiah Yeshua makes no effort to accommodate the Samaritan perspective of faith. He plainly tells her, "You don’t even know what it is that you worship; but we know because salvation is of the Jews." (John 4:22). Yet, He also makes plain to her that the right method and right formula of belief is irrelevant if it is not centered upon one’s personal relationship with Adonai.
"But the hour cometh, and now 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."
(John 4:23-24 KJV)
The debate between the Samaritan and the Jew had become very much a question of which is more important, spirituality or truth. Messiah declares that you cannot have one without the other. Spirituality without truth is as empty as truth without spirituality. His position is not to find common ground with her but to establish solid ground.
The modern theological debate has changed little over the past two thousand years. On one extreme, it doesn’t matter what you believe, so long as you believe something. On the other extreme, a pursuit of intellectual understanding and/or methodical obedience is the priority of faith. Messiah’s response is as relevant today as it ever was.
First, salvation is of the Jews. The Judaic interpretation of biblical theological is the correct one. Paul confirms this understanding in his letter to the Romans.
What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
(Romans 3:1-2 KJV)
Without an interpretation of Scripture that is intrinsically Jewish, the believer is set worshipping on Gerazim, following the tide of cultural interpretation and understanding.
Second, that an intimate relationship with Adonai is personal. It is not on Mount Gerazim, nor in Jerusalem; but in the heart of the individual. Messiah said that, "the hour is coming, and now is…" when describing to the woman the proper perspective in worship. Worshipping in spirit and in truth would not need to wait until His resurrection, nor the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It was offered to her as a present reality.
This idea is a reflection of what the prophet had already told us so many years before.
He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
(Micah 6:8 KJV)
Walking in spirit and in truth is not an exclusive condition that would need to wait until the New Covenant. It was the point and purpose of biblical worship from the very beginning.
Finally, worship and obedience is lost if it is not defined within the person of Messiah Yeshua.
The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
(John 4:25-26 KJV)
The Judaism found in Jerusalem was as equally stagnant as what the woman felt in Samaria. The conclusion that all faiths are the same and all worship is equally tasteless is absolutely correct, if He is not the well-spring of our existence. Worshipping Adonai in spirit and in truth means worshipping in the reality of our Messiah: that He is and we are His. If we teach or believe anything less, we are drawing from waters that have no life.
