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1. TRUE WORSHIPERS FOCUS ON A PERSON
[a Name], NOT A PLACE

JESUS PREACHED A FAITH NOT BASED ON A PLACE

“Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father”
Jn 4:21

When the woman at the well began to discuss with Jesus the right place to worship, she said, “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship” (Jn 4:20). But Jesus Christ had something new & true to say to her about where men ought to worship God. He said, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father” (Jn 4:21). From this discussion, we can see that there are different and competing ideas in the world on where people must worship God. The woman said that worship was to be in that mountain. The Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem. But Jesus began to inform this woman, and us, that true worship would not depend on a specific place. No wonder the Jews wanted to kill Him, for He was preaching radically different things about how to properly worship God from now on, things that were not the same as what Moses had said.

(A) MOSAIC WORSHIP FOCUSED ON A PLACE

1. Solomon’s Outstanding Prayer to Dedicate the Temple Focused Worshipers on “This Place”

In Solomon’s prayer to dedicate the first temple in Jerusalem (1 Ki 8:22-53), notice how many times he directs worshipers (Jews, proselytes, and foreigners), wherever they may find themselves in this world, and in whatever bad situation they may be, to direct their worship of God in the form of prayer “toward this place”, the physical place of the temple and towards the city of Jerusalem.

Below, Review the Specific Parts of His Prayer That Focus Worshipers on a Place
  • vs. 29 God's eyes "toward this house", "toward this place", servant "pray toward this place"
  • vs. 30 "pray toward this place"
  • vs. 31 "oath… in this house"
  • vs. 33 "pray… in this house"
  • vs. 35 "pray toward this place"
  • vs. 38 "spreading his hands toward this house"
  • vs. 42 "prays toward this house"
  • vs. 43 "this house"
  • vs. 44 "pray to the Lord toward the city which you have chosen and the house I have built"
  • vs. 48 "pray to You toward their land.. the city which you have chosen… the house which I have built"

But Was the Temple the Final and Everlasting Place/Way to Worship God?

.... more about this in the Bible Study on True vs. False Worshipers