Dear Brother and Sisters,
I have noticed a consistently applied interpretation of the passage:
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 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. (John 4:21-24)
Usually, the interpretation is that Jesus is talking about people who worship with deep feeling in their heart or some kind of deep emotion. While I think it is very important to worship with passion, I am wondering if that is what Jesus has in mind in this verse.
In context, Jesus tells the woman that the time will come when believers will no longer worship with regards to a physical temple, earthly priesthood, etc. Also, the Apostles often stated that God should not be thought of as dwelling in a physical temple. I am wondering if perhaps Jesus is simply saying that the time will come when you will no longer worship the Lord in a certain physical place, because the Lord is Spirit, and you will worship Him as such, doing away with the outward ceremonial aspects of the Law.
Am I way off in interpreting this passage? I am afraid we may be reading too much of our American emotionalism into this verse.
