“Oh, so you’re a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?”

21-23 “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.

23-24 “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”

25 The woman said, “I don’t know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we’ll get the whole story.”

26 “I am he,” said Jesus. “You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.” (The Message)

The search was over. Jesus was the answer. Jesus is the answer. He was the One she had been looking for all along. He was the hope of all her people (25).

Initially, when Jesus shone the spotlight on her true situation (17,18), she tried to change the subject (19,20), as many still do. Diversionary tactics? Perhaps. She asked a question about the correct place to worship. This led to Jesus’ wonderful and famous answer. God is looking for true worshipers, and it’s not a matter of where you worship, but how. It’s not about the venue but the heart.

If she was trying to wriggle away from His heart-searching gaze, she couldn’t. By the time we get to verse 26 it’s ‘Check-mate’! She knows she is face to face with all she was ever looking for.

‘But why awaken such memories? Why open the cupboard and bid that skeleton step down? It could not be otherwise! Christ was there not to enter into an argument, but to awaken the dormant conscience and save. The woman evaded the sword thrust, but she realised that she was dealing with a master hand in the spiritual realm. Hence her question about worship. This led to one of the greatest sayings ever uttered on earth-that God is spirit. That he is ever searching for true worshipers, that he is indifferent to places and nationalities and method, that we cannot worship until we live in the spirit realm and are willing to conform ourselves absolutely to truth-these thoughts have revolutionised the religious thinking of mankind.’ F.B.Meyer