Church Fathers Commentary John 4:19-24

"The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father. Ye worship that which ye know not: we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth." — John 4:19-24 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: The woman is not offended by Christ’s rebuke. She does not leave Him and go away. Far from it, her admiration for Him is raised. The woman said to Him, Sir, I perceive that you are a Prophet. It is as if she said, “Your knowledge of me is extraordinary; you must be a prophet.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: The husband was beginning to come to her, though He had not yet fully come. She thought our Lord was a prophet, and He was a prophet, for He says of Himself, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country.

St. John Chrysostom: And having come to this belief, she asks no questions relating to this life, such as the health or sickness of the body. She is not troubled about thirst; she is eager for doctrine.

St. Augustine of Hippo: She then begins to inquire about a subject that perplexed her: Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship. This was a great dispute between the Samaritans and the Jews. The Jews worshipped in the temple built by Solomon and made this a ground for boasting over the Samaritans. The Samaritans replied, “Why do you boast because you have a temple which we do not? Did our fathers, who pleased God, worship in that temple? Is it not better to pray to God on this mountain, where our fathers worshipped?”

St. John Chrysostom: By “our fathers,” she means Abraham, who is said to have offered up Isaac here.

Origen of Alexandria: Or, to put it another way, the Samaritans regarded Mount Gerizim, near which Jacob dwelt, as sacred and worshipped upon it, while the sacred place of the Jews was Mount Zion, God’s own choice. The Jews, being the people from whom salvation came, are the type of true believers; the Samaritans are the type of heretics. Gerizim, which means “division,” suits the Samaritans; Zion, which means “watchtower,” suits the Jews.

St. John Chrysostom: Christ, however, does not solve this question immediately. Instead, He leads the woman to higher things, of which He had not spoken until she acknowledged Him to be a prophet and therefore listened with fuller belief. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, the hour comes, when you shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. He says, “Believe me,” because we need faith—the mother of all good, the medicine of salvation—to obtain any real good. Those who try to do so without it are like people who venture onto the sea without a boat and, able to swim only a little way, are drowned.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Our Lord says, “Believe Me,” with great fitness, as the husband is now present. For now there is one in you that believes; you have begun to be present in understanding. But if you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.

Alcuin of York: In saying, “the hour comes,” He refers to the Gospel dispensation, which was now approaching. Under this dispensation, the shadows of types were to withdraw, and the pure light of truth was to enlighten the minds of believers.

St. John Chrysostom: There was no necessity for Christ to show why the fathers worshipped on the mountain and the Jews in Jerusalem. He was therefore silent on that question. Nevertheless, He asserted the religious superiority of the Jews on another ground—not of place, but of knowledge: You worship you know not what; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.

Origen of Alexandria: “You” literally refers to the Samaritans, but mystically, it refers to all who understand the Scriptures in a heretical sense. “We” literally means the Jews, but mystically, it means “I, the Word, and all who conform to My Image,” who obtain salvation from the Jewish Scriptures.

St. John Chrysostom: The Samaritans worshipped what they did not know—a local, partial God, as they imagined, of whom they had the same notion as they had of their idols. Therefore, they mingled the worship of God with the worship of idols. But the Jews were free from this superstition; indeed, they knew God to be the God of the whole world, and for this reason He says, We worship what we know.

He counts Himself among the Jews in condescension to the woman’s idea of Him, speaking as if He were a Jewish prophet when He says, “We worship,” though it is certain that He is the Being who is worshipped by all. The words, For salvation is of the Jews, mean that everything intended to save and amend the world—the knowledge of God, the abhorrence of idols, all other such doctrines, and even the very origin of our religion—comes from the Jews. In “salvation,” He also includes His own presence, which He says is of the Jews, as the Apostle tells us, Of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came. See how He exalts the Old Testament, showing it to be the root of everything good, thus proving in every way that He Himself is not opposed to the Law.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is saying much for the Jews to declare in their name, We worship what we know. But He does not speak for the reprobate Jews, but for that party from whom the Apostles and the Prophets came. Such were all those saints who laid the prices of their possessions at the Apostles’ feet.

St. John Chrysostom: The Jewish worship, then, was far superior to the Samaritan, but even it was to be abolished: The hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. He says, “and now is,” to show that this was not a prediction like those of the ancient Prophets, to be fulfilled in the course of ages. The event, He says, is now at hand; it is approaching your very doors. The words “true worshipers” are used for the sake of distinction, for there are false worshipers: those who pray for temporal and frail benefits, or whose actions are always contradicting their prayers.

Or by saying “true,” He excludes the Jews along with the Samaritans. For the Jews, though better than the Samaritans, were yet as much inferior to those who were to succeed them as the type is to the reality. The true worshipers do not confine the worship of God to a place but worship in the spirit, as Paul said, Whom I serve with my spirit.

Origen of Alexandria: It is said twice, “The hour comes,” and the first time it is without the addition, “and now is.” The first instance seems to allude to that purely spiritual worship which is suited only to a state of perfection; the second refers to earthly worship, perfected as far as is consistent with human nature.

When that hour our Lord speaks of arrives, the mountain of the Samaritans must be avoided, and God must be worshipped in Zion, where Jerusalem is, which is called by Christ “the city of the Great King.” This is the Church, where sacred oblations and spiritual victims are offered up by those who understand the spiritual law. So, when the fullness of time has come, the true worship, we must suppose, will no longer be attached to Jerusalem (that is, to the present Church), for the Angels do not worship the Father at Jerusalem. Thus, those who have obtained the likeness of the Jews worship the Father better than those who are at Jerusalem.

And when this hour has come, we shall be accounted by the Father as sons. For this reason it is not said, “Worship God,” but, “Worship the Father.” For the present, however, the true worshipers worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

St. John Chrysostom: He speaks here of the Church, in which there is true worship, and such as is fitting for God. He therefore adds, For the Father seeks such to worship Him. For although He formerly willed that humanity should linger under a dispensation of types and figures, this was done only in condescension to human frailty and to prepare people for the reception of the truth.

Origen of Alexandria: But if the Father seeks, He seeks through Jesus, who came to seek and to save that which was lost and to teach people what true worship was. God is a Spirit—that is, He constitutes our real life, just as our breath (spirit) constitutes our bodily life.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, it signifies that God is incorporeal and that He therefore ought to be worshipped not with the body but with the soul, by the offering up of a pure mind. That is, they who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. The Jews neglected the soul but paid great attention to the body, with its various kinds of purification. Our Lord seems to refer to this here, saying that we must worship the incorporeal God not by the cleansing of the body, but by the incorporeal nature within us—that is, the understanding, which He calls the spirit.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Or, by saying that God, being a Spirit, ought to be worshipped in spirit, He indicates the freedom and knowledge of the worshipers and the uncircumscribed nature of the worship, according to the saying of the Apostle, Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

St. John Chrysostom: And that we are to worship “in truth” means that whereas the former ordinances were typical (that is, circumcision, burnt offerings, and sacrifices), now, on the contrary, everything is real.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or, because many think that they worship God in the spirit (that is, with the mind) who yet hold heretical doctrines concerning Him, for this reason He adds, “and in truth.” The words might also refer to the two kinds of philosophy among us: active and contemplative. The “spirit” would stand for action, according to the Apostle, As many as are led by the Spirit of God, while “truth,” on the other hand, would stand for contemplation. Or, to take another view, since the Samaritans thought that God was confined to a certain place and ought to be worshipped there, our Lord may be teaching them in opposition that the true worshipers worship not locally, but spiritually. Or again, since everything in the Jewish system was a type and shadow, the meaning may be that the true worshipers will worship not in type, but in truth. God, being a Spirit, seeks spiritual worshipers; being the Truth, He seeks true ones.

St. Augustine of Hippo: “Oh, for a mountain to pray on,” you cry, “high and inaccessible, so that I may be nearer to God, and God may hear me better, for He dwells on high!” Yes, God dwells on high, but He has regard for the humble. Therefore, descend so that you may ascend. “Ways on high are in their heart,” it is said, “passing in the valley of tears”—and in “tears” is humility. Would you pray in the temple? Pray in yourself, but first become the temple of God.