Conference yukon::christian_v7

I moved .0 from 303.14 because I want to discuss some other things from 
the story about the woman at the well.

Coming up...

Mark

John 4
 22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is
of the Jews.
 23  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.
 24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit
and in truth.


    Anyone who reads themselves into this story has to come from the
    perspective of the Jews; that is, that they are in the doctrinally
    correct position.

    Jesus, a Jew, is speaking to a person who's religion is polluted with
    heresy.  What he is saying is that she is wrong and the jews are
    correct.  But He further emphasizes that being correct and having
    the best bead on correct doctrine isn't enough.  One must worship God
    in Spirit and in truth.

    Looking back into what causes some deviations from the truth, we can
    see than when the kingdom was split north and south, it was still
    Jewish law to go to Jerusalem (in Judea, the Southern kingdom) to
    sacrifice.  The northern king worried (rightly so) that the people
    going to make their proper sacrifice in Jerusalem would come under the
    political influence of the southern government.  And so, he set up shop
    in the north.

    Look also to the Israelites and Aaron, who made a golden calf and
    presented it saying, "tomorrow is a feast to the Lord."  The fact that
    the making of this idol was an expressed disregard for God's
    commandment in Exodus 20:23 ("Ye shall not make with me Gods of silver,
    neither shall ye make unto you Gods of gold.") didn't seem to matter,
    because Aaron did it in honor of the Lord.  It wasn't Molech that the
    feast was for; it was YHWH, yet with a twist in doctrine - even an
    abomination.

    Back to the king.  He abandoned correct sacrifice in Jerusalem to suit
    his own needs.  In both cases, and in just about every case of heresy,
    correct doctrine is altered to suit the desires of those who alter it.
    In other words, they redefine what God has defined.

    Jesus said the ultimate in worship is worshipping God in spirit and in
    truth.  -Please don't lose this.-  He also said that the penultimate
    (next to ultimate) thing was correct doctrine, which the Jew had
    because they know what they worship.  He was saying that it is easier
    for someone who knows to get to the point of worshipping God in spirit
    and in truth than it is for someone in ignorance.  (Conversely, knowing
    places the greater responsibility on the person who knows.  "He that
    knowth to do good and doeth it not...")

    The obvious question is "which is the right doctrine with so many
    religions?"  This underscores why it is so important to have something
    by which we can test our doctrine.  The Jews had the scriptures, and
    knew the details of the Messiah's coming.  We also have the Scriptures
    (the Bible) by which we test our doctrines.  Unfortunately, like many
    Jews in 0-33 A.D. who couldn't bring themselves to believe the
    Scriptures, we have trouble believing God's word as the arbitor of
    truth.

    If I didn't believe I was right in my doctrine, or in my church, I'd
    change churches and doctrine.  But doctrines must be verified, somehow.
    It is not enough to say, "I believe" and that's all I need to do. 

    To say "we know what we worship" is making a verifiable statement,
    unlike those who would throw up their hands and simply hope for the
    best.  Many athiests on thier deathbed utter words along the lines, "I
    hope I was right."  Contrastingly, Christians have a far different
    testimony of the future they know awaits them based on God's Word.

    Mark

John 4
 13  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall
thirst again:
 14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never
thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life.
 15  The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not,
neither come hither to draw.
 16  Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
 17  The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her,
Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
 18  For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy
husband: in that saidst thou truly.
 19  The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
 .
 .
 .
 25  The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called
    Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
 26  Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
 27  ...
 28  The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and
saith to the men,
 29  Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this
the Christ?
 30  Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
 .
 .
 .
 39  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying
of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
 40  So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he
would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
 41  And many more believed because of his own word;
 42  And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for
we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the
Saviour of the world.


    Jesus offers the woman at the well living water.  She jumps at the
    offer.  Jesus then gets right to the point.  "Go call your husband."

    "I have no husband."

    "You're telling the truth because you've had 5 husbands but the one
    you're with now is not your husband.'

    "I see you are a prophet."

    The sequence of events here is important.  How often have we offered
    something or some position to someone, and when finding out that the
    reputation is less than desirable, reconsider our offer?  Jesus offers
    the woman Living Water, and He doesn't just find out in casual
    conversation that the woman is living with a man who is not one of her
    five previous husbands.  He *knows* the state of the woman to whom He is
    speaking.  Jesus did not stumble onto new information that would cause
    Him to reconsider His offer of Living Water.  

    Knowing full well that this (a) Samaritan (b) woman, who (c) worshipped
    on the mountain in Samaria, (d) was living with a man not her husband,
    and (e) had five husbands before that... Jesus offers this woman Living
    Water.

    And in these verses we can see the actual, pragmatic expression of 
    Romans 5:8:  "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we
    were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

    While we were yet sinners!  He knew!  There was nothing hidden from Him!
    Too often, we want to hide some things from Christ, even as He has
    called us to reconciliation.  But He knows already, and the mercy of God
    is seen in His extended invitation.

    Mark

    
    Re: 0,1,2 
    
    Are you trying to say there is more to following Christ by just
    "Accepting Christ"?  That we also must be correct in our doctrinal
    beliefs to worship him in truth?" and just not in the spirit.
    Please clarify.  On the surface I agree with you but since their is
    countless number of different religions and various beliefs, 
    interpretations, How can it be dtermined as to which oneis correct?
    
    Kent

> That we also must be correct in our doctrinal
>    beliefs to worship him in truth?"

No.  Worshipping in spirit and in truth transcends doctrine, which is
what Jesus was saying - to paraphrase - "worshipping God is not going
to be because you're a correct Jew, or because you're an incorrect
Samaritan, but because you worship God in spirit and in Truth."

And the ultimate is what we need to understand: what does it mean to
worship God is spirit and in truth?

We know that this transcends "worshipping in Jerusalem" (the correct
doctrinal stance).  Jesus then comments that the Jews know what they
worship because they have the handbook of truth in the Scriptures and
the direct line to God through Israel, Abraham, and Adam.

To come close to over-simplifying this, one could almost attribute
Judaism to legalism (in that the Law was provided for the Jews,
and that is one aspect of how they know what they worship),
and Samaritanism is tied to the pollution of clear doctrine 
that was set out by the law.  And the oversimplification is this:
Jesus is saying that it is better to be legalistic than heretical,
*WITH THE UNDERSTANDING* that better simply means closer to being 
able to make the leap to worshipping in spirit and in truth, rather
than out of prescription or out of ignorance.

> How can it be dtermined as to which one [interpretation] is correct?

The simple answer is difficult to comprehend: the correct interpretation
is the one in which a person worships (and loves) God in Spirit and in 
Truth.  Jesus said ALL THE LAW AND PROPHETS hinge on ONE commandment:
Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  This one commandment
transcends the law - or rather completes and fulfills the totality of the
law.  Loving God is the reason that the Law was given in the first place -
not to enforce or punish, though it does this, but to define, teach, guide,
and lead.

Certain foundational doctrines are essential, others are important, some
are interesting.. Doctrinal pollutants corrupt the pure doctrine of loving 
God, probably in every human institution.  It is the responsibility and call
of every Christian to be personally doctrinally pure, even if they happen
to exist in human institutions that are impure.  How can one be personally
doctrinally pure?

"Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy might."

This calling of the Christian cleanses the heart daily, for we are to 
be continually filled with the Spirit - this is a command.  So we become
less and less identified by our Christian organization, even our doctrinal
affiliations, and more and more by the Spirit of God living within us.

The Word is a Solid Rock on which to test our doctrine and be sure that 
we are within the correct doctrine.  We must be careful to allow God and
His word to shape us, and not shape the word to our liking, for that would
countradict the law of loving God, placing ourselves and our definition
above His.

But remember this:  if you diligently seek to enact the law of love in
your heart and life, loving God first with everything, you will not be
incorrect.  Hebrews 11:6 says that God "is a rewarder of those who earnestly
seek Him."  Test it, and see.

Mark

    
    re: 5 thanks for the clarification.
    
    Kent

Anytime (that I'm around to clarify)!  :-)

    
    Hi Mark,
    
    I was mulling(sp) over .5, I believe we have a difference of opinion
    in regards to what is meant by Truth or do we.
    
    My viewpoint is this:
    
    You are correct in your supplied scriptural reference.
    Jesus said, ALL THE LAW AND PROPHETS HINGE ON ONE COMMANDMENT:
    love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  This one
    commandment transcends the law - or rather completes and fulfills
    the totality of the law. 
    
    What does it mean to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and
    strength?
    
    When you love / follow God, you do this by following and obeying his
    word,  this is what I think one of the meaning of TRUTH is.  One of
    the ways we obey his word is by obeying the 10 Commandments.  This
    has to become a part of us.  How can anyone truly love God, and
    yet not follow his word. 
    
    I don't believe you can just throw out doctrine and just say I accept
    Christ.  Their has to be more to it.  I do agree that some doctrinal
    items are man made, but surely doctrines based on the word of God
    are not to be taken lightly by any professing Christian.
    
    Not trying to be confrontational, for I believe that I didn't under-
    stand your previous reply concerning TRUTH.
    
    thanks, Kent
    

    
    In addition TRUTH is defined by John 14:6
    Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one
    comes to the Father except through me.
    
    Jesus life, his word, his beliefs and what he stood for is the
    Truth.  We as Christian as we grow should become more and more
    like Christ.
    
    Kent

.8 Kent

>    I don't believe you can just throw out doctrine and just say I accept
>    Christ.  Their has to be more to it.

Neither do I, Kent.  And I believe that what was Christ was saying
when he said "we [Jews] know what we worship."

Don't get me wrong: doctrine is important, and it is important to be 
correct - but it is MORE important to have life in one's correctness.

Some people do this:

(1) obey God's commands --->  love of God

I contend this is backwards and should be this:

(2) Love of God ---> obey His commands

Jesus was saying "we know what we worship" and have correct doctrine,
and doing these CAN bring us closer to the truth, but the truth MUST
be quickened (be brought to life), transcending action into attitude.
When the attitude is there, action follows.  But we know the converse
is not necessarily true - some people can act without the proper attitude.
God chastised Israel for their actions of obedience to the law in 
sacrificing to YHWH.  He was saying that He'd rather have obedience to the
spirit of His law rather than sacrifice (obedience to the letter).

>    but surely doctrines based on the word of God
>    are not to be taken lightly by any professing Christian.

Absolutely correct!  It is the Word of God that ensures that we know we
have sound doctrine; it is the plumb line by which we measure all doctrines!

The warning for us, in this story I think, is that we can dot our i's
and cross our t's all we want, but unless we transcend the letter of 
the law (or doctrine) into the spirit of the law in TRUE WORSHIP, we
may as well be Samaritans or Philistines, even.  We must be born of 
the Spirit and have life in the spirit.  God is Spirit and must be
worshipped in spirit and in truth.  

That's the warning for "us Jews" who know Whom we worship.  The good news
for "them Samaritans" is that Jesus calls them for Living Water, even knowing 
beforehand their detestable pollution of correct doctrine.

I am convinced that a person who diligently seeks after God (per Hebrews 11:6)
will find God.  This person, even if a Samaritan will begin by worshipping
God in spirit and in truth and the Spirit will weed out those polluted
areas of doctrine in His time.  We humans want it the other way around.
We want people to acknowledge the letter of doctrine as truth before they
can participate in The Truth (Jesus Christ).  The Holy Spirit quickens
and will lead even Samaritans to Living Water and life.

Mark

>    In addition TRUTH is defined by John 14:6
>    Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one
>    comes to the Father except through me.

Absolutely. (And I do not use this word lightly.)

This is an immutable tenet of doctrine.  How people will come to Christ
will vary from tears on the altar of a church, to lowering a friend through
the roof, to revelation of sin at a well in Samaria.

    Jesus life, his word, his beliefs and what he stood for is the
    Truth.  We as Christian as we grow should become more and more
    like Christ.

Not to worry; I'm *not* preaching universalism.  I am preaching a message
that Jesus preached throughout his life: put God first - and the rest *will*
fall into place.

We worry too much about when it will fall into place - and this is where 
we often err in judging others who are weaker than ourselves.  We want 
to define how long it takes for someone to overcome an addiction, for
someone to stop doing what they are doing, because "we know what we worship."
Whenever I begin to fall into this trap, I have to make sure I'm encouraging
and not discouraging, presenting the truth, and allow the Holy Spirit to 
do His job.

We don't know the end of this story.  We don't know that these Samarians
went on to clean up their doctrinal heresies and became good Jews.  And
I think we don't know because it isn't our job to know.  Some sow, some
cultivate, some water, some reap.  Some are lucky enough to do all of these.
God makes it grow, and gives life - we only tend what we have.

Mark

    
    Yes Mark, I agree the love of God comes before anything else.  For
    the Pharisees knew the ins and outs of the law, but were spiritually
    lacking.  Fortunately our love for God points us in the right
    direction.
    
    Mark I think were both trying to say the same thing,  but in different
    ways.
    
    Kent
    

Thanks, Kent.

You know, not many Christian that I have encountered (probably get in trouble
for that opinion) go beyond doing what they know to be right into being
what they know to be right.  We started with knowing what was right to
do, and perhaps we resisted, and perhaps we did what was right to do.
Once we get to doing what is right to do and it is a part of our
nature, we're comfortable.  And we may begin to think that we are
what we ought to be because we do what we ought to do.  Understanding
what was right led us to do what was right, and doing this leads us
to being righteous... but we hit some barrier because we CAN'T be
righteous on our own.  We can know what is right, and we can even 
do what is right, but we can't become righteous by ourselves.

Then God steps in.

All of a sudden, we begin to realize that God purifies and makes us righteous
and we beging to do what is right because we are righteous (right with God),
and we know what is right because we know God on a personal basis.  And
what was backwards is now forwards, though different than what we thought,
and different from what others still think.  Different because we have been
renewed in our minds by the Holy Spirit.

I don't think I realized it before now, but I am talking about holiness,
and sanctification (please don't get hung up on the term),
and the calling of God for "Jews" who know what they worship, and for
"Samaritans" who don't know what they worship to worship Him in spirit
and in truth; to go beyond correct doctrine (or the ignorance of polluted 
doctrine) and live in the Spirit.

Mark

    
    > to go beyond correct doctrine.
    
    Mark, I believe you hit it on the head.  The pharisees were unable
    to move beyond the law.
    
    Kent

>    > to go beyond correct doctrine.
>    
>    Mark, I believe you hit it on the head.  The pharisees were unable
>    to move beyond the law.

And so there comes a point in everyone's Christian walk where we are also 
called to move beyond what we merely *know* is right into *being* right
with God.  We are each pharisees (or maybe even Samaritans) in need of
worshipping God in spirit and in truth.

:-)

MM

   John 4:21-23 Amplified

   Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, a time is coming when you will
   worship the Father neither [merely] onthis mountain nor [merely] in
   Jerusalem.  You [Samaritans] do not know what you are worshipping - you
   worship what you do not comprehend.  We do know what we are worshipping -
   we worship what we have knowledge of and understand; for [after all]
   salvation comes from [among] the Jews.  A time will come, howvwer,indeed
   it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshippers will worship the
   Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking such
   people as these as worshippers.

   Matthew 20:1-16 KJV

   Matthew 20:1  For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an
   householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into
   his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a
   day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third
   hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto
   them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give
   you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth
   hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and
   found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all
   the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith
   unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that
   shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith
   unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning
   from the  last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about
   the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first
   came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they
   likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they
   murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have
   wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have
   borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and
   said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a
   penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last,
   even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine
   own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first,
   and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

 Thinking about this parable (in connection with the verses from the "Well"
 story), one may wonder whether God is fair to give the same reward to those
 who labor intensely as to those who are hired in the final hours of the
 workday.

 In answering the fairness question, one might argue (successfully) that the
 earlier workers agreed to a contract and had no cause for grumbling (v 11). 
 But beyond this, the issue of "fairness" is something we can look at. My
 children often use the complaint, "it's not fair!"  And in them we can
 sometimes see how we are from the perspective that God's ways are not our
 ways, and our thoughts are not His thoughts, because God's thoughts are as
 high above our thoughts as the heavens are from the earth.  With this in
 mind, we need to see that what is fair for me, might not be really fair for
 all of you; and what might be fair to you, I might not consider fair to me. 
 So we see that fairness is defined by God, whose thoughts are far above our
 own, and that what we may think is fair is really rather petty in stark
 contrast to God's thoughts about fairness.

 Many of us who call ourselves Christian are hired on early in the day.  We
 have knowledge and understanding of the contract between God and us.  What
 we need to do is go beyond the contract of work and reward to the
 importance of the task at hand.  It is evident that the lord of the
 vineyard was under some time pressure to bring the harvest in; so much so
 that he brought in more workers as the day progressed.  The importance of
 the harvest was great enough to warrant bringing in people, even at the
 eleventh hour of the day.  So, while we may often think about our work in
 terms of reward, God is thinking of our work in terms of harvest. 

 So if we are "Jews" who know, or Samaritans who don't know, it won't be how
 much we know (or work) that determines out reward, but whether or not we
 will work, which leads into my second point.
                                  -------
 A second question arises when we consider this parable: If God is such as
 this lord in the parable, why not put off being hired until the final hour?
 The second question is a more dangerous one, for it deals with presumption,
 which is a great killer of Christians throughout time.  The lord of the
 vineyard went out at the beginning of the day and hired workers.  He did so
 at the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 11 hours.  Did any workers not hired at the 3rd
 hour know that the lord of the vineyard would return at the 6th hour?  Yet,
 because we have this parable and know the end of it - that workers were
 hired at the 11th hour and paid the same as those hired in the beginning -
 we presume that because God is a merciful God and because it seems early in
 the day, there's a good chance He'll be back, and you'll get hired just the
 same, put in less work and recieve the full wage anyway.  To these
 rationalizers, I would point to Matthew 22:1-14 and see the context of
 verse 14 which says "many are called, but few are chosen."  When called, we
 must respond or else we may lose our opportunity.

 "But God is merciful!  And He is patient, and waits!"  Presumption counts
 on these truths, but it does not count on taking God's call for granted
 or taking it lightly.  God says that we should seek Him while He may be
 found.  What does this mean to you?

 The good news is that God does call you, and is patient and merciful.
 But do not presume upon God; God is not mocked. (Gal 6:7)  And presumption
 is a deceit that kills.

 Mark

   John 4:21-23 Amplified

   Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, a time is coming when you will
   worship the Father neither [merely] on this mountain nor [merely] in
   Jerusalem.  You [Samaritans] do not know what you are worshipping - you
   worship what you do not comprehend.  We do know what we are worshipping -
   we worship what we have knowledge of and understand; for [after all]
   salvation comes from [among] the Jews.  A time will come, however,indeed
   it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshippers will worship the
   Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking such
   people as these as worshippers.

   John 5:39-40  Amplified

   You search and investigate and pore over the Scriptures diligently,
   because you suppose and trust that you have eternal life through them. 
   And these [very Scriptures] testify about Me!  And still you are not
   willing (but refuse) to come to Me, so that you might have life.

 These words of Jesus are charged against anyone who does not see that the
 Scriptures point to Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  He came to
 fulfill the Law, not to abolish it, and in Him the Law and Scriptures are
 fulfilled, remembering that freedom from the letter of the law is binding
 ourselves to the spirit of the law of Love, in which all true and genuine
 worshippers of God find themselves.

 The Jews, who worshipped what they had knowledge and understanding of, did
 so because they had the scriptures to guide them into truth.  And indeed
 the Scriptures DID guide them to the Truth and John 5:39 and 40 testifies.
 Bt it testifies against those who, faced with the truth, refuse and are
 unwilling to accept the Truth.  Having correct doctrine and knowing the
 truth is not enough to have eternal life, even though the truth revealed in
 Scripture contains the trustworthy path to eternal life!  One must accept
 Christ and come to the Truth to have life, not merely search it and know
 it.  And so, when Jesus says that we won't worship the Father "in
 Jerusalem" and that we must worship in spirit and in truth, He attempts to
 lift our focus to the reason the law was given in the first place: as an
 expression of the Law of Love.

 And Jesus summed all the law and the prophets on one commandment: Love God
 with everything.  By this we must realize that nothing in the law is passed
 away that deals with the condition of human soul, but that it is
 supercharged by the coming of Christ who lifts us our of the letter of the
 law into the spirit of the law.  All the law was given to help the
 unknowing to conduct themselves in a way that showed the law of Love.  But
 people put practice before principle, and the law became empty and
 crushing.  Jesus came to put principle before practice, so that practice is
 an expression of the principle.  You can practice without principle, but
 you cannot have principles without it being practiced.

 Lastly, the Jews *were* correct to pore over the Scriptures diligently;
 their trust in the Scriptures was not unfounded!  The Scriptures still
 testify about Christ.  And sadly, though Scripture is plain enough, people
 are not willing (but refuse) to come to Him.  Trust in the Word, and
 believe on Him.

Mark

 Mark

   John 4:21-23 Amplified

   Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, a time is coming when you will
   worship the Father neither [merely] onthis mountain nor [merely] in
   Jerusalem.  You [Samaritans] do not know what you are worshipping - you
   worship what you do not comprehend.  We do know what we are worshipping -
   we worship what we have knowledge of and understand; for [after all]
   salvation comes from [among] the Jews.  A time will come, however, indeed
   it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshippers will worship the
   Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking such
   people as these as worshippers.


   Luke 15:11-32 KJV  (a couple of verses omitted)

   And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to
   his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And
   he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son
   gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there
   wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all,
   there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. ...
   And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my
   father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will
   arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned
   against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy
   son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his
   father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had
   compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son
   said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight,
   and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his
   servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on
   his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and
   kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is
   alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now
   his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the
   house, he heard music and dancing. ...  And he was angry, and would not
   go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering
   said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither
   transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me
   a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy
   son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast
   killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever
   with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make
   merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again;
   and was lost, and is found.

 The prodigal son, who took matters into his own hands and set off to make
 his own way is not too unlike the deviation of the Samaritans from what
 they knew to be properly defined worship.  The King of Samaria didn't want
 his people to fall under political influence of the Southern Kingdom where
 Jerusalem was (and where the Jews knew what they worshipped), so he set up
 shop in the north, having his people worship YHWH (the same God) on the
 mountain near the well.

 The older brother, who did not go off to the far country but stayed at
 home tending to the affairs of his father's house, knowing that his
 inheritance was with his father, is not unlike the Jews who know what they
 worship and have Abrahma as their father, Moses as their Law-giving
 patriarch, and Jehovah as their God.  Yet see the respond this brother
 gives: "Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at
 any time thy commandment:"  He did everything right.  And yet he complains
 that he has missed out on some things: "thou never gavest me a kid, that I
 might make merry with my friends."

 The father's response to this shows how many of us can be so caught up in
 the practice of doing things right and not in the principle of right
 living.  "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine." We
 get lost in having knowledge without wisdom; information without
 application.  We never get "a kid, that I might make merry with my
 friends" because we do not avail ourselves of what the father has for us!
 We're too caught up in dotting i's and crossing t's that we forget how to
 write to communicate.

 Neither in Jerusalem, nor on this mountain, but in spirit and in truth
 means that knowing is one thing, but being is something else.  It is both
 a call and a warning; a call for many of us to lift our vision to live
 according to the greatest commandment, and not just the commandments;
 and a warning to those of us who might miss being a true worshipper of God
 even though they "know what they worship" in Jerusalem, and even search
 the Scriptures (which testify of Christ) but will not come to Him.

 Mark