2026/01/19
231. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: True Worship
Continuing the theme of Jesus' dialogue with the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4. In the last isuue, we examined an important aspect of the priesthood of the New Covenant from Jesus’ words, "Give me a drink" (Jn 4:7). This time, we wish to find another perspective on the priesthood of the New Covenant from Jesus’ words, following "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father" (4:21).
The Samaritan woman asked Jesus, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samar'ia?" (Jn 4:9), and Jesus answered, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water" (4:10). The Samaritan woman asked further, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water?" (4:11). These words came from her innermost being. She then cited her forefather Jacob, revealing that her sorrow ran as deep as the well (cf. 4:12).
Then Jesus said, "Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (Jn 4:13–14). Hearing this, she eagerly said, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw" (4:15). When she added, "nor come here to draw," she was unconsciously expressing a desire to no longer need to invoke the history of her forefather Jacob. She needed to recognise her true desires, to understand what she was seeking. However, to do so, she had to confront head-on the problem she had habitually left unsolved as beyond her control. In her subsequent dialogue with Jesus, she became aware of this and simultaneously awoke to her true longing.
Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here" (Jn 4:16). "I have no husband" (4:17), the woman answered. Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly" (4:17-18). At this point, connected to the issue of “husband," a profound longing was drawn out from her innermost being—the reality that her faith in God was not being brought to life. This was a problem shared by all people of Abraham’s line at that time. If one turns away from this issue, which challenges both men and women, diverse and new problems, unrelated to God, will arise there, one after another.
She said, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship" (Jn 4:19–20). Jesus answered, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father" (4:21), imparting the teaching on "true worship" that he had brought from the Father. That is the "living water" Jesus gives.
Jesus continued, "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:22-24). These words clearly show that the words spoken by God to Adam in Genesis, "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Gen 3:19), suggested the priesthood of the New Covenant.
The bread mentioned in "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread" is the "bread of life" of which Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst" (Jn 6:35). As it is written, "till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken," the "flesh" of man, formed from "the ground" like other creatures, returns to the ground (cf. Gen 2:19). Yet, as it is stated, "you are dust, and to dust you shall return," God formed man's "spirit" from the "dust." Therefore, the "breath of life" God breathed into man's nostrils is the spontaneity of the spirit to live as one made in God's likeness (cf. 2:7). Given that "God is spirit," even though man is but dust, he bears a resemblance to God. "To dust you shall return" signifies that this spontaneity of the human spirit shall return to God. This is why man seeks "true worship."
It had been God's earnest desire that He would confer the priesthood of the New Covenant upon men and serve the people, possessing both spirit and flesh, born of the womb of women. This was so that the hour may come "when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth." Jesus prepared everything to fulfil these words—so that the needs of future believers, living directly connected to the Holy Spirit, would be met; and so that people, created by God as male and female, could fully exercise the roles brought by their respective vocations. Next time, we shall continue exploring the theme of Jesus' dialogue with the Samaritan woman.
Maria K. M.
