22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
22 You [plural]
Since the word “you” is in the plural, Jesus spoke here of the Samaritans and not just the woman. He put Samaritans and Jews in sharp contrast.
worship what you do not know;
The Samaritans were in doctrinal error. Jesus here condemned Samaritan worship in comparison to Jewish worship. The Samaritans rejected the Old Testament except for the first five books of Moses. They had a truncated view of God because they had an abridged Bible. They rejected knowledge that was available to them in the entire canon of Scripture.
we know what we worship,
God gave unconditional promises to the Jews. Jesus associated Himself with the Jews, not the Samaritans.
for salvation is of the Jews.
Salvation comes from Jewish doctrine, not Samaritan. Jews stand in the stream of the way God saves. The Messiah would come from the Jews. The definite article “the” before “salvation” refers to messianic salvation. The Messiah comes from among the Jews.
PRINCIPLE:
We understand genuine worship from the entire canon of Scripture.
APPLICATION:
Our concern should be with the essential nature of worship. True worship concerns the spirit where the worshiper deals honestly and openly with God Himself. Much worship today is superstitious ritual.
