John 4:21 kjv
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
John 4:21 nkjv
Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.
John 4:21 niv
"Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
John 4:21 esv
Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
John 4:21 nlt
Jesus replied, "Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem.
John 4 21 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Joh 4:23-24 | But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth... for God is spirit... | Clarifies the how of new worship. |
| Act 7:48-50 | "However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made by human hands; as the prophet says: ‘Heaven is My throne, and earth My footstool..." | God is not contained by man-made structures. |
| Isa 66:1-2 | Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you would build for Me...? For all these things My hand has made..." | God's transcendence; no single building can contain Him. |
| 1 Kgs 8:27 | "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house that I have built!" | Solomon's prayer recognizing God's limitless presence. |
| Joh 2:19-21 | Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." ... He was speaking about the temple of His body. | Jesus Himself replaces the physical temple as the focal point of worship. |
| Mat 12:6 | "I tell you, something greater than the temple is here." | Jesus' presence surpasses the importance of the physical temple. |
| Rom 12:1 | "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." | Christian worship is a living offering, not ritual sacrifice in a place. |
| Php 3:3 | For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh... | True worship is by the Spirit, centered on Christ. |
| Heb 13:15 | Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. | New Covenant sacrifices are spiritual, born of the heart and lips. |
| 1 Pet 2:5 | you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. | Believers become the spiritual temple offering spiritual worship. |
| Joh 7:30, 8:20, 12:23, 13:1, 17:1 | Frequent references to "the hour" (ἡ ὥρα) in John's Gospel... | Points to a divinely appointed time, specifically Jesus' glorification. |
| Mar 1:15 | "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." | The new age proclaimed by Jesus is imminent and changing things. |
| Gal 4:4 | But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law... | God acted precisely at the appointed time through Christ. |
| Eph 1:10 | as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. | God's grand plan in Christ for the eschatological completion. |
| Joh 14:6 | Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." | Access to the Father is solely through Jesus, not through a place. |
| Eph 2:18 | For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. | Unity in access to the Father through Christ and the Spirit. |
| Rom 5:2 | Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand... | Believers have direct access to grace through Christ. |
| Deut 12:5, 11 | "but to the place that the LORD your God will choose...there you shall go." "then to the place that the LORD your God will choose...there you shall bring all that I command you." | Old Covenant command for centralized worship, contrasted by Jesus. |
| Psa 51:17 | The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. | Internal disposition for worship prioritized in Old Testament itself. |
| Mal 1:11 | For from the rising of the sun to its setting My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to My name... | Prophecy hinting at universal worship beyond a single place. |
John 4 verses
John 4 21 Meaning
John 4:21 signifies a profound theological shift in the nature of worship from a specific geographical location to a universal and spiritual accessibility of God. Jesus declares that the age is coming, ushered in by Him, where neither the Samaritan Mount Gerizim nor the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem will be the exclusive or required place to worship the Father. This statement directly addresses and transcends the long-standing religious and political dispute between Jews and Samaritans, pointing to a new era of direct, unfettered access to God that is no longer bound by physical proximity to a sacred site.
John 4 21 Context
John chapter 4 details Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. This conversation occurs against a backdrop of deep-seated historical and religious animosity between Jews and Samaritans, a rivalry spanning centuries that was fundamentally rooted in disagreements over the proper place of worship. While Jews insisted on Jerusalem as the God-ordained center of worship and sacrifice (based on their interpretation of the Old Testament), Samaritans held that Mount Gerizim was the divinely chosen place, believing it to be the location where Moses had commanded sacrifices and blessings were declared (from their Samaritan Pentateuch). This specific dispute over "where to worship" directly frames the woman's question to Jesus in John 4:20, making Jesus' answer in verse 21 a direct and revolutionary response to this long-standing contention. The immediate context shows Jesus breaking social norms by engaging a Samaritan woman, indicating the expansive nature of His mission, which culminates in His theological declaration about universal worship.
John 4 21 Word analysis
- Jesus said: Highlights Jesus' authority and prophetic voice.
- to her: Specifically addresses the Samaritan woman's deep-seated cultural and theological concern regarding worship location.
- “Woman” (Greek: Gynai - Γύναι): A common and polite form of address in the ancient world, not demeaning. It marks the solemnity and directness of Jesus' instruction.
- believe me: An emphatic command to accept Jesus' teaching as truth, indicating its foundational importance and divine origin.
- the hour (Greek: hōra - Ὥρα): A crucial Johannine term referring to a decisive, appointed moment in God's redemptive plan. While often referring to Jesus' crucifixion and glorification (Joh 12:23, 13:1), here it signifies the dawn of a new, imminent epoch in spiritual history. It implies the fulfillment of previous shadows and the inauguration of new covenant realities.
- is coming: Indicates a future reality, though as seen in verse 23 ("and is now here"), its effects are beginning to manifest through Jesus' presence.
- when neither on this mountain: Refers to Mount Gerizim, the sacred place of Samaritan worship, located nearby. Jesus directly negates its exclusive claim.
- nor in Jerusalem: Refers to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the revered center of Jewish worship. Jesus also negates its exclusive claim.
- will you worship (Greek: proskynēsete - προσκυνήσετε): The act of worship, bowing down, revering, adoration. The shift is not away from worship itself, but from its geographical confinement.
- the Father: Emphasizes the object of worship – God Himself, revealed in a new and intimate paternal relationship. This moves the focus from where to Who. This title highlights an intimate, relational aspect of God now accessible to all through Christ.
Words-group analysis
- "believe me, the hour is coming": This phrase sets the stage for a prophetic pronouncement, urging belief in the imminent and transformative truth Jesus is about to reveal concerning worship. It signals a shift in dispensations.
- "neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem": This phrase directly confronts and disarms the core of the Samaritan-Jewish religious dispute. Jesus transcends both historically significant, yet geographically limited, places of worship. It dismantles the very premise of the conflict over locale, pointing to a new, universal accessibility to God.
- "will you worship the Father": This specifies the act (worship) and the ultimate recipient (the Father), clarifying that the issue is not if God will be worshipped, but how and where He will be truly accessed and honored in the new spiritual economy established by Christ.
John 4 21 Bonus section
This verse carries profound implications for the accessibility of God to all people, transcending national, ethnic, and geographical divides. It foreshadows the tearing of the temple veil at Jesus' death, symbolizing that the way to the Holy of Holies, to God's immediate presence, is now open to all, not restricted to a specific priesthood or location. The fulfillment of this "hour" through Jesus' death, resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit means that the temple is no longer a building, but rather the person of Christ and, by extension, the community of believers indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19). Thus, Christian worship is global, intimate, and continuous, carried out by Spirit-empowered believers wherever they may be.
John 4 21 Commentary
John 4:21 represents a pivotal declaration from Jesus that signals a revolutionary transformation in divine-human encounter and worship. Jesus unequivocally removes the geographical and architectural limitations traditionally associated with worship, particularly the contention between Jewish Jerusalem and Samaritan Gerizim. His statement does not deny the past significance of these places, but proclaims their functional obsolescence as exclusive or necessary sites for true worship under the new covenant. The emphasis shifts from external place to internal truth and spiritual connection. This verse prepares the ground for His subsequent teaching that true worship will be "in spirit and truth" (Joh 4:23-24). This foreshadows the universal mission of the church, where believers globally, unbound by any physical temple or specific mountain, can genuinely worship God through Christ and the indwelling Spirit. It redefines holiness not as proximity to a physical shrine, but as the indwelling of God's Spirit in His people, rendering every place a potential altar. This teaching dismantles ancient religious boundaries and unites believers in a direct, personal, and ubiquitous worship of God as Father.