When Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well, and when she realized that Jesus was a prophet, she immediately thought to ask a question of doctrinal clarification:
"'Sir,' the woman said, 'you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?'
"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. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way'" (John 4:19 – 24, NLT).
Jesus' response to her is interesting because while he does not deny that Jerusalem, and hence the temple, had been the place to correctly worship God ('for salvation comes through the Jews'), he goes on to say that the time has come when a fuller form of worship will be available, implying that it will transcend the rites of the temple in Jerusalem and extend to the worthy abroad, including Mount Gerizim. What is this new form of worship?
Paul actually gives a very compelling argument that inasmuch as the symbolism and motifs of the ancient tabernacle and hence temple in Jerusalem pointed to Christ, the new form of worship would still be represented through temple ordinances but personified and effectual in Christ himself. In other words, the Jewish temple ordinances would finally make sense and have power as the worshipper focused on their fulfillment in Christ. The initiate could then take the principles represented therein and worship the Father in 'spirit and truth' wherever he or she found themselves, if they would have faith in Christ and apply the symbolic teachings to their actual lives.
The new form of worship Christ alluded to then is not just temple worship but temple action. To apply a modern analogy, if the ordinances sit an initiate in a seat in a car and teach him or her how to open a garage and drive a car, Christ's sacrifice and fulfillment amount to finally giving the initiate the keys to the ignition. Paul makes this argument by comparing those who worship the Father in 'truth and spirit' to the priests who were allowed to enter the main portion of the temple, and by comparing Christ to the single High Priest who was allowed to enter the "holy of holies" that was beyond the main portion of the temple through the veil.
In the following passage, I have replaced "tent" with "temple," "curtain" with "veil," and "most holy" with "celestial" for purposes of modern applicability to those who have been through God's modern, restored temples:
"Jesus is the high priest we need. He is holy and innocent and faultless, and not at all like us sinners. Jesus is honored above all beings in heaven.... The Law appoints priests who have weaknesses. But God's promise, which came later than the Law, appoints his Son. And he is the perfect high priest forever.... "What I mean is we have a high priest who sits at the right side of God's great throne in heaven. He also serves as the priest in the celestial place inside the real temple there in heaven. This temple of worship was set up by the Lord, not by humans. "Since all priests must offer gifts and sacrifices, Christ also needed to have something to offer. If he were here on earth, he would not be a priest at all, because here the Law appoints other priests to offer sacrifices. But the temple where they serve is just a copy and a shadow of the real one in heaven. Before Moses made the temple, he was told, 'Be sure to make it exactly like the pattern you were shown on the mountain!' Now Christ has been appointed to serve as a priest in a much better way.... "The first part of the temple was called the holy place.... Behind the curtain was the celestial place.... This is how everything was when the priests went each day into the first part of the temple to do their duties. However, only the high priest could go into the second part of the temple, and he went in only once a year. Each time he carried blood to offer for his sins and for any sins that the people had committed without meaning to. All of this is the Holy Spirit's way of saying no one could enter the celestial place while the temple was still the place of worship....
"My friends, the blood of Jesus gives us courage to enter the celestial place by a new way that leads to life! And this way takes us through the veil that is Christ himself. We have a great high priest who is in charge of God's house" (Heb. 7:26, 28; 8:1 – 6; 9:2 – 3, 6 – 8; 10:19 – 21, CEV, wording changes in italics).
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