What Jesus Did! 'Conflict over Place' — John 4:19-20

Over the long years of religious history, so much conflict has revolved around worship and the place of worship. Even today, so much of the conflict found in Christian groups revolves around the central issues of worship — the place, the content, and the method. We can dismiss this woman's question about the importance of the place of worship as a dodge of Jesus' probing of her soul, but Jesus doesn't dismiss the question. He hears her question and answers her in words that we, too, must carefully consider. As we will see in the devotionals for the next three days, what Jesus says is simple, powerful, short, and revolutionary. ^[1] Let's not miss his answer to the woman. But also, let's be certain to notice that here is a woman broken by life, not in an acceptable place spiritually, ^[2] and an outcast in the community. Yet this woman has deep yearnings to know the truth of God. Who is like that in your world? Who have we missed because we didn't think they had any serious questions since they didn't seem very religious? What do you think Jesus would have to say about that?