Thirsty? Try a Drink from John 4 Quiz

Answer: at noon in Sychar

John says it was about the sixth hour. (John 4:6) Since the Jews started their day at 6:00 am (dawn), the sixth hour would be noon. A few experts think maybe John used Roman time, which would mean Jesus arrived at 6:00 pm. However, the place He took a break was definitely Sychar.

Answer: His disciples were shopping.

Jesus rested by a well while his disciples went "away into the city to buy food." (John 4:8) Yes, even in those days people on the road were on the lookout for fast food when lunchtime rolled around.

Answer: "Give me a drink."

"Whom do you seek?" was spoken by Jesus to the soldiers the night of his arrest in a Jerusalem garden. (John 18:4) "Greetings, favored one!" were the angel Gabriel's words to Mary before she became pregnant with Jesus. (Luke 1:28)

Answer: with curiosity

The woman couldn't get over the fact that a Jewish man would ask her for a drink. It was bad enough that she was a woman, but John tells us that the Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. (John 4:9) When the disciples returned they were "amazed" to see him chatting with her. (John 4:27)

Answer: living water

Jesus stirred up the woman's spiritual thirst by telling her He was somebody pretty special, and that He had a gift for her: living water. She basically came back with, "You gotta be kidding! This is a really deep well and you don't even have a bucket!" (John 4:10-11) This is one practical lady, a woman after my own heart.

Answer: Its water wasn't satisfying.

Samaritans were considered half-breeds. They had the same Jewish ancestors such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whose well this woman was quite proud of. But their lineage was mixed with pagan peoples and they worshiped God in Mt. Gerizim rather than Jerusalem. Jesus wasn't interested in the "religious" details here in John 4:13, however.

He turned the woman's focus to more personal, spiritual issues.

Answer: He knew she'd been married before.

When the woman responded eagerly to Jesus' offer of living water, He told her to go get her husband. She replied that she had no husband. Jesus then told her the personal information that later led to her belief that He was the Messiah-- the fact that she had been married five times and now had a live-in boyfriend. (John 4:16-18, 29, 39)

Answer: "Where is the right place to worship?" "Neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem"

The answer He gave seems to have to do with God being spirit, and not limited to a place. True worshipers will "worship the Father in spirit and truth," He says. Those are the kind of people He says God is looking for. (John 4:23)

Answer: She ran off.

She left her pitcher and ran off to tell the whole town about Jesus. (John 4:28-29) They asked Him to stay for two days, and then told the woman, "It's no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this is indeed the Savior of the world." (John 4:42)

Answer: Jesus has authority over the physical world.

This question is a little bit interpretive, but one thing we know for sure. John doesn't mention a single miracle here, although all the other concepts listed can be supported by this story. The miracle seems to have been Jesus Himself, the source of the "living water" that gives eternal life and satisfies from the inside out.