Bible Studies

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The Gospels
John 4:5-42 - Hunger and Thirst for God
Key Verses: (NLV)

• 5-6: "So He came to a town in Samaria called Sycar… ⁶Jacob's well was there. Jesus was tired from traveling so He sat down just as He was by the well. It was about noon." - Sending His disciples to search for food, Jesus rests by the well. Noon would have been a time when very few people were around.
  
  
• 10: "Jesus said to her, 'You do not know what God has to give. You do not know who said to you, 'Give Me a drink.' If you knew, you would have asked Him. He would have given you living water.'" - Jesus is claiming to be the Messiah with this statement for only He can provide the gift that quenches a thirsty soul.
  
  
• 13-14: "Jesus said to her, 'Whoever drinks this water will be thirsty again. ¹⁴Whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty. The water that I will give him will become in him a well of life that lasts forever.'" - We experience spiritual hunger and thirst just as our bodies become hungry and thirsty. Spiritual hunger is satisfied through a living relationship with God.
  
  
• 23-24: "The time is coming, yes, it is here now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father wants that kind of worshipers. ²⁴God is Spirit. Those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.'" - "God is Spirit" meaning He can be worshipped at any time or place.
  
  
• 34: "Jesus said, 'My food is to do what God wants Me to do and to finish His work." - Spiritual food comes from worship, prayer, study, and in doing the work God needs to have done.
  
  
• 35: "Do you not say, 'It is four months yet until the time to gather grain'? Listen! I say to you, open your eyes and look at the fields. They are white now and waiting for the grain to be gathered in." - There is not any room for excuses; the harvest lies ready wherever we look.
  
  
• 38: "I sent you to gather where you have not planted. Others have planted and you have come along to gather in their fruit." - There are many steps to saving souls and we all play a part - some prepare the ground, some provide nourishment, and others harvest the fruit.
  
  
• 42: "They said to the woman, 'Now we believe! It is no longer because of what you said about Jesus but we have heard Him ourselves. We know, for sure, that He is the Christ, the One Who saves men of this world from the punishment of their sins.'" - Salvation comes from a personal relationship with Christ.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• In what ways do you quench your thirst? Jesus was tired and thirsty from His travels but when the Samaritan woman arrived He turned His focus towards a different kind of thirst, a thirst she could never satisfy. Are you doing things in your life in an attempt to quench a deep hunger and thirst? Do you seek fulfillment and acceptance from others? Do you desire instant gratification? Do you find that no matter what you do, you remain hungry? Is your thirst unquenchable? Is it time for you to turn to Christ and drink from the living waters?
  
  
• Where do you worship? Does it matter if you worship in a great cathedral or by a mountain stream? Do you allow your style of worship to become a point of contention with others? The woman was discussing differences in religion but Jesus focused on spirituality. Do you worship in the Spirit? Can you feel the Spirit guiding and leading you to truth? Are you able to set aside worship ideologies and focus completely on God?
  
  
• What is your food? Are you fed by Bible study and prayer? Are you nourished in worship and fellowship? What did Jesus mean by "'My food is to do what God wants Me to do and to finish His work?" Does this mean that you are fed by the work in God's kingdom that you accomplish? Are you fulfilled by helping others? Is the fulfillment of your spiritual needs dependant upon your response to God's call and the efforts you put in to spreading the Gospel? Are you fed from the harvest - the saving of souls?
  

Promises of the Gospel:

The story of the woman at the well has a plethora of topics to discuss and explore including issues of spiritual thirst and where we seek fulfillment, to the food of salvation available by the spreading of the Gospel. How we worship God falls into the middle of these discussions. Worshipping God in spirit and truth is the basis for meeting our spiritual needs and for providing the world with the message of hope for salvation. We hunger and thirst for God. But fulfillment is not about us and our needs. Instead, it about focusing on the glory of God and responding to His call by spreading the good news of His glory to everyone we meet.

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