Jesus did not answer that; for His loving heart knew all about her, and how she needed a Saviour to save her from her sins.
So He said to her something like this—
"If you knew what a wonderful gift God has to give you, and Who it is that has asked you to give Him drink, you would have asked Him instead, and He would have given you living water."
The woman could not understand this at all. She saw that Jesus had nothing to draw with, and she knew that Jacob's Well was very deep. What could He mean by living water?
Then Jesus told her that if any one came to Him for this living water, he would never be thirsty again, but would have everlasting life!
The woman began to think that it would be very nice not to be thirsty any more, so she asked Jesus to give her this water; but she did not know that she was talking to the Son of God, Who gives the Holy Spirit; she only thought of her many hot journeys to and from the well.
And now the Lord has to show her that it is something much better than real water that He wants her to have. He explains to her that she is a sinner, and He tells her so much about her past life, which she thought nobody knew, that she begins to guess that Jesus must be the Christ whom the Jews were expecting to come into the world.
Then Jesus said, "I, that speak unto thee, am He."
The woman was so surprised, and so glad, that she left her waterpot and ran back to the town to tell her neighbours all about her wonderful Saviour.
So numbers of them came out to find Jesus, and many believed on Him, not only because the woman had said that Jesus had told her all that ever she did, but because they heard from His own loving lips the words which brought them everlasting life.