Cross Words - The Cries of Jesus From the Cross
5 - Christian Submission
John 19 Verse 28 - “I Thirst.”
November the 4th 1942 was one of the turning points in the Second World War. What happened was this, an entire company of German soldiers surrendered without even a single gun being fired. The reason was very simple, they'd run out of water and they just couldn’t go on. And so one after another, hardened men spoke of the agony of all agonies, the anguish of thirst.
As He died He cried, 7 cries, 7 sayings from the cross. His cross words.
His fifth saying, His fifth cry is found in John chapter 19, verse 28: “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst!’” (NKJ)
First of all there is sorrow here.
Jesus hasn’t had a drink for 15 hours, since the last supper, in the upper room.
He has sweated profusely in the Garden. He has been scourged repeatedly by professional torturers. He has carried His heavy crossbar at least 2 miles through Jerusalem. He has climbed the hill outside the city wall. His blood is flowing from His wounds. He is completely dehydrated.
His lips swell, His tongue expands, cleaving to His jaws. His mouth is cracked, His eyes are bulging. He can hardly breathe.
The heat, the noise, the commotion, the dust, and worst of all, the burning fire, the flames of Hell, raging around Him as God's wrath is outpoured, as God's wrath is unleashed upon Him. And from the flames, He cries out, just one Greek word “DIP/SAO!, THIRST!, I thirst!”
And please remember, He scooped out the oceans, He formed the rivers, He made the seas, He walked across the waves, He calmed the raging billows, He washed the feet of His disciples, and yet, He thirsts!
If you and I could live a thousand years, and die a thousand deaths, in a thousand, different agonising ways, it would be nothing compared to the agony and the grief of Christ on the cross. Nothing. There’s sorrow here.
Secondly, there is scripture here. His Grief in suffering and His Grasp of Scripture.
Look at it carefully John 19:28: Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!" (NKJ)
Everything that happened to Jesus was predicted, not just hundreds, but in some cases thousands of years before He actually came and He fulfilled every single one.
He’s the seed of the woman, He's of the lineage of Shem, He's a descendant of Abraham, He's of the line of Isaac, He's of the loins of Jacob, of the tribe of Judah, from the family of Jesse, from the house of David.
Born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, dedicated in the temple.
He was taken down to Egypt, He ministered in Galilee, He was rejected by the Jews, He was received by the Gentiles and He rode into Jerusalem on the colt of an ass.
He was betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver, He was pierced in His hands and feet, He was mocked, and insulted, and He cried, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”
They gambled for His clothes. His bones weren’t broken.
And all of that was foretold and all of that came to pass in accordance with the promise of Scripture.
And here as well... Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!" (NKJ)
There's sorrow here, there's scripture here.
Thirdly, there's sympathy here. The book of Hebrews tells us that we have a high priest who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities, He was in all points tempted like us and because He suffered being tempted He is able to help us when we are tested and tempted. (KJV)
Listen, Jesus was God but He was also man. And here, as a man He says “I thirst”.
A few chapters earlier He's weeping at the graveside of a friend.
Even earlier, He’s so tired that He lies down and falls fast asleep in the middle of a storm.
And as a man, Jesus understands us when He suffered. He agonised, He knew heartache and pain and sorrow. He thirsted.
And in doing so, He showed us that God plays the game of life by the very same rules that you and I have to play by.
He wasn’t exempt, He wasn't immune.
So there's sorrow here, there's scripture here, there's sympathy here.
And there's salvation here. When He cried, “I thirst”, He did so that we might never have to make such a cry!
During His life Jesus spoke about a man, who died and went to hell. In hell, he was in constant, conscious anguish and torment.
And from the flames, he begged, he pleaded for someone, anyone, to dip even just the tip of their finger in water and give him a tiny drop to drink.
Listen! The Son of God bore the curse of hell’s thirst, so that all who believe in Him might know the blessing of Heaven’s eternal, refreshing water.
He offers to thirsty, barren, parched sinners, the water of life, which He said, is like a fountain, springing up into everlasting life.
You remember the story of the bad Samaritan?
For years she’d searched for happiness and found only heartache.
Her life was empty and broken. Longing, thirsting for satisfaction, longing, thirsting for God, for Christ, for Salvation.
And Jesus satisfied her thirst with living water.
"Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst again …” (NKJ)
And she drank and was saved!
Let me ask you, are you thirsty? Are you a parched soul? Well, thankfully, there’s life-giving water available! If only you would let down the empty bucket of your heart you’ll be saved!
And are you needy? Jesus was exactly where you are. He walked the road you’re on. He's been there, He's done that, He's bought the t-shirt.
In every pang that rends the heart, the Man of Sorrows has a part.
You can’t say, no one knows what I'm going through. You can't say, no one knows how I feel, because Jesus does.
Are you thirsty? Are you needy?
And are you going to copy? Peter tells us Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow in His steps. We are to live the way He died. He died acknowledging His humanness.
And sometimes we give the appearance that we have it all sorted, that we're some kind of super saint. I've got news for you, there are no super saints. Isn't it about time that you copied Jesus and admit that you’re human after all?
I thirst. There's sorrow here, there's scripture here, there's sympathy here and there's salvation here.