The Thirst of Our Lord
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SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 13
Title: The Thirst of Our Lord
Text: “After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), ‘I thirst’ ” ( RSV).
Scripture Reading:
17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, 18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. 19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS
20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” ’ ”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. 24 They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:
“They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”
Therefore the soldiers did these things.
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Introduction
As the followers of Jesus Christ, we are to continually focus our eyes on him as our example. He is to be our guide and leader as we face the crises of life ().
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We have been studying Christ’s words from the cross to better understand what God was doing when he gave his Son to die. We have been seeking to let the great sacrifice of Jesus stir our emotions that we might love God more and be more grateful to him for his magnificent gift to us in the person of Jesus Christ. May Jesus’ giving of himself on the cross motivate us and move us not only to worship God more sincerely, but also to give ourselves in service to him that his kingdom might come in the hearts and lives of people here in our own community and to the uttermost parts of the earth. Today let us listen to the suffering Lord as he cries out in the midst of his sufferings, “I thirst.”
I. “I thirst” for water because of intense physical suffering.
It is natural for one who has suffered great pain to be thirsty. Significantly, the apostle John interprets this thirst for water coming only after Jesus was assured that his work on the cross was finished. Here we have a supreme demonstration of Jesus’ concentration on his primary goal and a profound illustration of his total lack of selfishness.
Jesus had suffered terribly in the garden of Gethsemane, being betrayed with a kiss and seized by wicked hands. He had appeared before Caiaphas and Annas, Pilate and Herod, and then had been returned to the court of Pilate. He had been scourged by soldiers and had fainted under the burden of the cross. For three hours he had hung on the cross. Only after all of this did he cry out of intense physical agony, “I thirst.”
Because Jesus experienced the awful pain of suffering, he is able to sympathize and come to the assistance of those who suffer today ().
18 Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.
II. “I thirst” for full restoration of fellowship with the Father.
We cannot begin to understand the mystery of God’s marvelous grace in which Christ took our sins on himself and suffered as a sinner. Paul spoke of it in his second epistle to the Corinthians: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” ( RSV). Jesus had experienced the awful poverty of being deprived of a conscious awareness of both the favor and the presence of God while on the cross. He experienced the poverty of this loneliness that we might experience the riches of the assurance of God’s love and abiding presence ().
9 For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
No doubt Jesus thirsted for the full restoration of fellowship with the Father that he had known before creation and before the beginning of his redemptive mission (). Jesus did not begin to be when he was born in Bethlehem. His birth was but the beginning of his earthly mission that would lead to his crucifixion. He yearned for the time when he would ascend back into heaven to be with his Father.
5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus described the ideal characteristics of the citizens of his kingdom. One of these characteristics is a hunger and a thirst for righteousness (). Do you encourage the thirst of your soul for God through Bible study and prayer? You could increase the thirst of your soul for fellowship with God by improving both your public and private worship habits. The absence of an intense thirst for God indicates that you are either spiritually dead or are a spiritually unhealthy Christian.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
III. “I thirst” for the salvation of an unsaved world.
Jesus also thirsted for the salvation of a needy world. He was so hungry and thirsty to lead people out of the darkness of spiritual death and into the sunlight of fellowship with God that he was willing to come and to give his life as a ransom for us (). On another occasion Jesus had described himself as a seeker who had come to save the lost ().
10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
IV. “I thirst” for partnership in redemptive service.
During Jesus’ ministry he selected 12 disciples to be with him. They became his friends, coworkers, and partners in the greatest business enterprise on earth, that of sharing the good news of God’s love with every man, woman, boy, and girl in the world. Later the number was increased to 70. Then, on the Day of Pentecost, 120 were assembled as his partners and coworkers.
The number has continued to increase to this day. Jesus hungers and thirsts for your partnership with him in the work of bringing the good news of God’s love to those who are in spiritual death and in great need. He not only wants you as a servant, but he also wants you as a friend. He needs your help as a partner. The only way by which he can carry on his work today is through us.
Conclusion
Jesus is thirsty for the privilege of bringing the blessings of God into your heart and life. One of the most beautiful pictures of his continuing thirst and desire to bring the blessings of God to you is verbalized in : “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (NIV). He does not wait for you to take the initiative. He comes seeking you and offers the gifts of God to you. You can satisfy the thirst of Jesus today by opening the door of your heart and letting him come in as Lord and Savior, leader, guide, and helper.
20 Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.