March 29 Sermon

 

 Introduction

 

For the past several weeks, we have been preparing to celebrate the resurrection

 

The victory of our Lord Jesus Christ using a devotional series titled “It Is Finished.”

 

Doing so, we are pondering each of the “last words” Jesus spoke from his cross.

 

 Today’s “word” is the shortest one of all: “I thirst” (John 19:28).

 

 

All of us know something of what it’s like to be thirsty.

 

I remember back in the mid 70’s this country was going through a severe drought

 

No one was allowed to water their lawn

 

When you went to a restaurant, no water would be placed at the table unless you requested it

 

We were asked to cut back on taking showers and baths

 

Some ever suggested that couples shower together to conserve water

Car washes were closed, pools were closed

 

And remember this was at a time that bottled water was not yet available

 

Brush fires were breaking out all over the country and even our pine barrens were burning

 

It was a scary time

 

 

 

You might also know that roughly 60 percent of the human body is made up of water.

 

 Our organs are especially well-hydrated.

 

The brain, heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs are all 71–84 percent water.

 

Even our bones are 30 percent water.

 

 Obviously, water is life.         We need water to survive.

Depending on our sex, age, and activity levels, we need two to three liters of water every day.

 

 Part of this comes from our food, the rest from the fluids we drink.

 

 

Jesus said, “I thirst.”

 

 But why?

 

Certainly, he was not at that point concerned about optimal organ function.

 

Clearly, survival was not at issue.

 

 Death, at this point, was certain.

 

 “I thirst.”

 

Two simple words filled to the brim with meaning.

 

 

Getting to the Heart

 

John records the “why” of Jesus’ “thirsty” words.

 

He writes:

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” John 19:28

 

Jesus knew he was nearing physical death.

 

 He no longer needed water to sustain his body.

 

 All was now finished or completed, John tells us.

 

The Greek word used there is “teleo” the same root word where we get Jesus’ words “it is finished”

 

The Lord’s words echo a prophecy from Psalm 69:21:

 

 Psalm 69:20-21 (NASB)
²⁰  Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick. And I looked for sympathy, but there was none, And for comforters, but I found none.
²¹  They also gave me gall for my food And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

 

 

Psalm 69 is a psalm of desperation and a cry for salvation.

 

The psalmist expresses the torture he’s experiencing, and he calls upon God for deliverance.

 

When Jesus spoke these words of desperation, he received exactly what the psalmist says: “sour wine to drink.”

 

Let’s look at the whole passage

 

John 19:28-29 (NASB)
²⁸  After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, *said, "I am thirsty."
²⁹  A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.

 

Sour wine is basically vinegar.

 

While not a thirst quencher to be sure, it also would have burned Jesus’ already parched mouth

 

Not even at the hour of His death could our savior find any hint of compassion

 

Those who were so cruel will one day pay the price as Jesus told us in one story He told

 

Matthew 25:34-36 (NASB)
³⁴  "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
³⁵  'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
³⁶  naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'

 

There are rewards for those who show compassion

And a high price to pay for those who do not

 

Matthew 25:41-43 (NASB)
⁴¹  "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
⁴²  for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
⁴³  I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'

 

 

Even while hanging there dying Jesus is still fulfilling scripture as He did two weeks ago quoting Psalm 22 “My God, My God why have you forsaken Me”

 

 

Jesus spoke these words to fulfill the Scripture.

 

 Jesus experienced the desperation the psalmist describes—in full measure.

 

He did so while at the same time bringing salvation.

 

 

“I thirst” is an expression of suffering.

 

 By uttering these words, Jesus indicated his full participation in human suffering.

His experience on the cross was not just like our suffering.

 

 It was our suffering, the suffering of all humanity, in the

extreme.

 

One day Jesus will make sure that each of us has an abundance to both eat and drink

 

Revelation 7:16-17 (NASB)
¹⁶  "They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat;
¹⁷  for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes."

 

 

But it is also a promise for now in a spiritual sense

 

John 6:35 (NASB)
³⁵  Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

 

John 7:37-38 (NASB)
³⁷  Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
³⁸  "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"

 

Revelation 21:6 (NASB)
⁶  Then He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.
 

Revelation 22:16-17 (NASB)
¹⁶  "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."
¹⁷  The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

 

 

He who promised we would never thirst is now Himself thirsty on our behalf

 

 Jesus was tortured.

 

 He was stripped of his dignity.

 

 He was degraded, mocked, disregarded, dismissed.

 

These two words, “I thirst,” convey all the need Jesus experienced, humanity’s need.

 

Jesus fulfilled the Scripture by enduring multiple layers of suffering.

 

The crown of thorns.     The nails.       The beatings.

 

The derision of the crowd, the soldiers, and the religious leaders.

 

The suffering Jesus endured was more than physical pain.

 Countless people throughout history have experienced terrible physical suffering.

 

 Many people have even been crucified as Jesus was.

 

 It was a common Roman practice.

 

Sadly, it has made a come back in how radical Muslims torture and kill Christians today.

 

More than the physical suffering, Jesus’ crucifixion was a blow to his very person.

 

The King of kings was publicly shamed, humiliated, degraded, reduced to less than human.

 

The King of the universe, mocked before the eyes of all, was treated as a criminal and worse than a criminal.

 

The beloved Son of God was treated like an animal at the

slaughter by the human beings he created!

 

 

There is a feeling in us that arises when we see unjust suffering.

 

We encourage each other: “Stand up for yourself.”

 

 “Don’t back down.”

 

 “Stand your ground.”

 

 “Believe in yourself.”

 

Jesus uttered none of these axioms.

 

 Jesus refused to defend himself.

 

He simply said, “I thirst.”

 

 

We wonder: “Why did he do this?

 

Why did he embrace such unjust suffering?

 

Why didn’t he stand up for himself?

 

Why didn’t he defend his dignity?”

 

 

Hebrews 2:9 explains that by his suffering and death, Jesus “might taste death for everyone.”

 

Isaiah adds to this in 53:4, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows . . . stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” for our transgressions.

 

 

To fulfill the Scripture, Jesus suffered our suffering.

 

 His Life for ours.

 

 Jesus thirsted for our salvation.

 

He endured our shame, degradation, and torture.

 

He died in our place, for our sins.

 

 

 People say, “Talk is cheap.”

 

Jesus didn’t just talk.

 

He proved his love for us by suffering and dying—

 

suffering the punishment, we deserved, dying the death we

should have died.

 

 

Taking It Home

 

It is often hard for us to admit our own need, our own suffering.

 

Maybe you are embarrassed to share that you’re hurting.

 

You don’t want to show weakness.

 

Especially if you are a man

 

You don’t want people to feel sorry for you.

You don’t want to be someone’s charity case.

 

 

It is common for people to hide their suffering.

 

Jesus’ words, “I thirst,” give you permission to admit your own needs, your own longing.

 

If Jesus could admit His immediate need so can we

 

That is why the church was established

 

That we might encourage and help one another

 

 

What distresses you today?

 

Is it the virus, the economy, the uncertainty

 

What are you suffering through?

 

Have you lost something physical during this time

 

What do you long for?

 

Perhaps like many of us a return to normalcy

 

Cry out to God in your pain and need.

 

He knows and He hears.

 

But also rely on your brothers and sisters in Christ because we are family

 

 

The suffering Man who hung on the cross is now your risen King.

 

 He thirsts no more.

 

We hear his words of promise:

Whoever drinks of the water that I will give . . . will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give . . . will become . . . a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 4:14

 

 

Praise the Savior who suffered for us, who thirsted that we may thirst no more!

 

 As you leave today, pray with and for one another.

 

Share personal prayer requests.

 

 Ask the Holy Spirit to draw each of you closer to Christ and to one another as you prepare to celebrate the Savior’s resurrection.

 

 

LET US PRAY