Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips-John 19:28-29; NLT
We’ve all been thirsty before and we have all felt a longing for the satisfaction and refreshment that comes from a nice cool drink of water after a few hours in the scorching hot sun.
The rich man in Luke 16 who died without repenting, pleaded with Abraham for just a drop of water to cool his tongue, because he was being tortured in the flames. The Samaritan woman at the well who was able to give Jesus a drink, was unable to refresh her own soul with the living water that could only be provided to her by an encounter with Jesus, the true Living Water.
The Thirst of the God-Man
It was 3:00 pm on Golgotha’s hill. Jesus had been hanging on the cross for six hours. It had become difficult for Jesus to even get a breath. His mouth was parched. At the climax of His Passion under the midday sun, Jesus cried out, “I am thirsty.”
However, I don’t think He was complaining about real, physical thirst, although I’m sure He really was thirsty. There was a more urgent thirst that consumed Him. In this one cry, we can see the Heart of God, as He cries out “I am thirsty.”
This cry from the mouth of Jesus hanging on the cross is not just to be understood as an exclamation of His physical desires. It’s much more than that. Jesus thirsts for the parched souls of mankind. His thirst reveals God’s deep longing to bring about the completion of His plan for the ultimate redemption of lost humanity.
His thirst reveals God’s deep longing to bring about the completion of His plan for the ultimate redemption of lost humanity.
Never Thirst Again
It was a cry written down in eternity past, now being revealed and fulfilled in the events of Jesus’ crucifixion. When Jesus cried, “I am thirsty,” He was also fulfilling Old Testament prophecy. (Psalm 69:21) Jesus had an all-consuming thirst for the redemption of a lost world. He thirsted, so that we would never thirst again.
The depraved, parched souls of all humanity, longing to be freed from the chains of sin, can now come to Him and drink of His living water freely. Jesus has revealed that He is the only one who can quench our soul’s thirst.
Redemption has been accomplished, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled.
Is your soul thirsty for God? The water Jesus offers is the only thing that will satisfy. Jesus said, Anyone who is thirsty may come to me (John 7:37).
Come to Jesus and never thirst again.
- I Am Thirsty - March 28, 2018
- With Me in Paradise - March 25, 2018
