Thirst and Need - April 9, 2020

Thirst and Need                                              Thursday, April 9, 2020

“After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, ‘I am thirsty.’” John 19.28, NASB

One of my favorite scenes in a movie comes from the original Jaws. I know we are talking about Jesus on the Cross, but stick with me hear. The scene is so scientifically accurate. Hooper is about to go into the cage to go underwater to attempt to tranquilize this beast of a shark. Brody and Quint are waiting for him to get ready and, as he tries to clear his diving mask, he looks at them and says, “I got no spit.” What he is describing is the physiological response of the body to extreme stress and extreme nerves. The mouth dries, the throat dries, and spit is hard to come by.
Here we find Jesus, having been on the cross for over six hours, speaking to the physical need for water. The soldiers had previous offered him a hyssop sponge of sour wine, which he refused (Luke 23.36). As John notes, this fulfills prophecy from the book of Psalms. Psalm 69 speaks of the distress of God’s beloved and verse 21 reads, “And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (NASB). If you read John 19.29, this is exactly what is given to Him!

What does this statement and this prophecy have to do with anything? I want you to see that Jesus, though He was fully God, He was also fully man. This is His physical body that is going through the crushing agony of the Cross. It is said that as someone dies of asphyxiation, as is the case in crucifixion, that the rate of the oral tissues drying out is accelerated due to the constraint on the salivary glands and the mucus glands that line your air ways. Jesus took on this death in His physical body in order to provide our rescue.
Paul says in Romans 5 that we had a father who cast us all into death because of his sin. This is what we call original sin. He then states that it is by the second (and better!) Adam that we can have righteousness. This did not happen just because God wiped the slate clean. This happened because Jesus took our sin in His body. This happened because all of the anguish of death was taken on by Jesus for us. He did not appear to be a man, He was fully man! He was able to die in our place to remove our sin because He was also fully God!
When you read the words “I am thirsty”, take a moment to reflect on the physical sacrifice of Christ. Remember the body that was tormented and broken. Then, rejoice that by His wounds, we have been healed!
Pray: Father, these words that Your Son spoke show me how much You love the world. His death was not just a symbol, but was a true statement of the lengths You would go to prove Your glory and to provide justice in the face of my sinfulness. Thank You for loving me that way. Help me to turn my moments of thirst into a period of grateful joy that You thirst on the cross as You paid my ransom.