(S) – John 19:28 – (S) – Is. 52:13-15 – (S) – Ps. 22:14-15 – Pause & let the cries from the cross echo to your soul – forgiving the unforgivable – grace to the ungracious – the last words of a family man & forsaken so we could be remembered – a 5th echo for the ages – Pray – Is. 55:11 – He started His ministry fasting in the wilderness – hungry & now ends it thirsty – what are the lessons?Looking at the clock – it won’t be done today & I hate it won’t be finished next week as we’ll be gone – but the following week.

When I read this cry – I cannot help but think of a common theme from all of scripture & in that I find some incredible things.

I. (S) – Incredible foundation – (R) – Jn. 19:23-29 – The issue of thirst is a foundational cry of Jesus’ ministry far predating the cross. At the beginning of His ministry, He began a conversation with a Samaritan woman by asking for a drink. How significant, Jesus began His ministry by asking for water, & now ends it by asking for water – but as we have done with each statement so far we ask – what is the deeper meaning. We could say it was to show Him humanity & as the text says to fulfill prophecy – in fact it does – but deeper is an immense aquifer of truth – for we find He used thirst as a theme many times. At 1 time He stood in the temple & cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let Him come to Me & drink.” In the Sermon on the Mount He spoke, “Blessed are they who hunger & thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.” In another place He said, “If you give even a cup of cold water in my

name, you have done it unto Me.” Turn to the book’s end – (S) – Rev. 22:17. This is a call to all who are spiritually thirsty to come & be satisfied in what – in whom? (S) – Vs. 16 – Come to the One who died on the cross & draw living water. On the other hand in the story of Lazarus – the rich man is seen as thirsting for all eternity – separated from God & unable to satiate physical or spiritual longing. (S) – Rev. 7:16 – those in heaven never thirst again – the Bible uses physical pictures to teach spiritual lessons – I believe that while the cry was physical as Ps. 22 tells us it was – it is also spiritual in lesson as well. Essence – (S) – He thirsted physically so we could be satisfied spiritually. The water of life thirsted so we could live – again even in physical suffering He is teaching – far from delirium – He knows full well what is going on & in every breath fulfills each prophecy – but also with every breath sends eternal truth echoing to the ages & to our hearts today.

In fact it is out of complete selflessness he speaks. (S) – Jn. 19:28 – “after this” – after all was complete in the payment for our sin – He speaks of His own suffering – that is selfless – yet even in that it has deeper meanings – for if you think on it – He had been thirsty for hours – but He thinks only of others & of fulfillment of scripture first – it is to that we are called ourselves when it says seek first the kingdom of God – think of others more highly than yourself – first command – love Lord your God…. & neighbor as yourself. Yet how hard that is when it comes to daily living. It is

amazing how well we behave until we are thirsty & tired & stressed & in pain & then isn’t it amazing how quick we get grumpy – short – angry – selfish & complaining – one of the quoted from “gods at war” that stood out is “you don’t know who people are until they’ve suffered” – so we see Jesus – suffering & we see selflessness & complete surrender to the Father’s will – that is our call as well to deny self & take up our cross daily & follow Him in every way for God’s glory in all – this is how He lived & now how He died – always teaching

Thirst is an instant picture for our minds of 2 truths – (S) – physical thirst & (S) – spiritual thirst. If you think about it, “I thirst,” was the only cry of physical need Jesus uttered. Jesus’ action gives us the key to His Saviorhood. (S) – Is. 53:7 – He was afflicted in all our affliction – meaning as we – so He – both deity & humanity revealed from the cross – showing deity to forgive – to promise paradise – to bear sin & be forsaken – yet humanity in caring for His mother & thirsting – He faced what we face. The cross was ugly & painful. People would gladly banish it from their thinking if they could – some churches remove it as offensive or sacrifice it in new designs to less prominence – it’s why I like the front & back of our church inside & out – it is our message – a Savior has come to address the sin issue & all its effects. Calvary remains at the same time sin’s victory & yet sin’s defeat – for it had a victory in that God died – the effect of sin is death – yet more of God’s victory, for God’s Son defeated sin once & for all by dying in humankind’s place & rising from the dead. It stands as

the great stumbling block & self-contained contradiction yet only answer there is for the human predicament. (S) – He thirsted physically so we would never have to thirst spiritually.This is a theme in all the Bible & His ministry – go back with me (sR) – Jn. 4:7 – Jesus began the conversation with the Samaritan woman by asking for a drink – with the goal of turning the conversation to other things. For to the Samaritan woman, Jesus said this in (sR) – John 4:14. The beginning of satisfaction in Jesus is the gift forgiveness & eternal life. The physical & this world around us was not her need & it is not ours either – but forgiveness & satisfaction in Him – the sin sick soul He came as the great physician to heal. When we come to Him by faith, we will no longer thirst as we did, for our real needs will have been met & God’s Spirit will have moved into our hearts & we will be different. The message of the cross is that because of the cross Christ can quench spiritual thirst because He once thirsted physically & died – we can have eternal life. He can make alive because He conquered death. We must remember, however, that (S) – the Christian life is not an abundance of material things & physical comfort, but rather a realization of spiritual things & soul healing from sin & unlike our culture & even many Christians we must not get them confused. When Jesus brought the woman at the well face to face with her sin, she tried to change the question: Which mountain should people worship on, Mt. Gerizim or Mt. Zion? Jesus told her the time would come when people would worship at neither mountain. He reminded her, “God is Spirit; & they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit & truth.” When

He declared to her He was the Messiah, she received Him & went off to town to tell others her grand discovery – she found satisfaction to her spiritual thirst because Jesus needed a physical drink – so stands the cross to our hearts. & you, too, will experience this joy if you will surrender to Him who has the water of eternal life – a foundational phrase – beginning & end of his ministry – remember our scripture reading – He stood in the temple & in fulfillment of Is. 55 & Ez. 47 said this – (S) – Jn 7:37-39 – a theme beginning to end – spiritual thirst is satisfied only in Jesus – a parallel we understand due to physical need

But what is the significance of these words? His previous cry declared His deity & union with God – now a cry of humanity – showing He is fully both & so He says – “I thirst” – Prophetic. (S) – Ps. 22:14-15 & (S) – 69:21 – of the 7 statements only 1 deals with personal, physical suffering & in fulfillment of prophecy they gave Him wine to drink. Again far from suffering delirium – this is moments from death – fully conscious – for 2 times prior he had rejected such offers – the 1st was with a drug to ease the pain as He was nailed to the cross but he refused & suffered fully – the 2nd was a taunt equal to the crown of thrones – a soldiers toast to the King of the Jews – like the 1st – He refused – but here He accepts it to show us deep meaning – for it was given on a sponge on a hyssop branch – an ancient Biblical symbol of covering for sin – used on the Passover Night to spread the blood on the doorposts as the death angel was to sweep through the land – used in the tabernacle & temple as well to spread blood on the altar & ark to

show the covering of sin – now used to give wine on a sponge – to which it would be hard to attach – yet recorded by John to show that in every prophetic aspect Jesus is the final lamb to be offeredBut why was this phrase included by the Prophets & fulfilled by our Lord, why only one statement of physical suffering? Again I turn to (sR) – Heb. 4:15 – our Savior faced everything we have faced – there is nothing you face that He has not also felt to the uttermost as we saw the last 2 weeks. There’s no dark valley you go through that He cannot also feel – there is no pain & suffering that He cannot also identify with. That is what I believe is at the heart of these words “I thirst” – To let us know that Jesus was human & He knows what we face. That again is the foundation of prayer – the degree to which we grasp this truth of a personal Savior is the day seeking His face begins to reign supreme – the prayer room is a direct reflection of how much we believe satisfaction is actually in Jesus. This incredible foundation – that Jesus thirsted so we would never have to – He suffered so we could be satisfied in every void & shortcoming we feel & face – it is the terrible foundation beneath some humanly terrible blocks

II. (S) – Terrible Pain – It is not often we realized the terrible pain Jesus died in. If you run a clock back from 3 p.m. when he cried out “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me” to about sundown the previous day & review what had happened as He moves through those hours – what you discover is that our Lord has just been through 18 hours of torture. Gethsemane’s burden when He sweat great drops of blood, then arrested in the night. Slapped around. Pushed around. Mocked. Beaten with fists & a club. His beard torn out in handfuls by the roots – to get the feeling at home take a hand full of hair & pull as hard as you can – now imagine that on your face till whole handfuls came out. They spit in his face. Did it have to happen – (S) – Is. 50:6. Then a night in a dungeon – (S) – Ps. 69:15. they crowned Him with 3 inch thorns going deep in His scalp. Scourged with a cat-o’-9-tails, on what most believe was 2 occasions. This was not a measured Jewish beating of 39x’s lest they miscount & violate the O.T. limit of 40. This was the Roman beating that was at the discretion of the administrator. A short whip with lead, glass, bone, & stone tied in the straps of the whip to cut. And butcher they did – The roman directive was to do it until the muscles were loosened & tendons began to tear. Till all the flesh – front & back – head to feet was in bloody taters & they often did it front & back sometimes at the same time. Jesus went through it twice. Beaten until the rib cage was exposed – seeing the bones. They placed a robe on His back – letting the wounds begin to scab over then they tore it loose. They beat

Him with the reed they gave as a scepter. They beat Him with fists again. Then they made Him carry His cross. They pounded the nails in His hands & feet. And left Him to hang there in the sun to dehydrate. Not for 1 second did He have a moment’s rest. Not for 1 moment had anyone offered Him reprieve – not a break – no union to say that is enough he get’s coffee now. Besides all this there were the mental & spiritual battles that raged around & within Him & spiritual burden’s.

When Jesus hung on the cross He was not the beautiful, manicured Savior we often see in our stained glass portraits. It is not too much to say that Jesus was so bloodied, maimed, disfigured, & tortured that He did not even resemble a human – a lump of flesh. (S) – Is. 52:14 – marred more than any other – Is. 53 again paints a picture for us of what it looked like that day – (S) – vs. 3 – it was so awful that many turned away at the gore of what was taking place – Hiding faces from the awful sight that hung before them. (S) – Ps. 22:13,17 – gaping in horror at the spectacle – every bone almost visible. No wander He was thirsty as He cried out for water – as Ps. 22 declares He would. Loss of blood. Exposure. Heat. Exhaustion. Dehydration. He’s been on the cross for 6 hours. Sweat would have mingled with the blood – dripping in His eyes – adding to the pain– yet He couldn’t rub them. It’s hot. And the flies are buzzing around him. The crowds taunting Him. Birds would come & peck at them. In the end dehydration sets in. 1st there is a fever. Then a terrible throbbing pain in His head. And then cramps in the abdomen. And then nausea sets in. Then His

eyeballs begin to dry up in the sockets. And then His mouth begins to go dry. The tongue begins to swell & the throat feels like sandpaper. The vocal cords swell up & only horse whispers come. It doesn’t sound like human words; it sounds like an animal croaking. The Swedish word for thirst & fire are related – that fits. No wonder Jesus was thirsty. Why did this all happen – (S) – Jn. 19:28 – That it might be fulfilled – that all in the O.T. was accomplished. Do we grasp the depth of what was taking place that day as He died – oh the depth. I want us to grasp this with our whole heart – He made sure all was done as it had been foretold – Why – for you & me so He could be the perfect Savior – taking the full wrath of God for our sin – but coming & being sent out of perfect love. This was terrible pain – thirsting so we don’t have to.

But there is a 2nd & deeper thirst – a deeper pain yet – (S) – Ps. 42:1-2 – for 3 hours Jesus had been separated from the Father – so as deep as the physical thirst was & with physical thirst as a living lesson – I believe there may have been a deeper thirst He cried out about with this parched moan – that was for the Father – for us only when we long for God with this kind of thirst will we find the blessing meant for those who hunger & thirst for righteousness. Then we find filling satisfaction – in that kind of thirst for God to be in the Word & Prayer – His terrible pain opens a satisfaction spiritually found only in a walk with God & eternal forgiveness – do you hunger & thirst for the things of God if you miss your time in the Word or is it what fits if there is time – do we understand

this is a cry of thirst reflective of how we are long for God – His Word – prayer & fellowship in the church with other believers.

III. (S) – Terrible Death – why must the water of life now die of thirst – I suppose it is one of the ultimate ironies of the Biblical story that Jesus said, “I thirst.” He who is the water of life now dies in thirst. And I call our attention to this fact: Jesus has not complained at all about His physical suffering through all the long hours of torture & now hanging on the cross for 6 hours. In the 1st – 3 hours of light He spoke three times – probably close together – probably right at the start. In the hours of darkness He spoke not a word till just before the light, now in the matter of minutes He has spoken twice. When they put the crown on His head he didn’t say, “Oh, my head!” When they ripped out His beard from His face He didn’t say, “Oh! My face!” When they scourged Him He didn’t say, “Oh, my back!” With nails, the beatings, the suffering, the mocking not a word about suffering. As the old spiritual says, through all that they did to Him, “He never said a mumblin’ word.” Turn with too (S) – Is. 53:7 – horrendous. Yet eye witnesses in Acts support this & Philip told the Ethiopian these words from Isaiah were fulfilled in Christ on the cross. Why – to fulfill prophecy – but also to show us an attitude of living life & obeying the Father’s will. What was it that the children of Israel suffered & wondered 40 years in the desert about – complaining at every turn of life. Jesus displayed the meaning of full pursuit & obedience to God’s

Word & the Father’s will. I guarantee our life will never even equal the valley He went through & His response stands as our the pattern & example – (sR) – I Pt. 2:20-23. But now because of the reality of what He was going through, for He was suffering, & that the prophets would be fulfilled He said, “I thirst.” He did so to let us know it was a physical suffering.

This is the only reference He made to all the sufferings He underwent. Why is that? At this point of Jesus ordeal on the cross He knew that His work was almost done – that the sin had been poured out & wrath was satisfied. He knew that He had borne the sins of the human race. He knew that He had done everything He could for you & me & all there he had left was to die. I believe that is why He said nothing to this point – His love for you & me was so great – His purpose for dying so clear that He was not thinking of Himself but of you & me as He hung there – we were on His mind & only when that business was done did He speak of suffering. Having done what God sent Him to do – having cared for the needs of others – only then does He make a comment about His own suffering – what a lesson – terrible pain – terrible death..

IV. (S) – Terrible Failure – At this point a strange question comes to mind. Was Jesus a failure? Some make a case that the answer is yes. & with caution I say – but follow me – (S) – from a human perspective you could make a case that He was the world’s greatest failure. Just look at His life. I want you to travel with me in your minds. A young man whose father is

a carpenter grows up working in His father’s shop. He has no formal education. He owns no property of any kind. One day He puts down His tools & walks out of the shop & starts preaching on street corners & in the nearby countryside. Walking from place to place preaching all the while He never gets farther from home than maybe 100 miles. He does this for 3 years. In that time He is abandoned by many of His initial followers, the powers-that-be want nothing to do with Him, His family comes to take Him home as they fear He has lost His mind, & finally He is arrested, tried, & convicted to die a criminal’s death. There is no court of appeal so He is executed at age 35 along with 2 common thieves. Those in charge of His execution roll dice for His clothing – His only possession. His family can’t afford a burial place so He is interred in a borrowed tomb – a failure? Humanly – yes

I like how President Reagan responded to this very argument. “End of story? No, this uneducated, propertyless young Man who preached on street corners for only 3 years who left no written word, has for 2000 years had a greater effect on the entire world than all the rulers, kings, emperors, all the conquerors, & generals, & admirals, all the scholars, scientists, & philosophers who ever lived – all put together. How do you explain that? – Unless He really was what He said He was” – God’s Son who died for our sins. Reagan went on, “But for many of us He is the promised Messiah, the Son of God come to earth to offer salvation for all mankind.” For from The bamboo Curtain to the former Soviet

Union the atheists could not kill the church or keep the symbol of the cross from guiding peoples lives. Even today on the Great Wall in China among the most common signatures of those who have been there is a cross. Today in Iran – the most persecuted country – the church is growing at nearly 70,000 a year & is at over 1 million Christians – Islam can’t stop it – so was Jesus a failure – absolutely not – our sins were paid for – eternity secured – lives changed & history impacted all by a man who died on a barren Judean hillside 1 afternoon for you & me – was He a failure – it depends on your standard – but if you view it from eternity – it could not make more sense – He thirsted so we would never have to thirst again.

John 7:37-38 – come & find spiritual filling in Jesus – He thirsted physically so you would never have to thirsted spiritually – come to Jesus – believer come to Jesus – rest in Jesus – find your satisfaction in Jesus.

Storms may come & storms may blow – But in Jesus alone is satisfaction for the soul