“After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” John 19:28
I’m sure all of us, at one time or another, have experienced what it is like to be extremely thirsty, and how refreshing it is to drink some nice cool water. Jesus also experienced what it is like to be thirsty, as we can see from His next word from the cross. He simply said, “I thirst.” This is the shortest of all the words that Jesus spoke from the cross and yet, they were powerful words.
Obviously, after all that Jesus went through, He was quite thirsty in the literal sense. Research has shown that those who were crucified experienced extreme thirst. In Jesus’ case, He was flogged, beaten repeatedly, carried His own cross, and then hung there for nearly six hours. His body was screaming for fluids.
However, Jesus’ statement was so much more than just about a physical thirst. In John’s Gospel it reads, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture) ‘I thirst.’” John 19:28. The passage that this is speaking of is from Psalm 69 where it says, “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.” (Ps 69:21)
What this all shows us is that Jesus’ thoughts were still on His Father and on completing His mission. Matthew’s and Mark’s Gospels tell us that Jesus said this right after He cried out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” As this phrase suggests, Jesus was experiencing the total absence of the Father, which was the judgement for taking our sins onto Himself, literally becoming sin itself. He felt lost empty and alone. It was at that moment that He said, “I thirst.”
I think it’s obvious that this wasn’t just about a physical thirst, but a spiritual one as well. The Bible speaks of spiritual thirst in many places. For example, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” (Mt. 5:6) Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well said, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14) At the Feast of Tabernacles, as they were pouring the water out at the base of the altar, Jesus cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38). Also, in Psalm 42 it reads, “As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for You, O God.” (Ps 42:1-2a).
So, on the cross, Jesus, who is the fountain and source of living water, was made so dry and desolate by our sins, that He was extremely thirsty for God, for the living God. He just wanted to be in communion with His Father once again, to know His presence, His love, and His peace.
Have you ever wanted that same thing? Have you ever felt so far away from God, so empty, so dry, so desolate? Have you ever been that thirsty?
This is exactly how Jesus thirsted. Yet look at what they gave Him. “A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to His mouth” (John 19:29). Why did they do this? According to Matthew’s and Mark’s Gospels, this was amusing to the people there. They wanted to keep Jesus alive just a little longer to see if Elijah would come to save Him. They simply wanted the entertainment to continue. It was one final act of cruelty that this world could inflict upon Him.
The reality that is seen so clearly here is that the only thing this world can offer us is sour wine. There is no fulfillment, no peace, no comfort that comes from this sinful world. There is only sour wine. So many things like money, prosperity, fame, sex, power, and entertainment says, “Drink me! Taste me! I will make you happy! I will bring you fulfillment! I will quench your thirst!” However, when you taste it, it’s just sour wine, and so you go on thirsting for more. The same thing that the world offered Jesus it offers to you and I, sour wine. On the other hand, what Jesus offers us is so much more. We all know what it is like to thirst. We know what it’s like to feel the absence of God in our life and the emptiness, the void that sin creates in us. We thirst for the presence of God. We thirst for His love, His forgiveness, His comfort, and His peace. We thirst for a joy that is lasting and a hope that fills us with great confidence. We thirst for life. We thirst for the Living Water that only our Savior offers us.
Therefore, let each one of us truly grab hold of this great truth, that through Jesus’ sacrifice on that cross and His triumphant resurrection He pours out for us an abundance of His living water of love, forgiveness, restoration, peace and life. This is the water He offers so that we will never thirst again. So, answer His invitation and take a good healthy drink.
Lord Jesus, You have said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” Please, give to us that living water so that we will never thirst, but be filled with streams of living water and know Your presence, Your love, Your forgiveness, and the life You alone bring to us. In Your Holy Name we pray. Amen.
Keith Enko