After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” John 19:28
1. The humanity of Jesus.
1 Timothy 3:16: Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh…
“While then there is much about the person of Christ which we cannot fathom with our own understanding, yet there is everything about Him to admire and adore: foremost are His deity and humanity, and the perfect union of these two in one person. The Lord Jesus was not a divine man, nor a humanized God; He was the God-man. Forever God, and now forever man. When the Beloved of the Father became incarnate He did not cease to be God, nor did He lay aside any of His divine attributes, though He did strip Himself of the glory which He had with the Father before the world was. But in the incarnation, the Word became flesh and tabernacled among men. He ceased not to be all that He was previously, but He took to Himself that which He had not before—perfect humanity.” (A.W. Pink)
Philippians 2:6–7: …though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself,
by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
2. The intensity of Jesus’ sufferings.
“That night and that day, were hours into which an eternity was compressed. Yet during it all, not a single word of murmuring passed His lips. There was no complaining, no begging for mercy. All His suffering had been borne in majestic silence. Like a sheep dumb before her shearers so He opened not His mouth. But now, at the end, His whole body wracked with pain, His mouth parched, He cries, “I thirst.” It was not an appeal for pity, nor a request for the alleviation of His sufferings; it gave expression to the intensity of the agonies He was undergoing.” (A.W. Pink)
Lamentations 1:12–13: Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was
brought upon me, which the LORD inflicted on the day of his fierce anger. [13] “From on high he sent fire; into my bones he made it
descend; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned, faint all the day long.
Psalm 42:1–3: As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. [2] My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God? [3] My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”
3. Jesus’ deep reverence for the Scriptures.
Psalm 1:1–2: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of
scoffers; [2] but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 69:21: They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
“How completely self-possessed the Saviour was! He had hung on that Cross for six hours and had passed through unparalleled suffering, yet is His mind clear and His memory unimpaired. He had before Him, with perfect distinctness, the whole truth of God. He reviewed the entire scope of Messianic prediction. He remembers there is one prophetic Scripture unaccomplished. He overlooked nothing. What proof is this that He was divinely superior to all circumstances!” (A.W. Pink)
Psalm 119:35–36: Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. [36] Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!
4. Jesus’ submission to the Father’s will.
“… (Jesus) never once performed a miracle for His own benefit or comfort. When tempted by Satan to do this, He refused. Why did He now decline to satisfy His pressing need? Why hang there on the Cross with parched lips? Because in the volume of the Book which expressed God’s will, it was written that He should thirst, and that thirsting He should be “given” vinegar to drink. And He came here to do God’s will, and therefore did He submit.” (A.W. Pink)
Philippians 4:11: …for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
“What! grumble at a cup of water, who deserved but a cup of wrath. O lay it to heart and learn to be contented with what you have, though it be but the very barest necessaries of life. Complain not if you dwell in but a humble hovel, for your Saviour had not where to lay His head! Complain not if you have nought but bread to eat, for your Saviour lacked that for forty days! Complain not if you have only water to drink, for your Saviour was denied even that in the hour of death!” (A.W. Pink)
5. Jesus sympathizes with His suffering people.
“The Cross shows us that God is not ignorant of our sor- rows, for in the person of His Son He has Himself “borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows” (Isa 53:4)! The Cross shows us God is not unmindful of our distress and anguish, for becoming incarnate He suffered Himself! The Cross tells us God is not indifferent to pain, for in the Saviour He experienced it!” (A.W. Pink)
Hebrews 4:15: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has
been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
“Here then is comfort for the aching heart. No matter how despondent you may be, no matter how rugged your path and sad your lot, you are invited to spread it all before the Lord Jesus and cast all your care upon Him, knowing that “He careth for you” (1Pe 5:7). Is your body wracked with pain? So was His! Are you misunderstood, misjudged, misrepresented? So was He! Have those who are nearest and dearest turned away from you? They did from Him! Are you in the darkness? So was He for three hours!” (A.W. Pink)
Hebrews 2:17–18: Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. [18] For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
6. Thirst is the expression of our universal need.
“Over all the cisterns of this world’s providing is written in letters of ineffaceable truth, ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again’ (John 4:13). So it is also with the religious man or woman: we mean, the religious without Christ. How many there are who go the weary round of religious performances, and find nothing to meet their deep need! They are members of an evangelical denomination; they attend church regularly, contribute of their means to the pastor’s support, read their Bibles occasionally, and sometimes pray, or, if they use a “prayer-book,” say their prayers every night. And yet, after it all, if they are honest, their cry is still ‘I thirst.’”
John 4:13–14: Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, [14] 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.”
Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Luke 16:24: And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool
my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’
7. Jesus still thirsts!
“There is a sense, a real one, in which Christ still thirsts. He is thirsting for the love and devotion of His own. He is yearning for fellowship with His blood-bought people. Here is one of the great marvels of grace—a redeemed sinner can offer that which satisfies the heart of Christ! I can understand how I ought to appreciate His love, but how wonderful that He—the all-sufficient One—should appreciate my love! I have learned how blessed to my own soul is communion with Him, but who would have supposed that my communion was blessed to Christ ! Yet it is. For this He still “thirsts.” Grace enables us to offer that which refreshes Him. Wondrous thought!” (A.W. Pink)
Revelation 3:20: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat
with him, and he with me.