Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” John 19:28
Thirst – having or showing a strong desire for something.
I usually have a bottle of water (reusable – save the planet) with me. I have one on my desk at work, and I especially have one when I walk. According to Brainfacts.org, the urge to drink is a natural instinct regulated by a negative feedback loop (self-regulating system) between the brain and other organs of the body. Water is the most abundant molecule in the body, making up 70% of our body’s weight. But lately I have been thirsting for more of God in my life and less of me. Perhaps this is the Holy Spirit self-regulating my system because I have become too full of myself.
We all feel thirsty at one time or another, whether it is physical after a walk/run or emotional like a desire for friendship or peace. So was Jesus’ statement of “I am thirsty” a physical need or an emotional need? At first glance, it may seem that after Jesus had been on the cross for many hours, this was just a physical/human statement. And it may have been, but John also states it was “so that scripture would come true.”
Many scholars think Jesus was fulfilling Psalm 69:21b. ”For my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Earlier Jesus had refused to drink the vinegar, gall and myrrh offered to Him (Matt 27:34 & Mark 15:23). This time, He received the drink. So yes, this fulfills prophecy, but perhaps it was something more.
When Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at the well, He never said he was thirsty. He just asked for a drink as a segue to offer her living water. “Whoever drinks the water that I give will never be thirsty.”(John 4:14) So how could the giver of living water be thirsty?
While studying for this blog, I kept coming across Isaiah 55 in other Bible studies that I was doing. “All who are thirsty come and drink.” (Isaiah 55:1.) But what really caught my attention was Isaiah 55:11.
“so is my word that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
God’s word is not empty. Jesus had prayed not to have to drink of the cup (Mark 14: 24 & 25). He knew he had to suffer for our sins and that meant separation from God. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be the sacrifice for us. Later, the Hebrew letter reminds us that His blood brings us purity so we may serve the living God.
Just as Jesus took on our sin, He also experienced our thirst for God. We thirst for God because of sin that separates us from Him. On the cross when Jesus took on our sins, He was separated from God.
“ Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him and by his wounds, we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:4-6)
In order to appreciate the cross, we must understand how sinful we are. We tend to think we are more righteous on our own than we truly are. Jesus, who knew no sin until the cross, is overwhelmed with my pride, self-centeredness, putting other activities (idols) before God - the list is long. All of my sins and your sins were put on Jesus.
So perhaps He thirsted for the closeness to God (paradise) that he was used to, just as we all should. But we will not be thirsty forever.
Revelations 21:6 says, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.”
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