I Thirst Series

I THIRST

TEXT- JOHN 19:28-29

INTRODUCTION

Water has been described as the world’s most valuable natural resource. The Earth contains approximately 326 million cubic miles of water. Almost three-fourths of the Earth’s surface is covered by water.

Water makes up almost two-thirds of the human body. The body needs about 2.5 quarts of water a day to function properly according to some scientist. In an average lifetime, humans will consume over 16,000 gallons of water. The body can survive up to about 40 days without food but only five days without water. I believe that one of the great scientific inventions in medicine was when Doctors learned to re-hydrate the body using IV fluids. If you been in the hospital lately you noticed the first things they do is hook you up to an IV.

Considering that water is so essential in the physical realm, it should come as no surprise that water is important in the spiritual realm.

SERMON

The most immediate need of the human body, outside of oxygen, is water. When being crucified one of worst pains is a need for water. The historians say it was agonizing. As the victims hung on the cross their mouths and throats cried for water. Their lips crack and bleed and their eyes are glazed. Their tongues swelled in their mouths. Their thirst was horrible.

It’s possible that Jesus had nothing to drink for 18 hours, maybe since the Passover meal. The Bible says he sweated blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. Then for a long time He was forced to be on is feet as He was interrogated by Annas, then to stand before Caiaphas, then before Pilate, then before Herod, and back again before Pilate.

He had been beaten by the soldiers, and He was forced to wear a crown of thorns. I’m sure He was bleeding and this meant precious fluid was pouring from His body. Jesus carried the cross until He fell out of exhaustion. Then for 6 agonizing hours our Lord hung on the cross and continued to lose body fluids. I’m sure by this time He was completely dehydrated, so it is no wonder that the 5th statement from the cross was, “I thirst” John says, as a response to this statement, someone took a sponge and soaked in a jar of sour wine- put it on a stick and lifted it up to Jesus’ lips.

I want to point out four important truths that Jesus conveyed with this short sentence, and the first is:

JESUS WAS SAYING, “I AM WHO I SAY I AM.”

I guess you could say that He was saying, “I am the long-awaited Messiah of God.” If you look at the words that precede His 5th statement you can see what I mean. “Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished- so that the scriptures would be fulfilled-said, “I am thirsty.”

Now the word we translate as, “knowing” does not mean to know by experience or to come to know something by research, but it means to know it innately. This knowledge comes to His mind instantly. He knew all prophesy concerning Him up to that point had been fulfilled- everything that was suppose to happen had happened. Every thing except one thing- His expression of thirst.

An average person would probably not have known that because there was so many prophesies to be fulfilled. The scholars say there were 332 Old Testament prophecies that described the Messiah. Jesus fulfilled every one of them during His life and death. The probabilities of a person being able to do this is astronomical. It would be impossible! There is no room for doubt that Jesus was who He said that He was. In the last 24 hours of His life, over 20 scriptures from the Old Testament were fulfilled.

So, in order for all prophesy to be completed, He said, “I am Thirsty.” The prophecy that was fulfilled is found in Psalm 69.

Psalm 69: 21, “ They also gave me gall for food

And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

Why do you think that God had so many prophesies to be fulfilled? I really believe so that there could be no doubt about who the true Messiah was, and it was Jesus Christ. He truly was the Son of God. God knew when all doubt was removed that we could put our faith in Him.

2-WITH THOSE THREE WORDS JESUS WAS ALSO SAYING, “I UNDERSTAND.”

Jesus was and is omniscient GOD who knows all things- including the hundreds of prophesies concerning the Messiah. But He was also a MAN-who endured all of the things we endure in our life and more. Theologians put together two important facts, and refer to Jesus as the “THEANTHROPIC PERSON”. This comes from two GREEK words: “theos” meaning God and “Antropos,” meaning man. If you combined those two you get the best word to describe Jesus, and it is the GOD-MAN.