"I Thirst" Series

The last reason that I believe why God inspired John to record this statement is probably the clearest in the text. To show us through the fulfillment of the scripture that He was indeed the Messiah. In verse 28 it said, “…and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty. You see in Psalm 22:15 it predicted the thirst of Christ when it said, “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth…” In Psalm 69:21 says, “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” The Sour wine was essentially vinegar. Both of these Psalms begin with the sufferings of David but have their full meaning in the sufferings of Jesus. The greatest thing to me is that even at his point of greatest pain and suffering that Christ would make sure that every prophecy is fulfilled. Max Lucado in his book “He Chose the Nails” wrote this, “Why in his final moments, was Jesus determined to fulfill prophecy? He knew we would doubt. He knew we would question. And since he did not want our heads to keep his love from our hearts, he used his final moments to offer proof that he was the Messiah.” I think all of us at one time or another in our Christian experience, if we are honest, have thought to ourselves. What if Jesus Christ really isn’t the Son of God? What if He was just some lunatic claiming to be? But you see God’s prophecies should remove all doubt. There are hundreds of prophecies from the Old Testament that the life of Christ fulfilled that should give us confidence that He was no doubt the Son of God. These prophecies were written hundreds of years before Christ. We know that from professionals who have dated the books. According to the Old Testament prophecies the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, to be born of a virgin, to enter into Jerusalem in triumph, was to be rejected by his own people, was to be betrayed by one of his own followers, was to be tried and condemned, was to be silent before his accusers. Christ fulfilled every one of those prophecies and the list doesn’t stop there. According to the prophecies the Messiah was to be struck and spat by his enemies, mocked and insulted, was to die by crucifixion, He was to suffer with criminals and pray for his enemies, they were to cast lots for his garments, his bones were not to be broken. The list goes on and on, but the life of Christ fulfilled every one of those prophecies and there are still so many more. Our Father in Heaven wanted us to know that Christ was indeed His son and the Messiah sent into the world to save us from our sins. Christ’ thirst on the cross was just the final statements of many proclaiming Him to be the Son of God. Yet there are so many today who do not believe Christ to be the Messiah. Most of the Jewish people who follow the Jewish religion are still waiting on their Messiah to come. Somehow they have dismissed all of the evidence. In their minds they are still stuck on a Messiah who fits their perceptions of what a Messiah is to be. They can’t understand a Savior who could be nailed to a tree and killed. They can’t understand a Savior who through his death on the cross paid the ultimate price for you and I. Thank goodness for the growing success of the Jews for Jesus ministry that have opened the eyes of many Jews to see that their Messiah has already come and it’s not too late to accept Him as their Messiah. That same rings true for you today. Maybe you’ve always believed in God, but you were never sure that Christ was who He said He was. I beg of you to read and examine the evidence. God has given us all the evidence that we need. Even at the very end, Christ gave us one more piece of evidence to say, I am HE!