I Thirst

Friday April 12, 2001 City Wide Good Friday Service First Presbyterian Church, Hobbs, NM

Friday March 31, 2002 City Wide Good Friday Service First Christian Church, Hobbs, NM

Series: Good Friday

I THIRST

John 19:28

Introduction:

1. Thirst is a horrible thing. Those who claim to know, say that death from thirst is a horribly painful and slow way to go. The body dries up, deprived of its most essential ingredient. Functions begin to fail. Organs shut down. We can do without lots of thing, but remove water and we cannot exist.

2. Let me set the scene for you again.

The Scene

1. Jesus has been deprived of any fluids. He has undergone enormous suffering and stress over the last hours. He has been hanging on the cross for hours.

2. His body is dehydrated, and his physical suffering enormous. Parched, but no relief.

3. As we watch the suffering of Christ we become acutely aware that this suffering was very real and very physical. The basic elements needed for life were withheld from Him, and every pore of His body, and the tongue swollen with thirst reveal the intensity of the suffering.

4. Can you hear Jesus speak- His throat is dry and voice is weakened- we can hear Him clearly.

The Words

1. And now we hear these words, “I thirst.”

2. In these words Jesus reveals His humanity- He was suffering and wanted some relief- a little water.

3. His suffering is real. He was not removed from it. His experience of physical pain was as deep and real as any that we would experience.

4. Jesus identifies with people in agony; people deprived of basic life giving elements.

5. In our physical pain we are not alone for God Himself has suffered. He understands.

6. This though was not the first time Jesus said these words. Remember His conversation with the woman at the well? His thirst fro water led to her understanding her thirst for salvation.

7. The body needs water to survive. We die without it. The soul needs to be quenched, too. Without proper nourishment it, too, will shrive, droop, grow brittle and eventually die. The thirsty soul- that is the soul without a living, open pipeline for nourishment from the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Lord of Life. The thirsty soul is the soul that wanders through the desert of life without ever being replenished from the waters of Heaven; without the touch of the Spirit of God.

8. These words reminds us of Christ’s suffering and also of His provision for our deepest need.