The Message of Thirst
John 12:35-36, John 14:1, Act 14:23, Rom 15:13, Heb 2:13, John 19:28-30, Psa 107:35, 114:8
Isa 44:3, John 4:6, Mark 6:6, John 2:15, Mark 4:38, John 11:35, Mat 4:2, Mark 15:22—24,
Heb 4:15-16, John 19:28,13:18, 17:12, 19:24, 36, 37, 20:9, 2 Cor 1:3—5
December 17, 2000
I. Have you ever thought about how much of our relationship to God is based on trust?
John 12:35-36 NIV Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light."
(John 14:1 NIV) "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me.
(Acts 14:23 NIV) Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
(Rom 15:13 NIV) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
(Heb 2:13 NIV) And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again he says, "Here am I, and the children God has given me."
A. I had a horse once, that was the best cow horse that I had ever ridden.
B. She was a quarter horse and she could run like the wind and make any turn that any cow tired to use to get rid of her.
C. But she had one problem, she wouldn’t cross a creek.
D. I tried everything I talked to her and tried to lead her into a creek. She would have no part of it
E. I put a rope behind her and tried to drag her into a creek. She wouldn’t buy it.
F. One day in sheer desperation I put her in a full run when I saw a creek ahead of us and in hopes that she would see it too late and not be able to stop, and run through it and see that it was all right, but that only worked until she saw the creek because she was also able to stop on a dime, but I wasn’t and I went over her head at warp speed and landed in the creek.
G. I always wished that I could some how learn horse. I wished that I could know what it was like to be a horse, so I could know what it was that she feared, and then I could tell the horse to trust me it would be all right to go through the creek.
II. I know, you think it s crazy for a man to want to become a horse? But the trip from man to horse is shorter than the one from being God to being a man, or heaven to earth. But Jesus took it. Why? Why did he do that?
A. He wants us to trust him.
B. Think about that for a minute. Why did Jesus live on the earth as long as he did?
C. Couldn t his life have been much shorter? Why not step into our world just long enough to die for our sins and then leave? Why not a sinless year or week? Why did he have to live a life?
D. To take on our sins is one thing, but to take on our sunburns, and sore throats? To experience death, yes—but to put up with life? To put up with long roads, long days, and short tempers? Why did he do it?
E. Because he wants you to trust him.
F. Even his final act on earth was intended to win your trust.
G. Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."
(John 19:28-30 NIV) A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished: With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
III. This is the final act of Jesus life. In the last act of His Earthy life we hear the sounds of a thirsty man.
A. And through his thirst—through a sponge and a jar of cheap wine—he leaves a final request.
B. "Trust me."
C. Jesus has cracked lips and mouth of cotton. His Throat so dry he can t swallow, and his voice is so hoarse he can hardly speak. He’s thirsty. To find the last time moisture touched His lips you have to go back a dozen hours to the meal in the upper room. The first lord’s Supper.
D. Since tasting that cup of wine, Jesus has been beaten, spit upon, bruised, and cut. He has carried a cross and bore the sin of the whole world, and no liquid has wet his throat. He’s thirsty.
E. Why doesn t he do something about it? Couldn t he?
1. Didn’t he cause jugs of water to be jugs of wine?
2. Didn’t he make a wall out of the Jordan River and two walls out of the Red Sea?
3. Didn t he, with one word, banish the rain and calm the waves?
4. Doesn t Scripture say in Psa 107:35 that he "(Psa 107:35 NIV) He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs;?
5. And doesn’t it say in (Psa 114:8 NIV) that He turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.
6. Didn’t God say, in "(Isa 44:3 NIV) For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground;
F. So, why does Jesus endure thirst?
G. While we are asking this question, add a few more.
H. Why did he get tired in Samaria (John 4:6 NIV) Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
1. Why did he get amazed in Nazareth (Mark 6:6 NIV) And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.
2. Why do we see him angry in the Temple (John 2:15 NIV) So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
3. Why was he sleepy in the boat on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:38 NIV) Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?"
4. Why was he sad at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35 NIV) Jesus wept.
5. And why was he hungry in the wilderness (Mat 4:2 NIV) After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
6. Why? And why was he thirsty on the cross?
I. He didn t have to suffer thirst. At least, not to the level he did. Six hours earlier he d been offered drink, but he refused it.
They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. (Mark 15:22—24 NIV)
J. Before the nail was pounded, a drink was offered. Mark says the wine was mixed with myrrh.
1. Matthew described it as wine mixed with gall. Both myrrh and gall contain sedative properties that numb the senses. But Jesus refused them.
2. He refused to be stupefied by the drugs, opting instead to feel the full force of his suffering.
3. Why? Why did he endure all these feelings? Because he knew you would feel them too.
K. He knew you would be tired, amazed, and angry.
1. He knew you d be sleepy, grief-stricken, and hungry.
2. He knew you d face pain. If not the pain of the body, the pain of the soul pain too sharp for any drug.
3. He knew you d face thirst. If not a thirst for water, at least a thirst for truth, and the truth we collect from the image of a thirsty Christ is—HE UNDERSTANDS. HE UNDERSTANDS US.
4. And because he understands, we can come to him.
L. Wouldn t his lack of understanding keep us from him?
1. Doesn t the lack of understanding keep us from others?
2. Suppose you were discouraged by your financial condition. You need some guidance from a sympathetic friend. Would you go to the son of a zillionaire? (Remember, you re asking for guidance, not a handout.)
3. Would you approach someone who inherited a fortune? Probably not.
4. Why? They wouldn’t understand. He s likely never been where you are, so he can t relate to how you feel.
5. Jesus, however, has and can. He has been where you are and can relate to how you feel.
M. And if his life on earth doesn t convince you, his death on the cross should. He understands what you are going through.
1. Our Lord does not patronize us or mock our needs. He responds "generously to all without finding fault"
N. How can he do that? No one made it more clear than did the author of Hebrews.
1. (Heb 4:15-16 NIV) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
2. Why did the throat of heaven grow raw? So we would know that he understands; so all who struggle would hear his invitation:
3. "You can trust me.
O. The word trust is not in the passage about the wine and sponge, but we do find a phrase that makes it easier to trust.
P. Look at the sentence prior to Jesus’ saying He was thirsty: "So that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty" (John 19:28 NIV).
1. In that verse John gives us the motive behind Jesus words. Our Lord was concerned with the fulfillment of Scripture.
2. In fact, the fulfillment of Scripture is a recurring theme in the Jesus’ life and suffering.
Q. Look at this list:
1. The betrayal of Jesus by Judas occurred "to bring about what the Scripture said." (John 13:18 NIV) "I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: ’He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.’
2. (John 17:12 NIV) While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
R. The gamble for the clothing took place (John 19:24 NIV) "Let’s not tear it," they said to one another. "Let’s decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did.
1. The legs of Jesus were not broken "(John 19:36 NIV) These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken,"
2. The side of Jesus was pierced to fulfill the passage that says in , (John 19:37 NIV) "They will look on the one they have pierced."
3. John says the disciples were stunned by the empty tomb since (John 20:9 NIV) (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
S. Why the recurring references to Scripture? Why, in his final moments, was Jesus determined to fulfill prophecy?
1. He knew we would doubt. He knew we would question.
2. 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. He systematically fulfilled centuries-old prophecies.
3. Every important detail of the great tragedy had been written down beforehand:
4. The betrayal by a familiar friend (Psa 41:9 NIV) Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
5. The forsaking of the disciples through being offended at him (Psa 31:11 NIV)
6. The false accusation (Ps. 35:11)
7. The silence before his judges (Isa. 53:7)
8. Being proven guiltless (Isa. 53:9)
9. Being included with sinners (Isa. 53:12)
10. Being crucified (Ps. 22:16)
11. The mockery of the spectators (Ps. 109:25)
12. The taunt of non-deliverance (Ps. 22:7—8)
13. The gambling for his garments (Ps. 22:18)
14. The prayer for his enemies (Isa. 53:12)
15. Being forsaken by God (Ps. 22:1)
16. The yielding of his spirit into the hands of his Father (Ps. 31:5)
17. The bones not broken (Ps. 34:20)
18. The burial in a rich man s tomb (Isa. 53:9)
T. Did you know that in his life Jesus fulfilled 332 distinct prophecies in the Old Testament?
U. Do you know what the mathematical possibilities of all these prophecies being fulfilled in the life of one man are?
1. 840,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 00,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000 000 000,000, 000,000
2. That s 84 and ninety-seven zeroes to one! We don’t even have a name for that number that I know of.!
V. Why did Jesus proclaim his thirst from the cross? To lay just one more plank on a sturdy bridge that would give a doubter a place to walk over.
1. His confession of thirst is a signal for all who seek it—he is the Messiah.
2. His final act, then, is a warm word for the cautious: "You can trust in me."
3. Don t we need someone to trust?
4. And don t we need someone to trust who is bigger than we are?
5. Aren t we tired of trusting the people of this earth for understanding?
6. Aren t we weary of trusting the things of this earth for strength?
7. A drowning sailor doesn t call on another drowning sailor for help.
8. A prisoner doesn t beg another prisoner to set him free.
9. A beggar knows better than to beg from another beggar.
10. He knows he needs someone who is stronger than he is.
W. Jesus message through the wine-soaked sponge is this: I am that person. Trust me.
IV. Jesus came from the throne room of God to a manger. He knew what it was like to feel the chill of a winter night.
A. He knew what it was to be hungry, He knew what is was to be amazed, hurt, forsaken, and thirsty.
B. And, even more than that what I think of most about is that He knew what it was to be helpless.
C. He saw us helpless in our sin, and knew that we could trust someone who knew what it was to be helpless, so He came as a baby, the most helpless form of a human that there is.
D. The message is clear, you can trust Him, and when you trust Him you can be transformed from helplessness to eternal hopefulness.
E. Trust Him! Trust Him while the chance is here...He earned it, and you need what it brings.
