BBD 04.12.14 I Thirst (New)
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04.14.14
I Thirst
After this, Jesus, knowing that all
things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I
thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a
sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. - John
19:28-29 NKJV.
For human life to exist there must be water
because more than half of the human body consists of water. According to
About.com, “The average adult human body is 50-65% water, averaging around
57-60%.” In Dala, Myanmar, lines of people form every afternoon to obtain a
couple of buckets of drinking water from a reservoir near Yangon. For each
bucket of water the cost is 10 kyats, about 10 cents (U.S.). People walk for
miles for the water, but they hope in a year or two the government will install
pipes to provide them with water closer to their homes (NewsOk.com; FoxNews
04.12.14). In the United States, we still have drought conditions across much
of the country. Parts of Australia have also experienced a drought along with
other places in the world. If we want to live, we must have water.
I have been preaching through the last seven
statements of Jesus from the cross. “I thirst”
is the fifth statement. “I thirst” speaks to the
humanity of Jesus and we can all understand it. Most of us have been thirsty
before. We have perhaps worked out in the hot sun becoming so thirsty that our
bodies begin to rebel until we find some water to drink. With this statement,
Jesus is identifying with all of humanity because He not only is fully divine,
but also fully human.
One of the early heresies of the Christian
faith was Docetism. Those believing this heresy agreed with the deity of
Christ, but rejected his humanity. Their view was that Jesus only appeared to
be human denying that Jesus suffered while on the cross. Jesus’ fifth statement
from the cross confronts this heresy allowing all to see His humanity.
Why was it necessary for Jesus to suffer as a
human being on the cross? Hebrews 2:14-18
explains, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken
of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death
He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and
release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the
seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren,
that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to
God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself
has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”
Without the human suffering of Jesus, we would not have a Savior. Jesus became
the perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God, by being tempted in His humanity at all
points like we are, yet without sin. As we are told in Hebrews
4:15, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
In this Easter season, we can have hope when
we feel pain whether that pain is physical or mental. We can have hope when we
feel alone, because God Himself has suffered. He knows what it is like to be
human, to be like you and me. He knows what it is like to experience the very
worst that life can send a person’s way.
Because Jesus experienced thirst, He has
become the Savior who alone can satisfy our spiritual thirst. In Revelation 21:6 Jesus shouts to all that would hear
and believe, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely
to him who THIRSTS.” Come to Jesus and receive forgiveness for your
sins! Come to Jesus and find meaning, purpose, peace, and eternal life! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life
(John 3:16).” Will you allow Jesus to quench your thirst?
Copyright © 2014. Ed Wrather. The
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