Introduction:
It’s interesting that
John passes over the three hours of darkness surrounding
the Cross lasting from noon until three o’clock in
the afternoon. Rather he draws our attention to another
amazing action and saying from the Cross!
John 19 v 28.
"After this, Jesus
knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the
scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst"
I say interesting, because
what Jesus is doing here is absolutly amazing. In the
midst of his deepest hour of suffering, shame and ignominy
once again we find Him in his heart and mind searching
the Scriptures, ensuring that all Scripture surrounding
Himself and the Cross-work were complete. He would honour
His father come what may or what must.
The word in our text "fulfilled"
is the word in the original teleioo ("consummated").
And as our dear Saviour hangs on that Old Rugged Cross
He is observing one after another the fulfilment of the
Scriptures that foretold various aspects of His suffering.
He had been crucified, and His hands and feet pierced
Psalm 22 v 16. His enemies had mocked Him, using the very
words of the psalmist Psalm 22 v 8. The soldiers had gambled
for His garment Psalm 22 v 18. He had been abandoned by
God and had cried out Psalm 22v1.
But here is yet another
Scripture that has not yet been fulfilled, the prediction
of Psalm 69 v 21. In order that the whole prophetic picture
concerning His death would be complete, He cries out,
"I thirst."
The people who hanged Christ
never accused Him of being a bore; on the contrary, they
thought Him too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for
later generations to muffle up that shattering personality
and surround Him with the atmosphere of tedium. We have
very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah,
certified Him "meek and mild," and recommended
Him as a fitting
household pet for pale
curates and pious old ladies. To those who knew Him, however,
He in no way suggested a milk-and-water person; they objected
to Him as a dangerous firebrand. True, He was tender to
the unfortunate, patient with honest inquirers, and humble
before heaven; but He insulted respectable clergymen by
calling them hypocrites; He referred to King Herod as
"that fox"; He went to parties in disreputable
company and was looked upon as a "gluttonous man
and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners";
He insulted indignant tradesmen and threw them and their
belongings out of the Temple, He showed no proper deference
for wealth or social position; when confronted with neat
dialectical traps, He displayed a paradoxical humour that
affronted serious-minded people, and He retorted by asking
disagreeable questions that could not be answered by rule
of thumb,-- But He had a "daily beauty in his life
that made us ugly," and officialdom felt that the
established order of things would be more secure without
Him. So they did away with God in the name of peace and
quietness.
But beloved, when Jesus
cried out "I thirst" He was giving notice to
all Heaven, all Hell, and all Humans that He was indeed-----
- The Suffering Son Of Man!
This most surely must have
been the deepest and severest time of physical suffering
He had ever experienced.
He had suffered such amazing
agony in Gethsemane’s Garden! He had suffered in
those harrowing hearings before Caiaphas and Annas! He
had suffered public humiliation in those mock trials before
Pilate and Herod. He had suffered fearsome scourging with
a Roman lash! He had a spiked crown pressed upon His head
until the blood flowed free! He had been made to carry
that heavy cross of wood in an ongoing weakening state!
He was eventually laid flat on that same cross of wood
and had massive nails pierced through His flesh! He was
hung upon that awful Roman gibbet in the heat of the noonday
sun and through the three hours of the deepest darkness
this world had ever
known. But of all the physical
agonies that come to a human body, thirst must surely
be the most painful, I am told it is beyond the power
of words to describe or explain. Without doubt, Jesus
Christ was suffering Physically!
But here is a point worth
thinking about from a worthy preacher of the past.
"All thought worth
thinking is conceived in the furnace of suffering."
Bishop Thomas Carlyle.
God is a Master Artist.
And there are aspects of your life and character-good,
quality things-he wants others to notice. So without using
blatant tricks or obvious gimmicks, God brings the cool,
dark contrast of suffering into your life. That contrast,
laid up against the golden character of Christ within
you, will draw attention . . . to him. Light against darkness.
Beauty against affliction. Joy against sorrow. A sweet,
patient spirit against pain and disappointment-major contrasts
that have a way of attracting notice. You are the canvas
on which he paints glorious truths, sharing beauty, and
inspiring others. So that people might see him. Joni Eareckson
Tada.
You see dear people, what
is taking place on this old rugged cross when our dear
Saviour cries out "I thirst" among other things
is, He is identifying with His dear believing people in
all their suffering. He is touched with the feeling of
our infirmities.
Have ever you felt like
Solomon? Eccl. 2 v 20.
"Therefore I turned
my heart and despaired of all the labour in which I had
toiled under the sun."
Have you ever been there?
Is it worth going on? Whatever I do simply turns back
upon me and I feel like crying out, Vanity of Vanities.
Listen beloved, because
our dear Saviour has suffered, He knows!
He knows exactly what we
are going through. Therefore he says to us "My son
give me thine heart" Proverbs 23 v 26. You see it
was His heart of love and willing sacrifice to plum the
depth of suffering that He might understand our suffering
which was given. It’s like deep calling unto deep!
The deep of His suffering calling unto the deep of our
suffering saying, I know, I understand, I have been there,
I am touched with those deep feelings of your infirmities.
The Lord Jesus gave His
heart and he says unto us, "give me your heart"
If we are to understand Him, to know Him, then we need
to give up our hearts to Him because heads don’t
make good martyrs.
The Duke of Windsor, then
prince of Wales, arranged to visit a hospital in London
where some of the sorest wounded and mutilated soldiers
in the First Great World War were being treated. The medical
superintendent met him and was showing him round. ‘I
hear you have in this hospital some of the worst wounded
men from the war,’ said the prince. ‘How many
altogether?’ On learning that there were 36, the
prince asked to be permitted to go round their ward and
see them all. He was taken into a ward, and saw badly
wounded soldiers all lying as comfortably as it was possible
to make them and receiving the very best of attention.
He went around the ward stopping at every bed with a cheery
word, asking about relatives, wives and families, encouraged
them with words of hopefulness and a thank you for their
sacrifice. Then, turning to the Medical Officer, he said,
‘Doctor! You told me there were 36 badly wounded
men: I have only seen 30 in this ward. Where are the other
six?’ ‘Your Highness!’ said the doctor,
‘the others are in such pitiable condition that we
thought it well to spare you the pain of visiting them.’
‘But doctor, I must see them all, every one.’
So they went into another ward where lay five men, terribly
wounded and disfigured, some of them blind, some having
lost limbs, and all just physical wrecks. The Prince was
deeply moved, and showed his affection for every man there.
‘But where is the thirty-sixth man?’ he asked.
‘I must see him also.’ The medical Superintendent,
realising that the Prince was not to be put off, led him
into a side ward in which lay a young man of nineteen
in a dreadful condition—blind, disfigured, maimed—a
wreck of a fine physique he had once possessed. The Prince,
stooping down, kissed the young man on the forehead, and
as he rose, with tears streaming his cheeks, he turned
to the doctor and said, ‘Doctor, wounded for me,
wounded for me.’ Lady Kinnaird.
Wherever I go I find dear
people who are hurting. There is physical pain, emotional
pain, matrimonial pain, family pain, financial pain and
indeed spiritual pain. But my Lord, the Suffering Son
of Man, who cried from the cross ‘I thirst’
has identified Himself with all our suffering, giving
us encouragement to call on His name, to keep going on,
not to turn back and quit when the way grows tough and
weary. You see beloved, through His suffering there is
Grace to help. He was wounded for me!
Grace to help you suffer,
sacrifice, stand, supplicate, surrender and start again.
Through Christ Jesus there
is Grace for every need.
"The grace of God
is infinite and eternal. As it had no beginning, so it
can have no end, and being an attribute of God, it is
as boundless as infinitude." A. W. Tozer.
"Grace can pardon
our ungodliness and justify us with Christ's righteousness;
it can put the Spirit of Jesus Christ within us; it can
help us when we are down; it can heal us when we are wounded;
it can multiply pardons, as we through frailty multiply
transgressions." John Bunyan.
"Grace binds you with
far stronger cords than the cords of duty or obligation
can bind you. Grace is free, but when once you take it,
you are bound forever to the Giver and bound to catch
the spirit of the Giver. Like produces like. Grace makes
you gracious, the Giver makes you give." E. Stanley
Jones.
2. The Sanctified Servant
Of God!
Why did Jesus say ‘I
thirst’? Why, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled!
John 4 v 34.
"My meat is to do
the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work."
Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem?
That the Scriptures might be fulfilled!
Why was Jesus brought into
Egypt? That the Scriptures might be fulfilled!
Why did Jesus go to Nazareth?
That the Scriptures might be fulfilled!
Why did Jesus do what He
did? That the Scriptures might be fulfilled!
Paul reminds us in Philippians
2 v 8.
"And being found in
fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross."
The most important thing
in the life of Jesus was to know and do the will of His
Father. And dear folks, the most important thing in the
life of every believer is to know the will of God and
do it.
Paul puts it like this
in Ephesians 6 v 6-8.
" Not with eye-service,
as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing
the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service,
as to the Lord, and not to men: knowing that whatsoever
good any man doeth, the same shall receive of the Lord,
whether he be bond or free."
Now beloved, we need to
mark this and mark it well. He is not talking here about
running after people because of what they own nor have
in the bank in the hope that you as an individual or indeed
the church by way of legacy will benefit. He is talking
about knowing and doing the will of God for His glory!
Even in the midst of our
dear Saviour’s suffering He was doing the will of
God from the heart, He was in every respect the Sanctified
Servant of God and would obey the will of His Father completely.
Why are you doing the job
you are just now? Is it the will of God?
Why are you making those
plans just now? Are they the will of God?
Why are you doing that
course or studies? Is it the will of God?
Why have you maintained
that relationship? Is it the will of God?
Why are you making those
changes? Are they the will of God?
Why are you using your
money like that? Is it the will of God?
Why are you changing homes?
Is it the will of God?
In other words is your
life lived in the centre of the will of God?
The hymn writer put it
well when he penned----
When we walk with the Lord,
in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on
our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust
and obey!
Trust and obey! For there’s
no other way
To be happy in Jesus but
to trust and obey.
"If for one whole
day, quietly and determinedly, we were to give ourselves
up to the ownership of Jesus and to obeying His orders,
we should be amazed at its close to realise all he had
packed into that one day."
Oswald Chambers.
"No bliss I seek,
but to fulfil, In life, in death, thy lovely will;
No succour in my woes I
want, Except what thou art pleased to grant.
Our days are numbered-let
us spare, Our anxious hearts a needless care;
'Tis thine to number out
our days, And ours to give them to thy praise." Madame
Guyon.
A visitor at a school for
the auditory impaired was writing questions on the blackboard
for the children. By and by he wrote this sentence; "Why
has God made me to hear and speak, and made you without
hearing and speech?" That awful sentence fell upon
the little ones like a fierce blow. They sat palsied before
that dreadful "Why?" Eventually a little girl
rose from her seat, lips trembling, eyes swimming with
tears, straight to the blackboard she walked, picked up
the chalk, wrote with firm hand these precious words.
"Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in your sight!"
What a reply! It reaches up and lays hold of an eternal
truth upon which the maturest believer as well as the
youngest child of God may alike securely rest—the
truth that God is your Father and all He allows in the
life is only to help, never to hurt. Arthur Christopher
Bacon.
Our dear Saviour’s
suffering on that old rugged cross was of the severest
kind and would lead ultimately to death. Humanly speaking,
how can anyone fathom that? To think that God the Father
would allow His beloved Son to suffer and bleed and die
for you and for me, mystery of mysteries!
That amazing action reinforces
for us that whatever God allows in our lives is only for
our good and His glory.
No chance hath brought
this ill to me; ‘Tis God’s own hand, so let
it be,
He seeth what I cannot
see. There is a need-be for each pain,
And He one day will make
it plain that earthly loss is heavenly gain.
Like as a piece of tapestry
viewed from the back appears to be
Naught but threads tangled
hopelessly;
But in the front a picture
fair rewards the worker for his care,
Proving his skill and patience
rare.
Thou art the workman, I
the frame. Lord for the glory of thy name,
Perfect thine image on
the same. (Unknown)
Is this how we react in
everything we do? What a blessing life would become!
Do we really believe that
God is our Father and we are here to do His will?
Beloved, if we do, then
the dove of your faith will no longer wander in unrest
but will settle down forever in it’s eternal resting
place of peace—"Your Father." Yes, there
is a cost to doing the Father’s will, but let me
tell you dear friend, there is an even greater cost to
not doing the Father’s will. For there is always
a high cost to low living!
A travelling man came into
a hotel to secure a room for the night. Upon being informed
that every room in the building had been taken, he was
naturally quite perturbed, until a portly gentleman standing
nearby kindly offered to share his room with him. The
offer was thankfully accepted.
Upon retiring, the portly
man knelt and prayed, tenderly mentioning his guest for
the night in his petition. In the morning his host informed
him that it was his custom to read a portion of the Word
of God and pray before taking up the responsibilities
of the day. The effect upon the man was moving; a strange
feeling came over him; something had been working in his
heart all the night. When gently pressed by this stranger
to accept the Lord Jesus as his personal Saviour, his
resistance went down in a heap. A soul had been won for
Christ!
But who is this humble
ambassador of Christ, who so strikingly resembles a member
of President Wilson's cabinet? When business cards were
exchanged before parting, to the guest's amazement he
read,
"William Jennings
Bryan, Secretary of State."
Jesus said, "I Thirst"
that the Scriptures might be fulfilled and souls saved.
What in His will am I doing that the Scriptures might
be fulfilled and souls saved?
Resolved: "That all
men should live for the glory of God." Resolved second:
"That whether others do or not, I will." Jonathan
Edwards.
3. The Satisfying Saviour
Of Sinners!
When our Suffering Saviour
uttered those never to be forgotten words on the cross,
"I Thirst", there was much more involved in
that utterance than mere physical thirst. We will most
certainly miss the full import of His amazing words if
we fail to understand their spiritual content.
There can be no doubt at
all, in His humanity He did crave refreshment for His
body, but as the Holy One His cry goes way beyond the
human. You see, because He is also the Holy One there
is within Him a deep spiritual thirst for the souls of
men and women. This cry reveals for us a strange mixture
of both the human and the divine, we must never forget,
on that old rugged cross he was the God-Man, and never
at any time did He lay aside His deity.
The whole purpose of Christ’s
coming to this sin-stained earth was of course that He
might rescue sinners from the awful judgement of hell.
Matthew 20 v 28. "Even
as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but
to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many"
Mark 2 v 17. "I came
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Luke 19 v 10. "For
the Son of Man is come to seek and to save the lost."
He had a deep concern about
our spiritual welfare; His whole life was given to seek
men and women because of their lostness.
As He moves ever closer
to the cross Mark reminds us in Chapter 6 v 34.
"And Jesus, when He
came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion
toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd:
and he began to teach them many things."
That compassion never waned
and the cross was His final demonstration on earth of
that compassion.
There are those ongoing,
unbelieving critics of our dear Saviour who maintain that
Jesus must be either divine or human. But they only dig
a deep pit for themselves. You see a merely human Jesus
could not have died as our Lord did. Why, right to the
very end He was reaching out to dear souls lost and dying.
He prayed for forgiveness for the very crowd that crucified
Him, He led the dying thief to faith and belief during
those last few breast heaving moments.
On that old rugged cross
as Jesus hangs between heaven and earth as though fit
for neither we can see clearly the relation of the two
natures in Christ.
Dr, Lehman Strauss says:
"In His composite
personality the two natures of Christ are so united that
it is perfectly correct to say that Jesus thirsted and
God thirsted. The Holy Spirit reminds us that Christ’s
enemies did not crucify merely a man, but "the Lord
of Glory" (1Cor. 2 v 8). The thirst of Deity is the
age-long desire in the heart of God to bring men to Himself,
and Calvary is the full and final exhibition of His holy
compassion." End quote!
Consider Christ’s
meeting with the dear woman at the well in John chapter
4. It’s true, He asked her for a drink to quench
His thirst, but more than that He had a thirst for this
dear lady’s soul. His desire was her Salvation. Listen
to His winning words, "If thou knewest the gift of
God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink;
thou wouldst ask of him, and He would give thee living
water" (John 4 v 10). Yes, He stopped at that well
for a drink of water, but it was also that He might give
to the woman the water of life. He thirsted to deliver
her from the thirst of hell.
C.H. Spurgeon tells the
following story which occurred in his day.
The sharp shrill cry of
"Acqua! Acqua!" constantly pierces the ear of
the wanderer in the towns of Italy. The man who thus invites
your attention bears on his back a burden of water, and
in his hand glasses to hold the cooling liquid. In the
streets of London he would find little patronage, but
where fountains are few and the days are hot as an oven,
he earns a livelihood and supplies a public need. The
water-dealer is a poor old man bent sideways by the weight
of his daily burden. He is worn out in all but his voice,
which is truly startling in its sharpness and distinctness.
At our call he stops immediately, glad to drop his burden
on the ground, and smiling in prospect of a customer.
He washes out a glass for us, fills it with sparkling
water, receives payment with manifest gratitude, and trudges
away across the square, crying still, "Acqua! Acqua!"
That cry, shrill as it
is, has sounded sweetly in the ears of many a thirsty
soul, and will for ages yet to come, if throats and thirst
survive so long. How forcibly it calls to mind the Saviour’s
favourite imagery, in which he compares the grace which
he bestows on all who diligently seek it to "living
water." And how much that old man is like the faithful
preacher of the Word, who, having filled his vessel at
the well, wears himself out by continually bearing the
burden of the Lord, and crying, "Water! Water!"
amid crowds of sinners who must drink or die. Instead
of the poor Italian water-bearer, we see before us the
man of God, whose voice is heard in the chief places of
concourse, proclaiming the divine invitation, "Ho,
every one that thirsts, come to the waters!" until
he grows grey in the service, and people say, "Surely
those aged limbs have need of rest." Yet he does
not court rest, but pursues his task of mercy, never laying
down his charge till he lays down his body, and never
ceasing to work until he ceases to live. End quote!
Dear believer, have you
lost your way in this Old World because you have long
since ceased to drink deeply from the rock that is Christ?
Are you panting for spiritual life, are you fighting for
spiritual breath, then the wonderful
Saviour we hear crying
"I Thirst" is able to quench your thirst and
bring again satisfaction back into your lifestyle.
Dear sinner, that same
Saviour says to you, if you thirst, come and drink of
the water of life freely and be satisfied for time and
eternity! Won’t you come?
O what a Saviour that He
died for me! From condemnation He hath made me free;
He that believeth
on the Son, saith He, hath everlasting life.
