"I Thirst"

The Fifth Saying of the Cross

Published on March 25, 2007 By KFC Kickin For Christ In Religion

Today is the fifth in the series of seven sayings of Christ upon the Cross. Today, the fifth saying is "I thirst." I was really looking forward to this one wondering how much could actually be said about so little dialogue. Wonder no more. There is plenty not only to say, but also to think about. We started with John 19:28-29:

"After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled said, 'I thirst.' Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar and they filled a sponge with vinegar and put it upon hyssop and put it to his mouth."

We've seen previously during the explanation of the other four sayings that he had, at this point, endured about six hours of suffering and from noon until three did so in a supernatural darkness. He was feeling what he never felt before, pain, suffering and separation from all that he loved and cared for, basically enduring hell on earth for us.

We see first, "after this," and get a sense in how the OT scriptures were being fulfilled at this very moment in time. There are many OT Messianic prophecies concerning Christ with many of them written by David in the Psalms. Psalm 22 is just such a Psalm. It's called the Psalm of the Cross. David wrote in Psalm 22:15 "My strength is dried up like a potsherd and my tongue cleaves to my jaws, and you have brought me into the dust of death."

We also read another amazing prophetic piece by David written more than a thousand years prior in Psalm 69:21:

"They gave me also gall for my food; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."

For six hours he suffered on the cross. Before that he was beaten and scourged for some time prior to his being forced to drag his cross thru the streets of Jerusalem. He was sent outside the city limits to die outside the gate as a common criminal. Of course he was thirsty. This definitely points to his humanity. Some say this whole picture of the cross was only symbolic and there was no real pain involved in the crucifixtion. No, what we see here is real suffering, real pain and real thirst. He was exposed to the elements hanging up there for many hours before the offer of vinegar was pressed to his lips. He was thirsty. He even said so, but vinegar was not the answer.

We see here hyssop was the instrument used to deliver the sour wine to his lips. Hyssop was a plant with paintbrush like bristles that was also used in the OT to apply the blood to the doorposts at the very first Passover. A connection here? I think so.

Sour wine also known as vinegar is mentioned twice. We see it first in Matt 27:34 and mixed with gall it was intended to deaden the pain. This was an act of compassion with the giver hoping to help him in his suffering. Jesus would not accept this drug choosing instead to feel every bit of pain. This was his whole purpose for being here. He was sent to suffer and die taking our place. He knew the costs involved. He knew the pain and he knew the thirst that would come his way on this very day.

Secondly, we see this sour wine used in Matt 27:48, and also here in John, and it was not given in an act of compassion. This was meant to torment, basically wanting him to shut him up. When this dry, parched throat would receive the vinegar it would shut the wind pipe stopping one from shouting out. We see in Matthew it was offered or forced upon Him immediately after he cried "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani."

The word "thirst" in the Gk is "dipsao" and means 1) to suffer thirst and 2) figuratively-those who painfully feel their want of those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, strengthened.

He was both physically and spiritually thirsty here at this point in time. He was separated from his source of refreshment, his Heavenly Father. His desire was to be united with God the Father and his spirit was crying out to Him. Again we go back to David and his writing in the OT to help us see the awesome whole picture. David said in Psalm 69:1-3:

"Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying; my throat is dried; mine eyes fall while I wait for my God. "

Was he looking up or down when he cried out, "I thirst?" Here's what Psalm 42:1-3 says:

"As the deer pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after you O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night while they continually say to me, Where is your God?"

The soul is our innermost being and here the Psalmist says his soul thirsts for God. When shall we come? Today is the day.

Again, too much to say here so I'll take a break right here and continue next time. I hope you're thirsty......for more....LOL.

Comments

lulapilgrim

on Mar 26, 2007

Thank your for writing this, I greatly enjoyed your commentary and the way you carried it over into application in our daily lives for each one of us has our own cross to bear in this life.

KFC POSTS: We've seen previously during the explanation of the other four sayings that he had, at this point, endured about six hours of suffering and from noon until three did so in a supernatural darkness. He was feeling what he never felt before, pain, suffering and separation from all that he loved and cared for, basically enduring hell on earth for us.

This is the first time I ever heard Jesus' bodily sufferings, deprivation of all help and consolation and feeling of abandonment by God as described as "supernatural darkness". Quite interesting. There was also a real, yet unnatural phenomomen of darkness that enveloped the world during this time as well, yet, as you say, this terrible darkness was but a weak picture of the more terrible, "supernatural" darkness that reigned in Jesus' Sacred Heart. As His bodily sufferings increased, so did His Soul become more and more oppressed by the burden of sin which He had taken on Himself. His divine nature left it to His human nature to endure all this pain, until deprived of all, He sank into the feeling of being abandoned by God which is the greatest of all sufferings and in order to make known the full measure of His love for us and His determination to do the will of His Father, He cried aloud, why hast thou forsaken me.

"Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over the whole earth until the ninth hour... The darkness was not a natural eclipse of the sun, for the Jewish Pasch was kept at the time of the full moon, when a natural eclipse is an impossbiility. This darkening of the sun lasted 3 hours. It began as soon as our Lord was crucified and ended when He died. Darkness in the middle of the day is a terrible thing and greatly frightened all and rightly so. The pagan Phlegan mentions in his Annals that the greatest eclipse of the sun ever known occurred in the year of Our Lord's death and that at the 6th hour of the day it became so dark that the stars could be seen in the sky. Tertuillian wrote about the same phenomeonon.

I read that the significant loss of blood produces an excruciating thirst. Evidently soldiers wouned on the battlefied who have lost a significant amount of blood want a cooling drink. Jesus crying out, "I thirst" even shows that He was not spared even this suffering. In addition to the natural dehydration Jesus was suffering, we can see in His thirst an expression of His burning desire to do His Father's will and to save all souls. He thirsts for us, for our love, and for all souls.

KFC Kickin For Christ

on Mar 26, 2007

Thank your for writing this, I greatly enjoyed your commentary and the way you carried it over into application in our daily lives for each one of us has our own cross to bear in this life.

thanks, application is very important. We don't want to just walk away with..."that's quite a story" without realizing that there's a lesson in here for us to take away as well.

The darkness was not a natural eclipse of the sun, for the Jewish Pasch was kept at the time of the full moon, when a natural eclipse is an impossbiility

yes, I mentioned this in the last saying "MY God, MY God." Did you read that? I also mentioned it wasn't possible for it to be an eclipse just as you did here.

I read that the significant loss of blood produces an excruciating thirst. Evidently soldiers wouned on the battlefied who have lost a significant amount of blood want a cooling drink.

good point. This is true. Thanks for sharing.

Question of the Day

on Mar 28, 2007

KFC,

Most of the time I don't respond to your articles, but I wanted to let you know I'm reading and that I look forward to new ones. I've got a lot to learn and you're really helping me.

QoD

KFC Kickin For Christ

on Mar 29, 2007

Thanks QoD for the encouragment.

I find it good for me too. I can sit down and put it all down and when I do it helps me remember it better and I'm learning new things as well. I was really only thinking of doing this seven week series up to Easter but I'm thinking now of maybe continuing. After all it's only once a week and the next series..........is Revelation! I know alot of people are interested in that book.

This weekend I'll put in the next one which will be "It is Finished." I'm looking forward to that as well.

Thanks for your input.

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