Words at the Cross – Part 6

The fifth saying from the cross is ‘I thirst’. This is the shortest of all of the seven sayings from the cross, and it is recorded only by John, 19. 28.

The One who said, ‘I thirst’

He made the waters, Gen. 1. 2

The phrase, ‘the waters’, is referred to eleven times in the first chapter of our Bible, and ‘the sea’ is mentioned four times. In the next chapter we read that a river went out of Eden to water the garden, 2. 10. It divided and became four rivers, so there was an abundant supply of water in that first garden, a paradise designed and planted by God. ‘Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water’, Ps. 65. 9; cp. Ps. 46. 4.

He said, ‘I thirst’, though He made the rivers;
He said, ‘I thirst’, though He made the seas.
‘I thirst’, said the King of the ages:
In His thirst, He brought water to me.¹

He measured the waters, Isa. 40. 12

‘Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?’ If we extend one hand with the palm upwards and pour in a small amount of water, it is possible to retain only a few drops; so just think of the enormity of this question. It is figurative language, of course, but it eloquently conveys the magnitude and unlimited capacity of our God. The seas, the rivers, the lakes, and the waters of all the cosmos are in His hand.

Yet, with parched lips, for six long hours the creator of all things endured the burning heat of the eastern sun. Having not accepted one drop of the liquids offered to Him, His suffering from dehydration would have been intense. But far greater than those physical sufferings were His sufferings when He bore the wrath of a holy God against sin, Lam. 1. 12, 13. How amazing it is to consider the graphic prophetic words in Psalm 22 verse 15, ‘My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death’.

He fulfilled the last remaining prophecy

In spite of the agony He was experiencing, His mind was clear and His words were lucid. He had perfect knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures and knew that one prophecy remained to be fulfilled.

1. ‘Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst’, John 19. 28; cp. Ps. 69. 21.
2. ‘And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors’, Mark 15. 28; cp. Isa. 53. 12.
3. ‘Where they crucified him’, John 19. 18; cp. Ps. 22. 16.
4. ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do’, Luke 23. 34; cp. Isa. 53. 12.
5. ‘Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be … These things therefore the soldiers did’, John 19. 24; cp. Ps. 22. 18.
6. ‘These things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken’, John 19. 36; cp. Ps. 34. 20; Exod. 12. 46.
7. ‘And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced’, John 19. 37; cp. Zech. 12. 10.
8. ‘And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’, Matt. 27. 46; cp. Ps. 22. 1.
9. ‘The chief priests mocking him … said … He trusted in God; let him deliver him now’, Matt. 27. 41-43; cp. Ps. 22. 8.

(This is not an exhaustive list.)

There are three recorded occasions when the Lord was offered something to drink at Calvary.

Mark chapter 15 verse 23: At the time of His crucifixion, ‘And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not’. Earlier in the upper room, He had told His disciples that He would not drink of the fruit of the vine until He was with them in the coming kingdom, Matt. 26. 29. Myrrh was one of the gifts brought by the wise men soon after His birth, and it was offered to Him here a few hours before His death, but He refused it. To prepare His body for burial, Nicodemus brought ‘a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight’, John 19. 39. Thus, myrrh was associated with His birth, His death and His burial

Luke chapter 23 verse 36: ‘And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar’. It seems that a number of soldiers offered Him sour wine, which they had been keeping for themselves.

Matthew chapter 27 verse 48: ‘And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink’. It was at the ninth hour, when the Lord Jesus said, ‘I thirst’; He drank of the vinegar and then cried with a loud voice, ‘It is finished’. See also Mark 15. 34-37; John 19. 28-30.

The Lord Jesus had gone about doing good, healing the sick, bringing blessing wherever He went; and yet here, when there was one last opportunity to afford Him an act of solace before His death, even that was denied. The One who ‘looked … for comforters, … found none’, Ps. 69. 20. He had turned water into wine at Cana of Galilee; now they gave Him vinegar to drink.

Men wondered at the sight so rare,
And sitting down they watched Him there.
And none who saw could understand
Why darkness covered all the land.
And none who heard the cry, ‘I thirst’,
Knew why the sinless One was cursed;
Nor understood those words so true,
‘Forgive, they know not what they do’.
For God alone, and none beside,
Knew what was done when Jesus died.²

He gave evidence of His true humanity

Scripture strongly affirms both the deity of Christ and His true humanity:

• He was thirsty - it was real thirst, John 19. 28
• He was hungry - it was real hunger, Luke 4. 2
• He was weary - it was real weariness, John 4. 6
• He wept at the tomb of Lazarus -they were real tears, John 11. 35
• He rejoiced - it was real joy, Luke 10. 21

He was a real man; the only perfect man who ever lived on earth. He died on the cross, He was laid in the rock-hewn tomb, rose again on the third day, and is now a glorified man in heaven.

He provided the water of life for all who will receive it

There are two Old Testament illustrations:

1. The smiting of the rock at Horeb, Exod. 17. 1-7; Ps. 78. 20

In their journeys, the children of Israel came to Rephidim, ‘and there was no water for the people to drink … And the people thirsted there for water’, yet they journeyed ‘according to the commandment of the Lord’. Sometimes trials come, even when a Christian is in the path of God’s will. What a severe trial this was: hundreds of thousands of people travelling in the wilderness with no water. In spite of their unbelief and complaining, the Lord made a miraculous provision for them. Moses was instructed as to what should be done, ‘Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink’, v. 6.

Psalm 78 verse 20 tells us what happened, and the New Testament explains the meaning of the story, ‘for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ’, 1 Cor. 10. 4.

The rock at Horeb was smitten; the Lord Jesus was smitten at Calvary, ‘with his stripes we are healed’, Isa. 53. 5. He was smitten so that, in virtue of His death, the water of life might flow out and be available to all who will receive it.

2. The water brought to David from the well at Bethlehem, 1 Chr. 11. 15-19

Although David had already been anointed king by Samuel, he was not yet crowned and was still being pursued by Saul. He and a number of his mighty men were holed up in the cave of Adullam, surrounded by the host of the Philistines, whose garrison was then at Bethlehem.

David expressed his desire for a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem that was beside the gate. His longing was not a request for someone to bring the water to him. However, when three of his mighty men heard him, they left the cave, broke through the host of the Philistines into their stronghold at Bethlehem and drew water from the well. Though outnumbered, they fought their way there and back and gave the water to David.

David’s reaction was to refuse to drink it. He said, ‘Shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy?’ He considered that God alone was worthy of such devotion, so he poured the water out before the Lord.

At Calvary the Lord Jesus faced a far more formidable foe than the Philistines. He was victorious over the powers of darkness; cp. Col. 2. 15. In His victory, He has not brought natural water from the well of Bethlehem, but spiritual water - the water of life - within the reach of all who will receive it. He did not go to the cross in jeopardy of His life, but laid it down of His own volition. In John chapter 10, five times He stated that He would lay down His life for the sheep, vv. 11, 15, 17, 18 (twice).

He offers living water to those who are thirsty

‘Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life’, John 4. 14. These words were spoken by the Lord Jesus as He conversed with one woman beside the well at Sychar. Her response was, ‘Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not’, v. 15.

‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink’, John 7. 37. This invitation was extended to every person in that vast crowd assembled in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles. The only requirement was, ‘if anyone thirsts’, NKJV. The gospel hymn expresses it well, ‘All the fitness He requireth is to feel your need of Him’ [Joseph Hart].

‘And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely’, Rev. 22. 17. Again, as in verse 16, the Lord Jesus is the speaker, ‘I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star’.

We should also remember that the One who said on the cross, ‘I thirst’, gave the solemn warning of a man who was then, is now, and will be forever tormented by a thirst that can never be quenched, Luke 16. 19-31.