“After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. (John 19:28) The Fifth Word from the cross. Jesus, the creator of water, now said I thirst. How could He who had watered the Garden of Eden with a mist (Gen 2:6), who had brought forth water from a rock (Ex 17:6), and who Himself is the Living Water (Jn 7:38)--how could He now say I thirst?
One reason was to fulfill Scripture. Psalm 22, written about 1000 years before Jesus, describes the crucifixion, with verse 15 detailing Jesus’ thirst: “My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws…” Jesus was fulfilling prophetic, Old Testament Scripture.
Another reason is Jesus, on that cross, thirsted from receiving the suffering for our sin. Jesus, in Luke 16:24, spoke about the man in Hell who begged for just a drop of water because he was “tormented in this flame“.
Jesus was tormented for our sakes, paying the price of our sin, experiencing the thirst that God’s judgment on sin brings. He did this for us so that we would never know that thirst if we are saved.
Also the thirst reflected Jesus’ thirsting for the souls of mankind, yearning that none “should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9).
It wasn’t until Jesus knew that all things were now accomplished that He spoke of His own personal need. Jesus put others first, and on that cross Jesus was putting you and me first before any need He had.
Happy 250th birthday America!
