“I’m thirsty.”
Of all Jesus’ recorded words on the cross, why did John record these? In the scope of Christ’s work of redemption on the cross, it’s a seemingly minor moment.
Of course Jesus was thirsty. Who wouldn’t be after all He’d endured. But why record these words? The other three Gospel writers didn’t.
Every detail matters. Every jot and tittle of God’s Word.
Earlier in Jesus’s ministry, He said, “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18).
A jot is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet.
A tittle is even smaller. It’s a mere pen stroke, but it transforms the letter. It’s the Hebrew equivalent of placing a stroke across the letter l to turn it into the letter t.
Even as Christ hung on the cross, every detail mattered to Him because every soul matters.
Fulfilling all of God’s law and all 300+ Old Testament prophecies about Him mattered. If He’d failed to fulfill even the smallest law or prophecy, He would have failed to fulfill all God’s will.
And He wouldn’t have been able to save us.
King David Told Us This Would Happen
When King David wrote Psalm 22 and Psalm 69, the Holy Spirit filled David’s words with illustrations of Jesus.
My strength is dried up like baked clay; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You put me into the dust of death.
Psalm 22:15
Instead, they gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Psalm 69:21
When David wrote of a time when he was reaching his end in the depths of a heaven trial, did he know he was writing of more than his own weakness and thirst? That he was also writing of his Messiah on the cross?
I wonder.
Did David have any idea that he was writing about one of the most important moments in the future? About when the Messiah would be in the throws of accomplishing the greatest rescue in history—our salvation?
He gave us a glimpse into this moment. He told us it would happen.
Jesus Drank Down the Cup of God’s Wrath
For the past three hours, God had shrouded the world in darkness as Christ bore the sins of the world. As He drank down the last drop of the cup of God’s wrath.
And now as He has fulfilled all Scripture—all that is required for salvation—He speaks.
After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now finished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, he said,
John 19:28–29
“I’m thirsty.”
A jar full of sour wine was sitting there;
so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it up to his mouth.
In Jesus’ divinity, He fulfilled all Scripture. In His divinity, He thirsted and pointed all who could hear (and read the accounts later) to the prophesies that David wrote. To the thirst He would feel (Psalm 22:1) and that his enemies would give him vinegar to drink (Psalm 69:21).
Jesus Is the Living Water We Thirst For
Jesus’ physical thirst spoke to His thirst for our salvation and to our spiritual thirst—our dire need for Christ. He is the Living Water that springs up to eternal life (John 4:13–14).
Some of us don’t even know we’re thirsty.
May God make us aware of our need.
Without Christ, we all merely survive, always thirsting for more.
In Christ, rivers of Living Water spring up within us for eternal life.
Every day He satisfies our soul.
And we will never thirst again.
If you missed the other posts in this series, The Power of Jesus’ Last 7 Words, read them here.
Revive Our Hearts Last Words Series:
Last Words: “I Am Thirsty”
I quite possibly had the best summer job a college student could have. I got paid to get a fantastic tan (and some epic tan lines!). For five summers I worked as a “flower girl” for the University of Wyoming. Our crew would spend a couple weeks tilling several dozen flower beds, an entire month planting over 40,000 annuals, and the next two months of summer tending the beds—all while soaking in the rays. Keep Reading…
Lyric Video: Living Waters (Keith and Kristyn Getty)
