HIS FINAL WORDS The Seven Sayings of Jesus on the Cross Message Five: Words of Agony John 19:28-29 Water has been described as the world s most valuable natural resource. There are 326 million cubic miles of water on earth, covering nearly three-fourths of its surface. Every living thing needs water to live. Almost two-thirds of the human body is made of water. Without water, there could be no life. In an average lifetime, humans will consume over 16,000 gallons of water. Now, I ask you, Where did water come from? If you believe the Bible, it s the result of creation, of which, Jesus was a part. That being the case, it seems ironic to me that the One on the cross, the One who made the water, said, I thirst. Does it not seem a bit ironic to you that the One who made the oceans and the lakes and the rivers and the streams said, I thirst? How can it be that the One who made the rain is left with no water? Was it not Jesus who said in John 4:14, But 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? Why then do we read of Him saying, I thirst? When being crucified, one of the worst pains was created by a need for water. The historians say it was agonizing. As the victims hung on the cross their mouths and throats cried for water. Their lips cracked and bled, and their eyes glazed. Their tongues swelled in their mouths, and saliva hung like drying glue in their throats. Their thirst was horrible. It could very well be at this point that Jesus had been without anything to drink for 18 hours, His last intake of liquid being at the Passover meal with His disciples. In the Garden of Gethsemane, His sweat was as great drops of blood. Then, for many long and tiring hours He was made to stand on His feet, as all through the night and into the morning He was paraded before Annas, then Caiaphas, then Pilate, then Herod, then back to Pilate. He had been cruelly beaten by the Roman soldiers. A crown of thorns was placed on His head. Then, with blood running down His face and with a lacerated back, fluids pouring out of His body, He was made to carry the crossbeam under the burning heat of the sun. It s no wonder that on His way to Golgotha, He fell beneath the load.
Once at Golgotha, He was nailed to the cross and the cross was lifted into place and then slammed into the hole that had been dug. For six agonizing hours our Lord hung on the cross as the wounds on His back and in His hands and feet and head, continued to bleed, drop by drop, increasing His dehydration until the back of His throat felt like it was literally on fire. Is it any wonder that He said, I thirst? Though they are only two words, the words I thirst are words of extreme agony. I want to share three things with you that I believe Christ expressed in the words I thirst. I. JESUS EXPRESSED HIS DEITY A. Verse 28 B. The word translated as knowing does not mean to know by experience or to come to know something by research or study. It means to know intuitively or innately. It means to have the facts already logged within one s memory, and then to be able to call them instantly to mind. C. So while hanging on the cross under such extreme conditions, Jesus was able to know intuitively instantly that all the Old Testament prophecies up to that point had been fulfilled everything that was supposed to happen had. Everything had been accomplished, everything that is but one thing, and that was His expression of thirst. D. Now keep in mind, there are over 330 prophecies in the Old Testament that relate to the Messiah, and in His life and death, Jesus fulfilled them all. E. They say that the odds of one man fulfilling all these prophecies in His life are 1 in 84 followed by 97 zeroes. That s a number so large we cannot even begin to fathom it. The point is, there is no room for doubt that Jesus was who He said He was the Messiah the Christ. F. Did you know that over twenty Scriptures from the Old Testament were fulfilled during the last 24 hours of Christ s life on earth? G. Let s do a little crowd participation. I m going to give you a prophecy, and if it was fulfilled, you say, FULFILLED! 1. Zechariah 11:12 - He will be sold for thirty pieces of silver - FULFILLED! 2. Psalm 41:9 - He will be betrayed by a friend - FULFILLED! 3. Psalm 31:11 - He will be deserted and denied by His disciples - FULFILLED! 4. Psalm 22:18 - Soldiers will gamble for His clothes - FULFILLED! 5. Psalm 35:1 - He will be accused by false witnesses - FULFILLED! 6. Isaiah 53:4-5 - He will be humiliated, wounded, and bruised - FULFILLED! 7. Isaiah 53:7 - He will stand silent before His accusers - FULFILLED! 8. Psalm 22:16 - His hands and feet will be pierced - FULFILLED! H. The specific prophecy which Jesus fulfilled here is found in Psalm 69:21, They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. I. As Jesus hung there, He innately knew that there was one more prophecy, out of the nearly 350 in the Old Testament, that needed to be fulfilled. J. Now think about that. While other men were known to have been driven insane by the
agonies of the cross, Jesus was able to recall one of hundreds of prophecies. How could He do that? Because He was not just another man. K. Jesus was God in the flesh, and only God could know and recall a fact like that in the midst of all that pain. II. JESUS EXPRESSED HIS HUMANITY A. Jesus was not a divine man, nor was He a humanized God. He was the God-Man. B. John said that the Word was with and was God (that s Jesus) was made flesh. The Word in John 1:1 is Jesus. Paul said it like this in 1 Timothy 3:16, And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh... C. The name Emmanuel, given by the angel in reference to the Christ-child, means God with us. D. When Jesus came to earth through the portals of a virgin He became what He was not before (man) without giving up what He was previously (God). E. Jesus was as much man as though He were not God and as much God as though He were not man. F. Man is all man and no God. God is all God and no man. Jesus was all God and all man. G. While here on earth, Jesus gave full proof of His deity. 1. He spake with divine wisdom, He acted with divine holiness, He exhibited divine power, He displayed divine love. 2. He read men s minds. A word from Him made diseases flee, storms be still, and dead men live again. H. While here on earth, Jesus gave full proof of His humanity. 1. He became weary. 2. He got hungry. 3. He slept. 4. He wept. 5. He thirsted. I. We see several examples of Christ s deity and humanity in the gospels. 1. As a human being, Jesus was tired and fell asleep in the hull of a ship, but as God, a moment later, He was able to calm the wind and still the sea. 2. As a man, Jesus was brokenhearted at the death of His friend Lazarus, but as God, He raised Him from the dead. 3. As a man, He suffered a horrible death on the cross, but as God, He arose from the grave three days later. J. If you re wondering what the significance of all this God-Man business is, it s very significant because it tells us that Jesus knows what it is to hurt, to suffer, to grieve. It means that He can relate to everything you and I have ever gone through, or ever will go through. K. Isaiah 53:4 says that He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. L. Hebrews 2:17-18, 4:15
M. Jesus did not come to eliminate suffering, or even explain suffering. He came to experience suffering so He could relate to us, and say to us, I understand. N. Going back to Isaiah 53, the prophet wrote, He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief... O. Why a man of sorrows? Why not a man of wisdom, or a man of love, or a man of mercy, or a man of authority? P. Granted, no one was as wise, loving, and merciful as Jesus. And certainly, no man ever spake with the authority He spoke with. But it was through His sorrow that Christ came to connect with us. Q. Jesus knows what it is to feel pain in the body. He endured the cross. Jesus knows what it is to feel pain in the soul. He was rejected, ridiculed, lied about, and betrayed. He knows what it is to be in the darkness all alone. R. I can t help but be reminded of the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace. The fire was so hot it killed the men who threw them in there. After awhile, the king came back to look at the charred ashes of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, only to find them dancing around in the flames. And on top of that, Someone had joined them. Guess who it was? It was the Son of God! S. Jesus didn t get in there to eliminate their suffering or explain their suffering. He was in there to experience their suffering. T. It doesn t matter how severe your trial or tribulation is, you will never have to go through it alone. Even when there is no other human being alive that can relate to what you re experiencing, Jesus can! So cast all your care on Him because He cares for you. U. Cast all your loneliness, all your heartache, all your heartbreak, all your grief, all your care, all your hurt, all your anger, all your bitterness, all your resentment, all your troubles, all your pain, all your disappointment, all your worry on Him. V. The psalmist said in Psalm 55:22, Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. W. He said in Psalm 62:8, Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. X. On the cross, Jesus expressed His deity. He expressed His humanity. And He expressed His ability. III. JESUS EXPRESSED HIS ABILITY A. I believe that Jesus was not only experiencing physical thirst on the cross, but I believe He was thirsty in a spiritual sense as well. He had just spent the first three hours, of His 33 ½ years of living, separated from His Father, and He was thirsty for fellowship with Him. B. In the last message I pointed out that the darkness was symbolic of a life without the Lord. Well, I believe that Christ s thirst was also symbolic of life without the Lord. It s barren and dry. This idea of a physical and spiritual thirst is not new. We read of it prior to the cross
when Jesus met the woman at the well in John 4. When Jesus met the woman He started a conversation with her by asking her to give Him a drink of water. Their conversation progressed to the point that Jesus introduced her to the concept of living water. Pointing to the well, Jesus said, Whoever drinks water from this well will thirst again, But 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. C. What was Jesus saying to this woman? He was saying, Woman, I know all about you. I know you ve been married and divorced five times and that the man you re living with now is not your husband. He was telling her that He knew all about her thirst for happiness and fulfillment and that she had not yet found it. He was telling her that the only real source of fulfillment in life was Him and the salvation He had to offer. D. Maybe some of you have that same hole in your soul. You ve tried to fill it up with all kinds of worldly pleasures, but to no avail. Can I say to you that only Jesus can satisfy your soul. 1. Another relationship won t do it. 2. More money won t do it. 3. More hours at work won t do it. 4. Another beer won t do it. 5. Another rock won t do it. 6. A better house or nicer car or newer clothes won t do it. E. The only thing that will truly satisfy the thirst in your soul is the living water Jesus Christ. F. It could be that some of you, at one time, enjoyed a satisfying relationship with Lord. You know what it is to walk with Him, and talk with Him, and fellowship with Him because you used to do it all the time, but you don t do it anymore. Now you re spiritual life is like a dry and barren desert. You don t have any joy. You don t have any peace. You don t have any of what you used to have. G. Well, I ve got good news for you. You can have it again. If you re willing to own up to the fact that you ve walked away from the Lord in pursuit of other things, and if you re willing to forsake all of that and come back to the Him, He s willing to receive you and to restore you to a place of fellowship with. CLOSING: I have a suspicion that there are all kinds of thirsty people here. 1. Some are thirsty for a real relationship, one that provides lasting satisfaction, because everything you ve tried just hasn t done anything for you. If that s you, you need to come today and receive Christ into your heart and life. 2. Some are thirsty for what you used to have before you walked away from the Lord. You know what you need to do. 3. Some are thirsty for more of what you are already enjoying in your relationship with the Lord. Life is good, serving the Lord is great, but you want more. What you need to do today is find out what that next step is for you into a more enjoyable and rewarding walk with God. 4. Some may be thirsting for a church home where you can learn and grow and serve. FBC may be for you. Why don t you come and let us pray about that with you. At least, make it known in some way
to me or one of our staff, and we ll be glad to talk with you about it at your convenience. 5. Then, some may be thirsting for relief from the grief and pain and sorrow you ve been experiencing. I would simply encourage you to cast all your care on the Lord because He cares for you. Jesus said, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. I ll remind you of what the psalmist said, Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee...