Jesus asked for one thing for His comfort on the cross. He asked for a drink. This devotion looks at the patience and endurance Jesus was teaching us through this.
Nuggets
- Jesus didn’t seek any respite from the torture of the cross until after His mission was finished.
- Jesus’ suffering from thirst also emphasized His humanity.
Devotions in the Sayings from the Cross series
We’ve been looking at what Jesus said when He was hanging on the cross. The first three saying showed His concern for others.
The previous devotion centered on Jesus’ comment that God abandoned Him while He was on the cross. It was an effective vehicle in turning our attention from men to God.
This is important in that the final three sayings focus on Jesus’ mission. We know that Jesus was totally focused on His mission.
Spurgeon noted that this was the shortest of Jesus’ sayings from the cross. Let’s take a look.
Let's Put It into Context
“Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and offered him a drink” (Mt. 27: 48 CSB)
Back when the soldiers, crowd, and His cross mate were mocking Him, Jesus was offered sour wine to drink. He chose not to take it.
Adams couldn’t determine any ulterior motive for the soldier giving Jesus the wine. In fact, Adams thought the soldier felt more compassion for Jesus than ill will.
If wine was given to alleviate the pain, Jesus didn’t go that route. Maybe He didn’t want to control the pain – He wanted to feel everything.
Jesus didn’t want to be alcohol impaired. He wanted a clear head.
Mission Accomplished
“Jesus knew that his mission was now finished …” (Jn. 19: 28 CSB)
I think it is telling that Jesus didn’t seek any respite from the torture of the cross until after His mission was finished. No, we don’t know what all that entailed. Maybe it was Jesus had taken responsibility for all of the sins for all people for all time, and His blood had covered them.
Maybe it was that the aroma of His sacrifice had pleased the Lord. “And all its fat he shall remove, as the fat is removed from the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a pleasing aroma to the LORD. And the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven” (Lev. 4: 31 ESV). God has accepted His sacrifice.
Thirsty Work?
“… and to fulfill Scripture he said, ‘I am thirsty’” (Jn. 19: 28 CSB)
The way this is written leads us to question whether Jesus was really thirsty. It reads kind of like the only reason He made the request was because He was directed to in Scriptures.
The Scripture that is probably being referenced is Psalm 22: 15. “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” (Ps. 22: 15 CSB). We discussed this chapter in the last devotion where we talked about Jesus’ saying of abandonment by God.
If we look at all Jesus had been through, we could see that He had to have been thirsty. Trench wrote that everything done to Him was done with the intention of making Him thirsty.
You know, I have never not known where my next meal was coming from and when. I have always had water when I needed it.
But this reinforces that food and drink have a purpose but should not be the focus. One of the first things Jesus told us was “… don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Mt. 6: 25 CSB).
Our focus is to be on God. He will provide what we need to live — even in trying times.
Jesus’ suffering from thirst also emphasized His humanity. This wasn’t the ghost of Easter present on the cross. Jesus was totally 100% human. He could hurt. He could thirst — He could die.
Forsyth reminded us that Jesus fed the multitudes on several occasions. Yet here, the Bread of Life and Living Water has to ask for a simple drink. Add that to the humiliation list.
Talmage said this drink was vinegar, not really wine. It was the drink the soldiers drank. It was meant more as an insult.
It may seem a little strange that Jesus would accept the insult. Talmage listed the insults that Jesus was accepting was betrayal, pain, poverty, and bereavement.
Again, Jesus was thinking about us. He wanted to be able to say, “Been there, done that, bought the tee-shirt” to everything — e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.
Making the Connections
Spurgeon pointed out that, where I-am-thirsty pointed to Jesus’ 100% human side, the why-have-You-forsaken-Me pointed to His 100% God side. He was invested in the plan of salvation body and soul.
But think of the other point Spurgeon made. Think of the bookends of Jesus’ life. He had the no-room-at-the-inn birth to the vinegar-drink-insult death. How many times do we deny Him His sovereignty?
Still, Jesus hung on the cross for us — for every Tom, Sally, and Elaine. He was all about accomplishing the plan of salvation.
I know I am a broken record on Jesus was way more concerned with the spiritual than the physical. He was.
So, let’s look at what Jesus was thirsty for from a spiritual aspect. Watkins did that for us. Jesus would have been thirsting for
- “The love of men
- “The salvation of men
- “Reunion with His Father.”
How Do We Apply This?
We can be thirsty these days. The cause of our thirst, however, is sin. Just as Rich Guy thirsted in hell, so too do we thirst when we do not have Jesus to satisfy us.
We find that satisfaction by admitting our sins, believing Jesus hung on that cross to become our Savior and Redeemer, and confess God as our Sovereign Lord. “Repent, then, turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Ac. 3: 19 NIV). We do this by ABCDing.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
We need to obey God’s laws and commandments. “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him” (I Jn. 3: 6 ESV).
It should be our hope that our trials do not make us thirsty. If we take our focus off God, we will get thirsty.
Instead of kicking and screaming because we see the pain and the negatives, we need to go through the trials with patience, submitting to God’s Will. We need to cut out any sin God is showing us is still in our lives and learn what He is wanting us to learn.
I think a lot of times we think we just have to endure our trials. Endurance is “the ability to withstand hardship or adversity.” But unfortunately, we do the kicking and screaming then.
Instead, we have to add patience to that. Being patient means “bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint.”
So, endurance is making it through the trial. Patience is our attitude during the trial. We just talked about these.
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If we look at Jesus and His lack of liquid, He did endure. But He patiently endured. He didn’t kick and scream and rail against His captures.
Jesus looked past what was happening at that moment. He looked to completion.
We need to do that also. Our goal should be to make this verse our reality. “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing” (II Cor. 2: 15 NIV). That will happen when we are a living sacrifice to Him.
Father God. It is amazing that You did not cut ties with man when we disobeyed You. Instead, You sent Your Son to die so that our relationship could be restored. In Him, You showed us how we are supposed to obey You. You showed us that it can be done. Lord, forgive us when we disobey. Teach us patience and endurance so that we can grow to be the holy people You are calling us to be. Amen.
What do you think?
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