“Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19.28-30
“I am thirsty.” Jesus was in bad shape. He had been beaten, his body broken. His spirit had surrendered to death. He had received the forty lashes minus one. Falsely accused. Rejected by friends. Forsaken by God for he sins of the world. No wonder Jesus expressed his thirst.
Yet Jesus wasn’t only physically thirsty, for the Roman soldiers offered a poor excuse for a drink, his soul was empty. He became sin for us. (2 Cor. 5.21). He became broken, bloodied, rejected by God so that we might become accepted by him.
What Jesus did requires our response. Salvation doesn’t just happen. Sure, he died for the sins of the world, yet we must accept the gift. Bad theology says that all are saved, live like hell, and hope for the best. Bad theology says everyone is saved by grace whether or not you believe. But belief, trust, acceptance, following is key. We can’t receive his grace until we confess that he is King, Messiah, Lord.
Jesus was thirsty for love from the Father. One Gospel has Jesus crying out, “My God, why did you forsake me?” The distance he felt from the Father was immense. As if a great cavern lie between himself and his God. He was the sacrificial lamb of God, dying for the sins of the world.
And after he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” And with that, the Bible says, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. And he was no more.
What does it mean to die to self? How did one so great have the ability to limit his own power and give up his life for humankind?
”For God so loved the world….”
“O Lord God, the death of Jesus is saddens. That he would have to die for us is a pity. Yet without his death we would be lost. But as Romans reminds us, ‘The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.’ Come now, Holy Spirit, help us mourn your death but rejoice in the salvation of our souls. Help us know the power of that love and to live according to your ways. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen