Nothing is as refreshing as a cold drink of water when you have been working hard. It is essential to our bodies that we keep hydrated, or we start to suffer ramifications like a dry mouth and blurred vision, but if it continues, we can see more harmful damage. When Jesus was on the cross, there was a moment after everything was complete that He told the soldiers, “I thirst.” He needed to replenish the fluids so He could utter His final words.
John 19:28
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth
Parched
After enduring the separation between Him and His Father and having the sins of humanity placed on Him, he was now thirsty. He had accomplished the great word that He came to do, and now He was done. There was just a short time before he would die. He was thirsty. Jesus didn’t accept a pain-numbing drink at the beginning of His ordeal (Mark 15:23), but now He received a taste of greatly diluted wine, to wet parched lips and a dry throat so He could make one final announcement to the world with a clear, loud voice.
Strength to Go On
This shows us that Jesus was fully human. He had one more thing to utter, but his body had endured so much that He needed to rehydrate a but to be able to say what He needed to say. What Jesus experienced was so great that it is hard for us to comprehend. It is easier for us to attribute His strength to being God, but He did this all with His human strength. When Jesus says that He can relate to everything that we are going through, this is proof.
I Thirst
Do you thirst for more of Jesus? Jesus said blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Are you thirsty to be closer to Him? Do you want God to transform your current life through the power of the Holy Spirit? That happens when we come to the end of our physical abilities and cry out to Jesus and tell Him that we need Him. Be thirsty for the things that matter eternally.