Today’s scripture is John 19:1-30.
After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” -John 19:28 NRSV
In his book, The Passion of Jesus, Peter Wallace asks, “What was Jesus thirsting for?” Maybe he was thirsting for the end of his pain and suffering. After all, he had endured so much. Maybe he was tired of hanging on the cross, his body deteriorating. Maybe he was thirsty for renewed fellowship with God. Maybe he was ready to go home, to see the face of God again in all of God’s glory. Or perhaps he was simply determined to complete his task, to glorify God and to restore the relationship between God and humanity that sin had shattered. Maybe he said he was thirsty only to satisfy the Old Testament prophecy.
I don’t really know. Whatever the reason for expressing his thirst, it was as if, once he did it, his job was finished, his mission complete. And he died.
Here’s a question for you: what are you thirsting for? Is your spirit crushed, dried up, parched? Maybe you are thirsting for the end of your suffering. Maybe you’ve endured much in your own life. Maybe your body is deteriorating right before your very eyes (if they haven’t deteriorated too). Maybe you thirst for a relationship with God. Maybe you’re thirsting for renewed fellowship with God. Maybe you’re just ready to see God in all God’s glory.
Maybe you just need to be reminded of what Jesus said in John 7: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let anyone who believes in me, drink.”
May God grant you the grace to believe that Jesus can quench your thirst.
