The Seven Last Words of Christ: I Thirst
by Daniel Burton
Heaven and earth stood in anticipation as the events of Jesus’ crucifixion took place. The spiritual battle was coming to a full head as the consequences of all the sins of mankind were laid on an innocent God King made man. For all of the focus placed on the divinity of Jesus Christ (and rightly so), we cannot forget that Jesus is also a human. Christ’s actions on the cross were not a painless suffering as a God who would be incapable of feeling pain. The struggle and pain were all present and Jesus sustained every agonizing moment as the nails were driven through His flesh. For all of the spiritual stirring that occurred on that day, Jesus endured the physical pain of humanity.
Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 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.
For Jesus, the idea of His thirst acknowledged His humanity. He bore the weight of physicality and fleshly limitation so that we would understand the depth and fullness of spiritual well being and ever lasting. He thirsted while simultaneously pouring Himself out for us as an offering. Scripture tells us that when the guards pierced His sides, a mixture of blood of water sprang forth. He thirsted on our behalf while simultaneously being the living water that we all would drink from. His blood would be the blood of the new covenant. His humanity and His divinity expressed themselves fully in this moment and Jesus revealed the love of an approachable and relatable God.
The Humanity of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ was fully human as well as fully divine. The two were inexorably linked to one another. While we make Jesus the Lord of our lives as our divine King, He is also fully and completely human. Some attempt to explain that due to His divinity, Jesus did not feel pain or need. However, to say that would ignore the thirst he felt in this moment. It was a real, physical dehydration as the blood and fluids slowly drained from His body after having endure a tremendous amount of pain and torture. As Jesus cried out in thirst, it was a reminder that He was still human. He bled, he hurt, and he endured the agony of being murdered all so that we would not need to endure it on a much larger, spiritual scale.
The God King Jesus made himself lower so that we could be elevated to a right standing with our Heavenly Father. Click To TweetJesus is God since before things began. When the time was right, He began incarnate as a man. Then, in the culmination of all human nature that has been and will to come, Christ died for our sins as one of us. The God King Jesus made himself lower so that we could be elevated to a right standing with our Heavenly Father. This process pained Jesus horribly and he cried out in agonizing, excruciating pain. In crying out “I thirst” it reiterated the humanity of Jesus Christ as here to bear the burdens of mankind.
A Common Temptation
God is great and mighty. He is seated on the throne and rules sovereign over all creation. There is nothing beyond His reach or influence and He will continue to reign victorious throughout all of eternity. This is the same God who cried out “I thirst.” This is the same God willingly became nothing for the sake of those He cares about in order to save them from themselves. Every second of the pain and torture that Christ endured was an profound act of love as He willingly went in our place. We will never need to feel alone, abandoned, or unloved by God as He became one of us endure what we would never need to endure. Whenever we have physical or spiritual lack or need, we are able to approach a God who understood the extent and fullness of exhaustion on our behalf.
He came in order that we would be able to approach God and enter into relationship with Him. By choosing to die as a man, Jesus cemented our relationship with God and our standing in Heaven. Click To TweetWe have a God who is fully able to understand and sympathize with or sin and temptation. First, he was tempted in the same way we were, taking on the flesh as one of us. He understands what we go through and the temptations we all face. Furthermore, he bore the weight and consequences of our sin on the cross. While God is omniscient, he is also entirely approachable. He came in order that we would be able to approach God and enter into relationship with Him. By choosing to die as a man, Jesus cemented our relationship with God and our standing in Heaven.
For more in this series, check out Seven Last Words of Christ.
