Jesus Thirsted - Day 45*

* There will be a total of 46 postings in this series since I posted blogs on Sundays during Lent. Sundays are Feast Days and not "counted" in the 40 days. JWN


"After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill scripture), ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth.” (John 19: 28-29)
Jesus must have been thirsty. He had not had anything to drink or eat since the night before. He must have been looking for any kind of comfort that could be given to him, maybe even some sour wine. The Romans would keep the sour wine there as a mild sedative. Even they had some mercy. Not much, but some.
Yes, he must have been thirsty; but there is thirst and then there is thirst. He had immediate thirst at this moment for wine or water, but he also had a deeper thirst for God, for us, for God and us. All of that—his mission—is what he had the deeper thirst for. And now, his thirst for bringing us back to God, for forgiving us, for showing us God’s love, for reconciling us with God, had come to its most critical and crucial moment. In order to slack this thirst he had to drink deep of his own sacrifice and death. In order to slack his thirst he had to drink deep of all that separated us from God and he had to take the weight and pain and agony of all that on his back.
So, what are you thirsty for? There are so many things that we can try to slack our thirst, so many “drinks” that we think will satisfy, so many “wells” we try to drain dry. All too often these “drinks” don’t really slack our thirst. All too often they only make us more thirsty.
God made us to be thirsty for God. Jesus came to remind us of that fact. He came calling himself many things, including “Living Water.” He came to reveal that in drinking this water, drinking Him, we will never be thirsty again. When we drink of Him we drink joy and hope and forgiveness and grace and love and purpose. When we drink in of Him we are drinking the Living Water that fills us up, that makes us whole, that makes us streams of life to and for others.
Jesus said, “I thirst.” He thirsted for you, for me, for us. He thirsted to share love. Just like He thirsted for us, maybe we need to consider our thirst for Him. Drink deep. His water is good.