I Thirst
John 19:28-29
During the approximately six hours Jesus Christ hung on the cross, our Lord spoke seven final statements. One of those statements is recorded in John 19:28: “Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I thirst.’” Answering the question of how long Jesus was on the cross is complicated by the fact that two systems of marking time are used in the Gospels.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke use the Jewish system of marking time. John uses the Roman system. Using the Jewish system, Mark says, “They crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they crucified him” (Mark 15:24–25, ESV). According to this, Christ’s crucifixion began at 9:00 A.M.
Also using the Jewish system of marking time, Matthew says that “from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour” (Matthew 27:45, ESV). That is, the darkness lasted from 12:00 noon to 3:00 P.M. This was Jesus’ final three hours on the cross. At the end of that time, “when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit” (Matthew 27:50). After that a Roman soldier made sure of His death (John 19:34), and Jesus’ body was taken down. Jesus had been on the cross from approximately 9:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M., a total of six hours.
The apostle John links Jesus’ statement “I thirst” to the fulfillment of Scripture. There were, in fact, at least twenty Old Testament prophecies fulfilled during the twenty-four hours surrounding the Lord’s death. By highlighting how Old Testament Scriptures were fulfilled throughout Jesus’ crucifixion, John showed that everything was happening according to God’s plan.
When Jesus said, “I thirst,” from the cross, He was alluding to a prophecy in Psalm 22:15: “My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.” The apostle John had cited this same psalm earlier regarding the dividing of Jesus’ garments among the Roman soldiers (John 19:23).
In response to Jesus’ statement " I thirst" the soldiers offer Him wine vinegar: “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” (John 19:29). Wine vinegar was the cheapest wine for soldiers to acquire. It was probably diluted with water.
Earlier, Jesus refused a drink of vinegar, gall, and myrrh offered to Him to relieve His suffering (Matthew 27:34 and Mark 15:23). After that, the soldiers mockingly offered Him wine vinegar but did not allow Him to drink (Luke 23:36). But here, several hours later, Jesus states, “I thirst,” This time, the soldiers give Him some. This action was a fulfillment of Psalm 69:21: “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.”
Let's reflect on what those words of Jesus meant as we contemplate our redemption.
The apostle John, who was present at the cross wrote, "Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished . . ."John 19: .28a). The hardest part of the suffering is now over. He was alert in His suffering and the reason for His suffering. Even on the cross He is in control and the Master of the moment. He is alert up to the moment of His death.
What is it that Jesus now knows? All things have now been accomplished. They have been brought to a close or reached their goal. The last act in His suffering has now been completed.
Whatever it was that Jesus accomplished in that bitter agony during the three hours of darkness when He was covered with our guilt, and experienced the abandonment of the Farther was now over. When that was over, the final act was finished, and by that act His purpose of suffering was finished and He completed what the Scripture foretold concerning His death. Jesus was aware that nothing more was needed. The awful, cruel ugly task of paying the penalty for our sins was accomplished. Nothing needed to be added to His completed work. In the terrible darkness that covered the land Jesus had cried out, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" After this terrible suffering in the dense darkness was over Jesus said " I thirst." . It is now that He knows that all His work is done.
When He spoke these words, all things were accomplished He had made the once-for-all sacrifice for sin. The Seed of the woman had bruised the serpent's head. The struggle with the power of darkness was over. He had won the battle for the souls of lost men.
What was in John's mind when he wrote, "in order that the Scriptures might be fulfilled" (v. 28b)? The construction here calls for the fulfillment in the words of Jesus, "I thirst." not "I die."
Psalm 22:15 says "my tongue cleaves to my jaws" because of the bitter dehydration and blistering thirst. The Scriptures were fulfilled spontaneously from the lips of Jesus. Nothing is forced on the Old Testament texts.
Psalm 69:1-3, 7-9, 19-21 is another of those great prophecies in the Old Testament of the humiliation of the Messiah. It speaks of our suffering Savior. The first four verses could be easily compared to the suffering of Jesus. Verse four, "Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head . . ." Cf. John 15:21-25
The entire Scriptures in all that they present concerning the earthly work of Jesus have now been turned into actuality. The divine work of atonement mapped out by the Scriptures is now a work actually accomplished.
In Genesis 3:15 Jesus is crushing the head of serpent. Paul wrote in Romans 16:20, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you." The victory won over Satan at Calvary becomes your victory and mine.
Jesus is the Lamb of Genesis 22:7 when Isaac inquired of his father Abraham, "Where is the lamb?" If there were no lamb, Isaac must die. At the cross, the Lamb is identified and He makes Isaac's sacrifice for him. John the baptizer saw Jesus and declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29).
Numbers 21:9 Jesus is the one being lifted up that whoever believes in Him may be eternal life. Jesus said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:14–16).
Moses spoke of the coming of the Prophet of God in Deuteronomy 18:15, 18. Here at the Cross Jesus is the one unique spokesman of God proclaiming the finished work of God in redeeming the world.
This is the One in Isaiah 53:3 who is "despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief . . ." Jesus told His disciples, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be delivered up to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and will deliver Him unto the Gentiles. And they will mock Him and spit upon Him, and scourge Him, and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again" (Mark 10:33-34). These prophesies were fulfilled.
At the cross we see Isaiah 53:4 fulfilled in the One who "my griefs He Himself bore, And my sorrows he carried; Yet I esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted." This is not a reference to healing in the atonement, but Jesus dealing with the root of our sin problem.
He does not, in fact, "ask for a drink" , and this is vital for understanding the gospel at this point.
In manner distinct from the synoptic gospels, John portrays Jesus as very much in control throughout his crucifixion, despite appearances. The principle is spelled out in John 10:17-18:
" The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.
Then at three points during the crucifixion scene, the "fulfillment of "scripture" is invoked, underscoring this notion:
v. 24, casting lots for the "robe" (cf. Ps 22:18);
v. 28, Jesus' drawing on Ps 69:21 in announcing his thirst; and
v. 36-37, the spear-thrust in preference to leg-breaking (cf. Ps 34:20; Zech 12:10).
While there were good "physical" reasons why Jesus would be thirsty, John reports Jesus as announcing his thirst for clear theological reasons. Jesus is fulfilling his mission, and the moment of "thirst" in v. 28 is a deliberate act to that end.
Hanging on the cross, Jesus suffered bitter agony and darkness while covered in our guilt, sin, and shame. When the act of purchasing our redemption was complete, nothing more was needed.
Everything Jesus had come to do on earth was now finished. The Scriptures were fulfilled. All that God had purposed and all the prophets had foretold was complete, and Jesus surrendered Himself to death.
Jesus said, “I thirst,” from the cross because He wanted His lips and throat moistened to utter one final victorious shout before He died. The death of Jesus Christ finished His work of redemption, atonement, and reconciliation. Through Christ’s substitutionary and sacrificial death on the cross, the Lamb of God paid our debt and took away our sin. Our ransom complete, Jesus, with a resounding voice, wanted all people to hear these words—words that still ring strong today: “It is finished!”
