A Journey with Jesus to the Cross and Beyond
by Tricia McCary Rhodes
DAY THIRTY-ONE -- Thirsty
How do you approach the thirst of Jesus? Only one secret -- the closer you come to Jesus, the better you will know His thirst. Jesus thirsts even now, in your heart and in the poor ... He knows your weakness, He wants only your love, wants only the chance to love you.
Mother Teresa
Reflect
Come to the oasis of God's refreshing presence as you seek Him today. Spend a few minutes thanking Him for the living water, which is always available for you to drink. Consider what it means to be truly thirsty, and unable to quench your thirst.
Another prophecy of the crucifixion is found in Psalm 69. Read the following verses and contemplate the emotions of Christ as he hangs in the final moments on Golgotha.
Save me, O God, for the waters have threatened my life. I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.
Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; those who would destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies; what I did not steal, I then have to restore.
Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick. And I looked for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Psalm 69:1-4,20-21
Read the verses again, ponder them and ask God to reveal the deeper truths revealed in Jesus' cry: I thirst.
Read
After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I am thirsty"
John 19:28
The faint light spreading across Golgotha stirs groups of onlookers who have been frozen in fear. Most hurry home, anxious to leave behind an overpowering sense of dread and despair. The four soldiers, superstitious about the receding darkness, stand apprehensively near the crosses. Soon, stilted conversation begins as different ones offer their opinion on the black sky and the forlorn cry from Jesus' lips.
One of the priests surmises: "Clearly, he is calling for Elijah!" Nervous snickers ensue as they discuss the absurdity of such a plea.
The physical pain for Jesus drones on, a persistent vibration in every cell of his failing body. Yet, the agony on his face is different now. In the eye of suffering's terrible storm, it almost seems he has found a place of rest. He looks out over Jerusalem, recalling his days and nights of obedience to his Father. Now, in this moment, a sense of completion settles in his soul. He has done what he came to do.
Death is near. Jesus pants faster, gasping for air with each try. His lungs ache from the stress, and his throat burns with each breath. His heart must work harder and harder to pump blood throughout his body. Dehydrated and no longer able to swallow, he manages to push himself up just enough to mouth the words, I am thirsty.
What goes through his mind as he speaks? Is it physical thirst that compels him to cry out so? Or do the words tell a deeper story? Does he thirst on behalf of a lost and dying world who are desperate for a taste of the living water only he can give? Is he gently reminding those who will follow him, that in quenching the thirst of humanity, they quench his own thirst? That a cup of water given to the least of these, will now and forever, be a cup of water for him?
One of the soldiers grabs a reed from a hyssop plant, putting a sponge on its tip. He dips it in his own cup of cheap wine and holds it to Jesus' lips. The priests and elders, put off at the act of kindness, call out barbs and taunts once again.
"Ha -- leave him alone and see if Elijah will come and take him down!"
"Yes -- let us see if Elijah will come and save him now!"
The laughter resumes, though it lacks the force of their earlier sarcasm. The vinegary wine burns Jesus' cracked lips and parched tongue, dripping down his face. The sun grows brighter, beating down on his matted head, while his body shivers uncontrollably.
Within the city, the celebration of Passover comes slowly to an end. Families have broken bread, and offered their finest lambs in sacrifice and homage to Jahweh. And on the hill outside the city gates, the Lamb of God stands at the very threshold of death, having at last offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice for a world bound by sin.
Respond
Let yourself feel a small sense of the peace that Christ is experiencing on a spiritual level at nearing completion of the work on the cross. Yet, know that the physical pain continues. Imagine His thirst, having had nothing to eat or drink for hours, hanging in the hot sun, tongue swollen and lips cracked open and dry. Then consider His longing to give living water to all who want to drink. Hear Him say; I thirst. Contemplate His voice and these two words for a while. What does it mean to you?
Read Psalm 22:14-15, reflecting on Jesus' state of mind. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and you lay me in the dust of death.
How will you respond to his thirst? What difference will it make in your own life? Write a prayer of response to Him as he calls to you personally: I thirst.
A Prayer
Oh Jesus how I long to quench your thirst. I see you there and I want to run with a cool glass of water from a fresh spring. For this is what you did for me when my soul dwelt in a dry and thirsty land. You came rushing in, oh River of life and now from my innermost being flow forth springs of living water. I will quench your thirst dearest Savior. To a lost and dying world, I will offer a cup in your name.
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