"I THIRST"

"My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death." (Psalms 22:15) Knowing what we know about the way Jesus was crucified, we can begin to see how these Scriptures portray the anguish that He suffered for our sins. This was a full day's event; one that started the evening before, with Him being beaten and ridiculed, and then early in the morning He was making His way to the place He would be crucified, dragging His own cross. It was during His journey with the cross that Jesus began to become exceedingly fatigued, almost to the point of death, and they had someone else carry His cross. Whether it was at this point, or a little later during the beginning of His crucifixion, they offered Jesus sweet wine mixed with gall, which was meant to deaden the pain of dying. Jesus refused this first drink that was offered, because He was unwilling to dull the pain, but faithfully and fully suffered through each and every moment of His death. It is kind of like a mother giving birth who refuses an epidural during her labor, so as to not endanger her child with any source of narcotics or poisons. Jesus did not want dull the pain and take away from anything that was being delivered by His suffering; not taking a chance to damage what was going to be accomplished by His death, He took all the pain so that we would be made whole and complete in Him. (Matthew 27:33-35) After hanging upon the cross for around six hours, Jesus asked for a drink; yet He asked not to satisfy His thirst, even though He was thirsty, but that the Scriptures should be fulfilled. John 19:28 gives this account, and says, "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst". The vinegar that was given to Jesus was a sour wine mixed with water which the Roman soldiers drank because the local water alone made them sick. The amount of it that Jesus drank was only to dampen His mouth, and was no way enough to satisfy a thirst; yet the thirst that Jesus was referring to was surely one that needed to be quenched. His thirst was for that which would refresh His soul, as He had taken on all of our sin, He was now feeling the full affects of sin upon His soul and the separation from the Father for the very first time. This is a thirst that we all experience when we are away from God; it's a weary soul that is dry and thirsty for God's Spirit to fill it and bring it to life. That is the description that we are witnessing today; a description of a vessel that has been dried out and is just the dust of the ground from which it came. That is the cost of sin, and the price which was paid for our's..."Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; He hath put him to grief: when Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:10-12) ...BE STRONG!