[Machine transcription]
In the name of Jesus, amen.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
the fifth words on the cross that Jesus spoke were two.
I thirst.
You may be asking yourself, why with all the other phrases,
all the words that have just evidence of why they were said,
why would Jesus say,
I thirst upon the cross?
Coming after, my God, my God,
why hath Thou forsaken me?
And coming before, it is finished.
It is true.
He says these words because
it was the fulfillment of the Scripture
in Psalm 69, verse 21.
and it is true that Jesus was like every other human being except without sin so
in these kind of events it would be obvious that he would say I thirst these
words it is true that Jesus says these words because he is suffering and he is
being deprived so it’s easy when you see these words that are saying at this
point, I thirst, you can see it in that linear line of the first word, the second
word, the third word, the fourth word, the fifth word, the sixth word, and the
seventh word, and it sort of gets lost in that line. But we all know about Jesus’
state of humiliation and a state of exaltation. And you’ve all seen the
diagrams where it starts up high with the Incarnation, and then the suffering,
and the death, and then it goes up the descent, the resurrection, and the
ascension. So I would like for you to look at these same seven words in that
same pattern, because you can see the first word that Jesus spoke as He looks
up to His Father in heaven, but He has those in front of Him on His mind. He
looks up to His Father and He says, forgive them for they know not what they
we do, forgive them, not only those that were there, but as you and me as well.”
The second words, not only looking up to this Father, but looking to the criminal, the thief
that was to his left or to his right, whichever it was, that both were hurling insults at
the beginning of the crucifixion, if you can save yourself, save us too.
to the point, somewhere, seeing and hearing when you enter into your kingdom,
remember me. And Jesus says to him, today you will enter into paradise with me. And
then as it goes down, he lives to the third word, and he looks out at his
and the mother,
and the disciple,
and the exchange that happens.
But the very center of the seven words
is the lowest point.
It is at the place where Jesus will say,
My God, My God,
why hath Thou forsaken Me?
Talking to His Father in Heaven.
As His Father turns His back upon Him where there is no grace extended, turning
His back on Him where there is no mercy extended, but only the punishment that
was to be for you and me, His Father placed upon Him.” The fourth word. So now
have the fifth word, I thirst. I will contend that the fifth word no longer
goes down, but goes up. Because Jesus paid for your sins and my sins at that
point. And it was from there, after that excelling, realizing that He had just finished His mission.
He had just accomplished His reason for coming into the world. It was done. And like a runner
who runs the race,
who crosses the finish line
and catches his breath,
the first thing he wants
is refreshments.
So Jesus says,
I thirst.
And from there, it goes up.
It is done.
Jesus loves you and me so much
that He allowed Himself to be hung upon a cross, that He would die, that we can
live. And that was His mission, to come into the world to achieve that. And He
did. But do not let those little two words get lost in the seven, all they’re
insignificant, but they’re just as important. Because it could be that Jesus
exhaled and says, it’s done. I thirst. It is done. And He did it for you. So for us
as the last verse that you just sung, we respond.
May we thirst your love to know.
Lead us in our sin and woe, where the healing water flows.
Hear us, Holy Jesus.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
