"I Thirst"

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 93:1-5
• Hymn — Petitions for Deliverance
• Prayer of Invocation
• Hymn — #322
• Pastoral Prayer
• Sermon
• Benediction — Romans 15:13

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Sermon Title: I Thirst

Scripture: John 19:28

I. The Setting: Jesus Crucified and Thirsty

A. John 19:28 is the fifth of seven statements Jesus made from the cross, recorded only in John's Gospel B. In Greek, I thirst is a single word expressing the physical anguish of Jesus in his sixth hour on the cross C. This was no ordinary thirst — it was the thirst of hell, Jesus experiencing for sinners what they deserve

II. The Paradox: The God-Man in Need of a Drink

A. John's Gospel establishes both the full deity and full humanity of Christ from the outset

1. John 1:1-3 — the Word was God, and all things were made through him
2. John 1:14 — the Word became flesh and dwelt among us B. The Nicene Creed confesses Jesus as very God of very God, begotten not made, who became man for our salvation C. Early heresies (docetism) denied Christ's real humanity; John writes to refute this — Jesus genuinely suffered D. The paradox: the one who offers living water so that none will ever thirst again now cries out, I thirst
3. Philippians 2:6-8 — though equal with God, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross

III. The Cup Jesus Refused

A. Before crucifixion, Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh — a narcotic to dull pain — and he refused it

1. Recorded in Matthew and Mark, absent from John
2. To accept any relief would have diminished his suffering and left the full penalty of sin unpaid B. Jesus had to drink the cup of God's wrath undiluted, as he had prayed over in Gethsemane C. His refusal of mercy was an act of resolve to glorify the Father by fulfilling all things planned before the foundation of the world

IV. The Fulfillment of Scripture

A. The text states explicitly: knowing that all things were accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled B. Jesus's eye was always fixed on the Word of God as the source of his strength to endure C. Moments before, Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1 — My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? — affirming the scripture he was fulfilling D. Psalm 40:7-8 — Jesus came to do all that was written in the scroll of the book about him E. Psalm 69:21 — For my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink — fulfilled when the soldiers offer him sour wine

V. The Depth of Jesus's Suffering: The Thirst of Hell

A. The source of Jesus's deepest anguish was not physical but the wrath of God poured out upon him for sin B. For the first time in eternity, the Son was cut off from communion with the Father — this is hell C. Jesus's loneliness at the cross: his disciples scattered, even the women and John stood at a distance D. The story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 illustrates the eternal thirst of those separated from God

1. The rich man in torment cries for a drop of water to cool his tongue
2. Faith to escape this fate comes by hearing the Word of God — Romans 10 E. Jesus experienced an eternity of this anguish compressed into the hours of the cross, for his people

VI. The Glorious Outcome: Satisfaction for His Travail

A. Isaiah 53:10-11 — it pleased the Lord to crush him; yet he shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied

1. Believers are the labor of Christ's soul — he looks upon them and declares them worth it B. Jesus drank the cup of wrath to the dregs so that his people might drink with him in the Father's house C. Because Jesus thirsted, those who trust in him shall never thirst D. There is no wrath in the cup of the Lord's Supper for the believer — only blessing, as we come to the table next Lord's Day