Good Friday
March 21, 2008
Covenant-First Presbyterian Church
1:45-2:10
“After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.”
- John 19:28-29
Surely Winston Churchill’s oft quoted phrase applies to this scripture, “It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key.” Perhaps there is a key. And perhaps we can uncover a bit of that today.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ gathered on this Good Friday of 2008, I want to speak a great truth to you - Jesus was thirsty. I know, you were expecting more, surely there are more profound things being said today. “Jesus was thirsty” Hopefully though, the simplicity of the statement won’t undermine the depth of the intent. First we must examine the parameters of this text, then we can ponder Jesus’ thirst in the appropriate context.
Let’s examine some questions…
What was “now finished”?
- In John 17:4 Jesus prays “I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do. And now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began”. That mission is now complete. He has completed his divine agenda. The Father has been glorified in his acceptance of the cross.
What Scripture was fulfilled?
- Of this there is much ambiguity. There is no clear indication which scripture the gospel writer is referring. However, the most compelling connection can be draw to Psalm 69 - a psalm the writer John refers to on several other occasions.
“They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.”
- Psalm 69:21
To this it begs the most interesting question:
Why would Jesus say, and even more, why would John specifically record, “I thirst”? Given the whole cacophony of physical ailments that Jesus had at the moment why would he focus exclusively on his thirst? I must admit it seems almost comical! It’s as if Jesus looks down from the cross and says, “I seemed to have skinned my knee when I fell back there. Would you happen to have a Band-Aid handy?”
If Jesus knew he was about to die, if he was further convinced that his mission was completed why would he be concerned about feeling parched?
** update (3/24/0 
- after an enlightening conversation with my neighbor and friend Ben (who happens to be a doctor), I stand corrected - one of the experiences of a dying person is an acute feeling of thirst. So, that makes sense (now) from a medical “this guy is dying” point of view, what I continue to find intriguing - and it works with my line of reasoning - is why would John the gospel writer include it and what does it have to do with fulfilling scripture. What is his driving concern, beyond telling a true story, what is he evoking from us as readers? **
Was a sponge of sour wine helpful or slap in the face? Some have suggested that the sour wine of vinegar would have acted like a stimulate giving Jesus the stamina to cry out “It is finished” in the proceeding passage. Others have viewed the giving of sour wine as pour substitute to nourishment, a slap in the face of a dying Christ.
Was the hyssop branch a subtle reference to the Exodus story where the Hebrew slaves are instructed to use hyssop branches to paint their door frames with the Passover lamb’s blood?
And so we return to our Great Truth - Jesus was thirsty.
Perhaps John is drawing us as a readers to earlier in the narrative when Jesus speaks of drinking his blood (John 6) or when he tells the Samaritan woman that he would give Living Water (John 4) or even when he turned water to wine at a wedding in Cana (John 2). Jesus seems to be dealing with liquid and thirst throughout the Gospel of John. But in all those other instances, Jesus was the one offering the drink and quenching the thirst. Here we find Jesus himself thirsty.
What are we to do with this oddity? I believe Psalm 69 gives us a clue. Perhaps it is even the key to unraveling this mystery….
In Psalm 69 - to which John refers several times - we find a righteous person being mocked and humiliated by enemies. (vv. 19ff) Into this dilemma God shows up as Divine Rescuer. In this context we see Jesus as the Suffering Servant, in submission to the will of the Father. This is not the Nietzschean super-man. His life is lived - and he dies - in accordance to the Father’s design.
This is not the Gnostic envisage of Christ - the disconnected spiritual being who eschews the material world. No, this is Jesus who suffers. He shares our pain, our weakness, our humiliation. This is Jesus who receives an unjust sentence, an unfair accusation. This is a Jesus who bleeds, who falls, who needs help carrying the cross. This is a Jesus who thirsts.
Jesus was thirsty.
And by his stripes we are healed.
Jesus was thirsty.
And we receive him as a drink offering poured out for many.
Jesus was thirsty.
And he is for us living water by which we will never thirst again.
