"I am thirsty."
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” (John 19:28, ESV)
If one or both of your parents asked you to endure awful and excruciating pain, maybe not ones that would end in death, but almost, would you do it? Pain such as walking over burning coals, walking in extreme heat carrying a huge amount of weight, lying on a bed of nails, stabbing a huge knife into your leg, etc., would you? Would you do it if there was some incentive at the end of these painful trials, such as, a brand new car, a lot of money, etc? Or would you do it simply because your parents asked you to, sincerely out of respect for them? Or what if it involved making a difference in other people's lives? I would honestly have to say, I probably wouldn't. The above painful scenarios to us seem to be the most excruciating pain one could endure, but it's nothing compared to what Jesus endured.
Jesus knew all along that God asked Him to fulfill His will, which involved severe pain, suffering, and DEATH. God had this planned long before Jesus had even set foot on this earth. Take a look in the book of Isaiah:
Isaiah 53:5 says, " But he was wounded for our trangressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed."
Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." (ESV)
You may be thinking, well, Jesus knew He'd be saving everyone from their sins, that was the ultimate end result. And Jesus is Jesus, come on. We can’t compare ourselves to Jesus, He is God's Son. But the truth is, in a small way, we can. Yes, Jesus fulfilled God's will, and yes He knew the end result was saving us and showing us what unconditional love really is, but He was also real. At the end of accomplishing God's will, He asked for a drink, because He was thirsty. John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, "I am thirsty." (NASB)
It wasnt until this moment that he said anything that alluded to Him asking for any help or complaining about this journey He had taken. He endured it all, fulfilled it all, did everything God asked of Him, and now He was thirsty, He was done.
Jesus was a testament to us that out of love to His Father and His love for us, He was willing to do anything, pain, torture, humiliation, even death.
Are we willing to live our life the way God wants so that others will know the love Christ has for us? We even know the final result, Heaven! Can we live each day fulfilling God's will even if it costs us pain and trials? The next question is, are we? If not, others will never be able to experience the true unconditional love of Christ.
[Devotional thought written by Jacynda Lynch]
Comments