Sunday, April 06, 2014

"I am thirsty."

“I am thirsty.”


John 19: 28 – 29


Introduction

Over these past few weeks, we have been reading the last seven sayings of Jesus from the cross.  So far, Jesus’ words from the cross have been very selfless.  Instead of focusing on his own needs and his own pain, Jesus focused on others. 
The first words Jesus spoke from the cross can be described as a prayer…a prayer for forgiveness.  Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
The second words Jesus spoke from the cross can be described as an answer to a prayer.  The thief on the cross asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus came into the Kingdom of God.  Jesus replied, “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.”
Jesus’ third words were instructions for John, the Apostle to take care of Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
The fourth words sound like a selfish cry of abandonment: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  But, when we read them alongside Psalm 22, we recognize that Jesus is quoting an Old Testament passage that prophesies about the suffering of the Messiah and the triumph of the Messiah…
The fifth words Jesus spoke from the cross are very self-focused.  Jesus speaks about his own physical need…AND, one of the people standing nearby responds by meeting Jesus’ physical need…


John 19: 28 – 29…28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 

These words from the cross show us the human side of Jesus.  As Christians, we believe that Jesus is both human and divine.  AND, it is important that we affirm both aspects of Jesus’ character…Jesus is 100% human and 100% divine…
It is important to say that Jesus is 100% divine, because this affirms the fact that Jesus’ death on the cross and his Resurrection are acts of God.  God stepped into human history and provided the only way human sin can be forgiven and the only way the relationship between God and humanity could be reconciled.
It is important to say that Jesus is 100% human, because this affirms the fact that Jesus has experienced everything a human being can possibly experience.  Jesus felt the physical pain of the cross and the emotional pain of being despised and rejected.  And, Jesus experienced the spiritual pain of temptation to sin but remained without sin.
So, when Jesus said, “I am thirsty,” Jesus was actually thirsty.
There are a couple of very creative interpretations of Jesus’ crucifixion.  The Gnostics of the First and Second Centuries said that Jesus did not actually die on the cross.  Instead, it only SEEMED like Jesus died on the cross.  Another theory—which has become very popular among Muslim interpreters—says that Jesus did not actually die on the cross.  Instead, Jesus was able to switch places with Judas Iscariot.  In an ironic twist, Jesus did not actually suffer and die on the cross: Judas—the one who betrayed Jesus—suffered and died on the cross.  (Of course, this also explains what they believe happened on Easter Sunday.  They think Judas’ body remained in the grave, while Jesus walked around making people think he had been Resurrected.)
These two creative interpretations of Jesus’ death and Resurrection have one thing in common.  They are NOT Christian views.  The Christian view is that Jesus literally, physically and actually died on the cross and that Jesus literally, physically and actually rose from the grave.  Jesus did not appear to die—Jesus actually died.  Jesus did not trick Judas and switch places with Judas—Jesus actually died.
According to historians (and some modern day doctors who study the crucifixion of Jesus), a person who died by crucifixion usually died with one of three possible causes of death.  Suffocation—the weight of the body pulling against arms nailed to the crossbar made it difficult to breathe.  Loss of blood—in Jesus’ case, Jesus was bleeding from the nails, the crown of thorns as well as the beating he experienced before the cross.  Dehydration—hanging on the cross in the middle of the day, exposed to the elements, with no food or drink.  Therefore, we can probably take Jesus’ words—I am thirsty—as an indication that he was getting close to death.  By indicating he was close to death, Jesus is reminding us of his humanity.
Of course, Jesus was no ordinary human being.  Jesus was and is the Son of God.


Son of God


There are three occasions in the life of Jesus where the New Testament emphasizes that Jesus is the Son of God.  In the Old Testament, Son of God usually referred to a divine being.  In the New Testament, this is a title for Jesus.  If the early Christians who wrote the New Testament and professed Jesus as the Son of God were shaped by their understanding of the Old Testament, then it is easy to see they actually believed Jesus was divine.  Jesus is God Incarnate—God in the Flesh.
One of the places where we read that Jesus is the Son of God was Jesus’ baptism.  When Jesus came out of the Jordan River, the Spirit of God descended like a dove and a voice from Heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, in him I am well pleased.”  Another occasion was on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Jesus took Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain and showed them his glory.  Jesus’ clothes became dazzling white.  Moses and Elijah appeared alongside Jesus.  And a voice from Heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him.”  The other occasion was the miraculous birth of Jesus.
According to the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke, Jesus was born to Mary at a time when she was still a virgin.  Jesus did not have a normal birth like you and I did.  Jesus was not conceived by a husband and wife.  Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit.  God himself is Jesus’ Father.
Jesus is the Unique Son of God.  His miraculous birth demonstrates that Jesus came from Heaven.  Throughout his life, Jesus maintained a close and intimate relationship with God.  Jesus lived his life as God’s loyal Son.  Jesus imitated his Father in everything he did and said.  Jesus did nothing on his own initiative.  He modeled God’s character and was always faithful and obedient to God as his Father.
This leads us to what is perhaps the most important thing we can say about Jesus.  Jesus was God Incarnate or God in the Flesh.  Jesus was and is both divine and human.  We see his divinity in the fact that all of creation was under Jesus’ control.  He could heal the sick.  He could even control the wind and the storms.  We see Jesus’ humanity in the fact that he experienced everything it means to be human.  The Bible tells us that Jesus was hungry and ate food.  Jesus was thirsty and asked for a drink (on the cross).  Jesus was tired and took a nap in a boat.  Jesus was sad and grieved at the grave of a friend.  Jesus was angry when he overturned the tables in the Temple.  Jesus was even tempted by Satan when he fasted in the desert for forty days.
The proper theological view of Jesus is to say that Jesus was and is both fully divine and fully human.  If Jesus is ONLY human, then God has not come down to save us from our sins.  If Jesus is ONLY divine, then God has not entered our world.  If Jesus is BOTH divine and human, then God has entered the world of sin and evil…God has set an example for how we ought to live our lives…And God has provided the way for our sins to be forgiven and for us to have an eternal relationship with the living God.
At the beginning of Jesus’ life, the story of the Virgin Birth tells us that Jesus is divine and human.  At the end of Jesus’ life, Jesus’ words from the cross—“I am thirsty”—tell us that Jesus is divine and human…But why thirst?  There are a lot of things Jesus could have said from the cross to demonstrate his humanity.  Jesus could have described his pain…or drawn attention to the blood flowing from his hands and feet…or said “I am hungry; I am sad; or I am tired.” 
I believe it is remarkable that Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”  Remarkable, because in my recollection of the Gospels, there were two other times when Jesus said he was thirsty.


The Woman at the Well


John 4: 1 – 14…1 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. 
4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 
10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." 
11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" 
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  

There is a lot going on in this story.  Jesus was trying to travel from the Southern part of Israel (Judea) to the Northern part (Galilee).  Most Jewish people went the long way when making this trip, because the shorter route / the direct route went through the region known as Samaria—the home of the Samaritans.  Jesus traveled through Samaria and struck up a conversation with a Samaritan woman.
This interesting little story gives us some insight into Jesus’ understanding of racial and gender issues.  Jesus crossed over racial and gender boundaries and shared the Good News of salvation with someone who had two strikes against her.  She was a Samaritan and a woman.  This woman would have been overlooked by the Jewish religious leaders.  But there is something even more important than racial and gender issues in this story… Jesus tells us the true meaning of his mission.  Jesus was born of a Virgin.  Jesus lived a sinless life.  Jesus preached about the Kingdom of God.  Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons.  Why did Jesus do all this?  To provide us with the Living Water. 
A person can live without food, but no one can live without water.  Water is the source of life.  (When NASA sends robots and rovers to other planets to search for signs of life, they begin their search by searching for water.  If there is no water, then there can be no life as we know it on earth.)
Just as water is the source of our physical lives, Jesus is the source of our life with God.   Without Jesus, there can be no forgiveness of sin…Without forgiveness of sin, there can be no relationship with God…Without relationship with God, there can be no eternal life in Heaven…  God became a man and lived among us so that we might have forgiveness of sin, relationship with God and eternal life in Heaven.


The Least of These


Matthew 25: 31 – 46…31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 
34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 
44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 
45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." 

Jesus told this parable of the sheep and the goats to his disciples right before he sent them out on what we might call the Gentile mission.  Previously, Jesus had sent his disciples to the nation of Israel.  Now, Jesus is preparing them to go out and preach to the Gentiles…There was one important thing lacking…The mission to the Gentiles could not begin until after the crucifixion and Resurrection…Ultimately, this mission to the Gentiles is what we commonly refer to as the Great Commission…All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me, therefore go and make disciples of all nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and surely I am with you always even to the end of the age…
This mission to the Gentiles is a preaching mission…but it is much more than that.  It is also a mission to serve the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the sick and the prisoner.
When Christian people serve the physical needs of the world around us, we actually do three things.  First, we obey the teachings of Jesus…Second, we imitate the example Jesus set for us…Third, we make Jesus real to people who have never heard of Jesus before…In other words, we make Jesus Incarnate—in the flesh…
The Incarnation is more than a one-time event in history.  The Incarnation happens every day, when the world sees Jesus in the way we live our lives.


Conclusion


One of the most popular religious affiliations in the United States of America is the group of people who call themselves, “Spiritual but not Religious.”  Of course, Spiritual but not Religious means different things to different people.  For some people it is a rejection of every organized religion.  For other people it is a mixture of every organized religion.
“Spiritual but not Religious” is more popular in the United States than in other countries…and I believe this is for good reason.  “Spiritual but not Religious” fits the American mindset better than any other nation / culture / philosophy.  In the United States of America, people prefer spirituality over religion.
Spirituality is private; Religion is public.  Spirituality is individualistic; Religion is social / corporate—in Religion, you have to learn how to forgive and get along with other people.  Spirituality is personal (to the point of being relativistic and even customizable / what works for me might not work for you); Religion has been handed down for thousands of years / hundreds of generations…
If you are coming to church in order to be more spiritual, I have some bad news for you.  The church is not a very spiritual place…Because Christianity is not spiritual.  This is the way God intended.  Christianity is not spiritual, because Christianity is Incarnational. 
God doesn’t want you to be more spiritual.  God wants you to be Incarnational!  God doesn’t want our church to be more spiritual.  God wants us to be Incarnational!

Christianity has ALWAYS had a body.  Jesus has a body, and that body literally, physically and actually died on the cross.  As Christians, you and I have a body—and it matters what we do with our bodies.  And the church IS a body—the Body of Christ.  We are called to make Jesus real for people who have never heard of Jesus and never met Jesus.

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