After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!" John 19:28 NKJV Jesus, keeping His vision set on the purpose and reward, gave Himself up to endure the suffering of one of the most painful deaths imaginable. And He did it for us.

The physiology of what happens to a human body that is crucified is remarkably devastating. A body can endure quite a lot. Adrenaline can kick in and defying feats can be accomplished. We can get by for a while eating almost nothing. We can will ourselves to endure through incredibly challenging circumstances. But without water, we perish.

"I thirst" is the second to last thing Jesus said on the cross. Such a small phrase makes a tremendous statement: Jesus truly is God and man. He identifies with us. He understands pain, extreme pain. He was near the end. His human body had a limit. As in everything He did, Jesus set an example for us. We can never tell God He doesn't understand. He does. On a very real level. And He reminds us, over and over in His Word, that since He persevered, so can we.

And there will be great reward for doing so. Life is hard. I say it all the time because it's true: God never promised us we'd float through life on a flowery bed of ease. He did, however, assure us that it would be worth the effort to live for Him every day. Here's a great quote from C.S. Lewis: "Try to exclude the possibility of suffering, which the order of nature and the existence of free wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself."

Be encouraged and press on.
Pastor Jeff

Also read James 1:2-4; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:6-7.



© 2007 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.