Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” Or more simply, “I thirst.”
These few words reveal Jesus’ humanity alongside his divinity. Like all of us, Jesus got thirsty.
We all know that proper hydration is crucial to good health. It’s especially true here in a desert climate with such low humidity levels. I never quite know if I’m drinking enough water.
So, I thirst. People struggling with diabetes get thirsty. Millions of people throughout the world don’t have access to clean drinking water. They thirst.
Jesus was parched on that day of his greatest suffering, having journeyed to the cross. When he said, “I thirst,” he reveals himself to be a brother and friend who knows our human plight and suffering when we thirst.
Of course, more is going on in these simple words. The Gospel writer John proclaims that Jesus said, “I thirst” to fulfill the scripture. From our Christian vantage point, for example, we see Jesus in the words of the psalms: “And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” (Psalm 69:21) We think of our Lord when the psalmist writes: “My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws.” (Psalm 22:15)
And it’s not just bodily thirst. Jesus’ thirst is also metaphorical, spiritual, theological – again, we hear this in the psalms, and think of Jesus’ words on the cross: “O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; and flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1) And from the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount we catch a glimpse of Jesus’ own character in his own words: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)
So much is wrapped up in a couple of simple, but profound words, “I thirst.” To sum it up: Jesus, our friend and brother, gets thirsty and suffers in solidarity with us. Jesus, the Christ, is a fulfillment of scriptural promises and prophecies. Jesus, our Savior, is Emmanuel, God with us, whose being one with God quenches our thirst for relationship with God. Finally, Jesus is our Redeemer, whose thirst for righteousness becomes our righteousness.
And all of this had its fulfillment on the cross when Jesus said, “I thirst.”
