CRCF–3-14-10<\/p>\n
Introduction\u201d\u201dWords are powerful. Words change our lives–especially those words that come from deepest in a person\u201d\u2122s heart! But the words spoken when someone is dying are, without a doubt, the most powerful words they\u201d\u2122ll ever speak\u201d\u201dthe words that will be remembered, the words that shape the rest of the lives of the loved ones who hear them.<\/p>\n
God has given us the last words of Jesus before He died in the Gospels. He spoke 7 times from the Cross. And if the last thoughts spoken by a dying loved one have ever stuck in our hearts and minds, I trust that together we will hear the words of our Savior as He reveals . . .<\/p>\n
The Heart of the Cross:
\nJesus Speaks from the Cross<\/p>\n
Part 3: \u201cI am thirsty.\u201d
\nJohn 19:28-29<\/p>\n
–VIDEO Clip ?<\/p>\n
John 19:28-29 (NLT)<\/p>\n
28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, \u201cI am thirsty.\u201d 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips.<\/p>\n
The heart of the Cross is that Jesus deserves your trust!<\/p>\n
Lucado: \u201cJesus. Lips cracked and mouth of cotton. Throat so dry he couldn\u201d\u2122t swallow, and voice so hoarse he could scarcely speak. He is thirsty. To find the last time moisture touched these lips you need to rewind a dozen hours to the meal in the upper room. Since tasting that cup of wine, Jesus has been beaten, spat upon, bruised and cut. He has been a cross-carrier and sin-bearer, and no liquid has salved his throat\u201d (He Chose the Nails, 91).<\/p>\n
In His fifth statement from the Cross, there are 2 realities about Jesus that prove this:<\/p>\n
1. Jesus understands your pain.<\/p>\n
In Matthew 27:34 and Mark 15:23, we are told that almost 6 hours earlier, when Jesus was first raised up on the Cross, He was offered a drink that He refused\u201d\u201d\u201cwine mixed with myrrh\u201d. This was a sedative of sorts, given to numb at least some fraction of the excruciating pain of crucifixion.<\/p>\n
Lucado: \u201cHe refused to be stupefied by the drugs, opting instead to feel the full force of his suffering\u201d (He Chose the Nails, 93).<\/p>\n
Listen to the description Scripture prophetically give of Jesus\u201d\u2122 suffering:<\/p>\n
Psalm 22:1-2, 6-8, 11-18 (NLT)<\/p>\n
1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
\nWhy are you so far away when I groan for help?
\n2 Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
\nEvery night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.
\n6 But I am a worm and not a man.
\nI am scorned and despised by all!
\n7 Everyone who sees me mocks me.
\nThey sneer and shake their heads, saying,
\n8 \u201cIs this the one who relies on the LORD?
\nThen let the LORD save him!
\nIf the LORD loves him so much,
\nlet the LORD rescue him!\u201d
\n11 Do not stay so far from me,
\nfor trouble is near,
\nand no one else can help me.
\n12 My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls;
\nfierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in!
\n13 Like lions they open their jaws against me,
\nroaring and tearing into their prey.
\n14 My life is poured out like water,
\nand all my bones are out of joint.
\nMy heart is like wax,
\nmelting within me.
\n15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
\nMy tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
\nYou have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
\n16 My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;
\nan evil gang closes in on me.
\nThey have pierced my hands and feet.
\n17 I can count all my bones.
\nMy enemies stare at me and gloat.
\n18 They divide my garments among themselves
\nand throw dice for my clothing.
\nPsalm 69:19-21 (NLT)
\n19 You know of my shame, scorn, and disgrace.
\nYou see all that my enemies are doing.
\n20 Their insults have broken my heart,
\nand I am in despair.
\nIf only one person would show some pity;
\nif only one would turn and comfort me.
\n21 But instead, they give me poison for food;
\nthey offer me sour wine for my thirst.
\nJesus understands your pain.<\/p>\n
And, therefore, He can be trusted!<\/p>\n
The heart of the Cross is that Jesus deserves your trust!<\/p>\n
Think about the agony of this moment. Jesus has been hanging on the tree for almost 6 hours. He\u201d\u2122s lost a lot of blood and sweated profusely\u201d\u201dbeginning with the beating, continuing through the trek through the streets to the place of the crosses, and then 6 hours of pure, uninterrupted torture and nerve-racking pain. He\u201d\u2122s exhausted and, no doubt, thirsty like we cannot begin to imagine. He\u201d\u2122s completely drained physically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually\u201d\u201d\u201cMy God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucado: \u201cHe is thirsty . . . He knew you would be weary, disturbed, and angry. He knew you\u201d\u2122d be sleepy, grief-stricken, and hungry. He knew you\u201d\u2122d face pain. If not the pain of the body, the pain of the soul . . . pain too sharp for any drug. He knew you\u201d\u2122d face thirst. If not a thirst for water, at least a thirst for truth, and the truth we glean from the image of a thirsty Christ is\u201d\u201dhe understands . . .\u201d (He Chose the Nails, 92-93, 96).<\/p>\n
Jesus understands your pain.<\/p>\n
Therefore . . .
\nThe heart of the Cross is that Jesus deserves your trust!<\/p>\n
2. Jesus completely fulfilled God\u201d\u2122s plan.<\/p>\n
The passages from the Psalms that we read earlier make that clear. Let me just re-read a few of those verses here:<\/p>\n
Psalm 22:15 (NLT)<\/p>\n
15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
\nMy tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.<\/p>\n
Psalm 69:21 (NLT)
\n21 But instead, they give me poison for food;
\nthey offer me sour wine for my thirst.
\nLucado: \u201cWhy, in his final moments, was Jesus determined to fulfill prophecy? He knew we would doubt. He knew we would question. And since he did not want our heads to keep his love from our hearts, he used his final moments to offer proof that he was the Messiah. He systematically fulfilled centuries-old prophecies\u201d (He Chose the Nails, 95).<\/p>\n
Jesus was NOT an unwilling victim, being manipulated by the cruelties of all those wicked people that took part in His crucifixion. Jesus was purposefully walking the path of His Father\u201d\u2122s will, just as He\u201d\u2122d prayed in the garden: \u201cNot my will but yours be done\u201d (Luke 22:42). Earlier in John 17, as He talked to the Father about His disciples\u201d\u201deven us\u201d\u201dHe said to the Father, \u201cI have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do\u201d (John 17:4). And here we see the conscious culmination of that work as Jesus specifically fulfills the last of the prophecies about His death as He says, \u201cI am thirsty\u201d.<\/p>\n
Jesus completely fulfilled God\u201d\u2122s plan.<\/p>\n
Therefore . . .<\/p>\n
The heart of the Cross is that Jesus deserves your trust!<\/p>\n
Conclusion\u201d\u201d
\nLucado: \u201cHe has been where you are and can relate to how you feel. And if his life doesn\u201d\u2122t convince you, his death on the cross should . . . Why did Jesus proclaim his thirst from the cross? To lay just one more plank on a sturdy bridge over which a doubter could walk\u201d (He Chose the Nails, 96).<\/p>\n
The heart of the Cross is that Jesus deserves your trust!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CRCF–3-14-10 Introduction\u201d\u201dWords are powerful. Words change our lives–especially those words that come from deepest in a person\u201d\u2122s heart! But the words spoken when someone is dying are, without a doubt, the most powerful words they\u201d\u2122ll ever speak\u201d\u201dthe words that will … Continue reading